We've known for a long while that passwords, firewalls and private networks simply aren't sufficient for tight IT security anymore. It's all too easy for even a semi-sophisticated cyber-criminal to scan for passwords and find back doors into personal and business data that, sooner or later, amount to illicit money in the thief's bank account. Thus, the race is on to develop workable alternatives, with behavioral biometrics one of the more promising ones. Behavioral biometrics is an additional layer of security that provides seamless, continuous user authentication. It works by collecting and evaluating a mix of behavior patterns, such as the way we move our hand on a mobile device screen or with a mouse, to create advanced behavioral algorithms to establish a user's profile. The next time that person uses the service, the technology will rate current interactions against his or her profile and provide a recommended action to allow, challenge or block access to the account. These patterns are monitored and analyzed continuously—and frictionlessly, in the background—to provide continuous account protection. What makes behavioral biometrics so intriguing is that it's virtually impossible to imitate another person's behavior precisely, unlike static biometrics (fingerprint, retina, etc.), which can be stolen and reused. For this slide show, eWEEK worked with Radiant Insights, Verizon and TeleSign, a mobile identity software developer, to come up with key data points on this topic.
- eWeek