Modern Banking & Multi-Factor Facial Authentication
Facial recognition delivers fast and secure customer access
by George Brostoff
Technology is completely transforming the way we interact with our money. New models driven by mobile commerce, cryptocurrency, and distributed ledgers are putting pressure on banks and other financial services organizations to rethink how they connect with their customers. In today’s hacker-laden world, being able to irrefutably confirm a person’s identity is critically important - and banks need to develop a future-proof authentication strategy to keep unauthorized users out.
This is an issue for everyone. Banks want to confirm that there isn’t a hacker knocking on the door trying to steal account holders’ cash because that erodes customer confidence. At the same time, individuals want to be able to quickly and easily access their financial information without having to jump through hoops. Username/password solutions are the de facto standard for digital banking, but they are so easy to crack as to be almost useless. Nowadays, several online services - such as Dropbox, Evernote, and Twitter - offer some form of two-step identification. But it is often clumsy and time-consuming to set up.
Some financial services firms have seen the light and are offering customers the option to secure their logins with two-factor authentication, but even these approaches can be hacked. Today, authentication possibilities are at a tipping point. A lack of robust solutions has certainly increased anxiety and the focus on potential data breaches. On the other hand, this challenge has led to the development of a robust facial authentication solution that protects the interests of both banks and their customers.
It is called Simultaneous Multi-Factor Authentication, and it provides a virtually spoof-proof face recognition solution that delivers quick and secure authentication. Here’s how it works: The user first takes a picture of his or her face, an easy task given that smartphones, laptops, and tablets all have built-in cameras. Second, the user registers a piece of personal information such as a gesture or a symbol, a fingerprint, a voice print, or even log a location such as an office or co-working space based on GPS data.
Once the face authentication profile is registered, the user simply looks at his or her device while simultaneously providing the second piece of data and is immediately logged in. The entire process takes less than two seconds, and doesn’t require people to battle security roadblocks just to access their financial information.
The implications of Simultaneous Multi-Factor Authentication for banks are huge. Providing safe, fast, and secure access is a surefire way for financial firms to future-proof their authentication strategy and create satisfied customers for years to come. And the technology is now good enough to make that a reality.
I’m proud to have been at the forefront of the Simultaneous Multi-Factor Authentication wave. My company, SensibleVision, has been working on this for 10 years, and we have six patents related to cybersecurity. It’s taken a while to get here because until recently not every device had a camera, meaning that users had to use separate scanners and cameras that were intrusive and difficult to use. Thanks to hardware advances, all you need is a friendly smile.
George Brostoff is the founder and CEO of SensibleVision, a Simultaneous Multi-Factor Authentication with Continuous Security technology firm headquartered in Cape Coral, Florida. He has founded three successful tech companies, holds seven patents and grew up working in a family business.