eWEEKchat April 12: Why Behavioral Biometrics Is Key to New-Gen Security

eWEEKchat April 12: Why Behavioral Biometrics Is Key to New-Gen Security

eWEEKChat2
Apr 10, 2017
2 minute read
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On Wednesday, April 12, at 11 a.m. PDT/2 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. GMT, @eWEEKNews will host its 54th monthly #eWEEKChat. The topic will be, “Why Behavioral Biometrics Is the Key to New-Gen Security” It will be moderated by Chris Preimesberger, eWEEK’s editor of features and analysis.

Some quick facts:

Topic: “Why Behavioral Biometrics Is Key to New-Gen Security”

Date/time: April 12, 11 a.m. PDT/2 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. GMT

Tweetchat handle: Use #eWEEKChat to follow/participate, but it’s easier and more efficient to use real-time chat room links.

Chat room real-time links: We have two: http://tweetchat.com/room/eweekchat and http://www.tchat.io/rooms/eweekchat. Both work well. Sign in via Twitter and use #eweekchat for the identifier.

‘Why Behavioral Biometrics Is Key to New-Gen Security’

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 a thief’s bank account.

Thus, the race has been on to develop workable alternatives — behavioral biometrics being 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, from 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/her profile and provide a recommended action to allow, challenge or block access to the account. These patterns are continuously monitored and analyzed — frictionlessly in the background — to provide continuous account protection.

What makes behavioral biometrics so intriguing is that it’s virtually impossible to precisely imitate another person’s behavior, unlike static biometrics (fingerprint, retina, etc.), which can be stolen and reused.

Google publicly launched a project called Abacus in 2015 that looks into behavioral biometrics, among other things, as a means to secure Android access. Many large companies have expressed interest in testing the technology, from banking to payment services to consumer Internet name brands. Analysts at Radiant Insights estimate the biometrics market as a whole will grow to $44 billion by 2021 from $7 billion in 2014.

In this month’s eWEEKchat, we’ll be asking the following, among other questions:

–What is your take on behavorial analytics? Can this go mainstream?

–How does behavioral biometrics differ from static biometrics?

–Do you see behavorial biometrics as a legitimate greenfield market for the next several years?

Join us April 12 at 11 a.m. Pacific/2 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. GMT for an hour. Chances are good that you’ll learn something valuable.

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