Digitalisation not only creates a myriad of new opportunities, technologies and business solutions, it can sometimes also enable criminal activity that harms businesses and individuals alike. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the total cost of cyber fraud will exceed $ 6 trillion by 2021, with stolen passwords and pin codes making up more than 80% of that amount. One promising way to prevent cyber fraud, in particular identity theft, is to rely on strong authentication software products. Using technologies that are at the forefront of digital innovation, such as 3D facial and 3D graphical authentication solutions, can reliably verify who you are, what you know and what you have.
In no other field is it more important to focus on data privacy than in the authentication process. That is why Switzerland is an excellent breeding ground for companies in this sector. The Swiss company OneVisage, for example, does not monetise users’ data, but works in line with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It operates in an important and fast-growing market, in which a lot of companies usually focus on quick success. OneVisage offers a different path with Swiss-grade solutions that strongly protect individuals and their data.
The market is rapidly adopting facial authentication technology thanks to big, disruptive companies like Airbnb and Uber, who use it to verify users on their platforms. With such companies pushing the technology into the mainstream, cost-effective, versatile, highly secure and universal solutions that provide a good user experience and put a strong emphasis on data protection are needed more than ever.
OneVisage focuses on protecting individuals in mid-high value transactions by venturing away from pin codes. Pin codes can be easily stolen and make up a large part of online fraud with important financial consequences. Even a big company like Apple with its service FaceID is not completely secure: if the service fails to recognize a user, the user is prompted to enter a 4 to 6 digit pin code, which is a backdoor to any potential fraudster.
The main challenge is to provide an all-in-one-solution, which is technically challenging to achieve. Different devices come with different platforms, operating systems, sensors and features, so no one should be fooled by marketing campaigns from that claim to have it all figured out. Finding such a solution is a marathon, not a sprint and slowly but steadily reaching intermediate goals will prove more effective over the long term.
At Viva Technology in Paris and Money2020 Europe in Amsterdam, OneVisage will unveil PremierID, which is a 3FA solution excluding passwords and pin codes. This 3D facial biometric solution is ported on a Windows 10 platform and uses a 3D camera: a very important step to make it as accessible as possible. The next step is to port the technology on Linux and embed systems to make it truly universal and inter-operable.
Most people’s perception of facial authentication technology is negative and a company like OneVisage aims to change this. Protecting yourself from identity theft is difficult, and facial technology makes it almost impossible for fraudsters and thieves to succeed. It also makes it easier to verify identities by law enforcement and border control, which can result in faster and more efficient immigration processes. For now, fingerprint recognition is most widely used, but it can easily be replicated as we leave our fingerprints on many objects in our day-to-day lives. A data and privacy protective facial authentication solution is more secure, more efficient and better suited for the digitised world of the 21st century. There is really no reason not to use facial authentication technology; especially if it’s coming from Switzerland.
Article by Christophe Remillet, CEO OneVisage.
