Behaviometrics Will Define the New Era of Security

From a characteristic as an asset to a human as an asset

The exploration of biometrics for commercial use in most cases is usually limited to ‘traditional’ biometrics – fingerprints, facial recognition, voice, palm, vein pattern, hand geometry and iris. A vast array of companies has turned to biometric-based authentication as the technology is believed to provide necessary security level and convenience for the end user. In fact, the next generation biometrics market is expected to top $24 Billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 17.9% between 2015 and 2020.

And while the fingerprint frenzy takes place across industries, some of the smartest players (we will cover them further) are experimenting with what is expected to become the next generation of biometric authentication – behavioral biometrics, or, as a Nordic biometrics startup BehavioSec calls them, behaviometrics.

As the company defines the term, "behaviometrics is a measurable behavior used to recognize or verify the identity of a person. Behaviometrics focuses on behavioral patterns rather than physical attributes."

Neil Costigan, CEO of BehavioSec, broke down some elements of one’s behavior to bring an example of the things technology is looking at, The way you use the device. Do you zoom across the screen with the mouse and then hover over a button? Which way do you circle the cursor? On mobile devices it would also be the depth of touch, how you move your finger across the screen, how much of your finger is on the screen, how hard you're pressing, the angle you hold the phone and so on.

Behaviometrics solutions are able to create a highly accurate and precise picture of the user by examining a range of behavioral patterns, actively evaluating the user’s unique kinetic interaction signature with their mobile device, as notes another company operating in the field, Zighra.

The strongest authentication schemes will always make use of multiple factors, i.e., something I know, something I have and something I am," said Stephen Cox, Chief Security Architect at SecureAuth, one of the leading companies in adaptive access control and management solutions.

As the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) explains, the combinatorial approach of using multiple modalities for continuous user identifica ...