What are Behavioural Biometrics? Types & Technology
Behavioural biometrics analyse behaviours and physical activities to help prevent and identify fraud.
Behavioural biometrics can recognise how a person acts online, how a user interacts physically with their computer or smartphone (e.g., how the phone is held or keystroke patterns), and help determine that a person really is who they say they are. These biometrics can help to prevent identity theft, as they can tell the difference between an imposter and a real user.
Behavioural biometrics explained
Every user has a unique way of accessing and interacting with a computer, both cognitively and physically. Behavioural biometrics analyses these patterns to determine what a user’s online and digital profile looks like. Behavioural biometrics can use the following:
- Keystroke uses and patterns
- Pressure or location touched on a touchscreen
- How a user holds and moves their smartphone
- Scrolling behaviour
- Mouse movement patterns and speed of use
Every user interacts with a computer in specific ways. Behavioural biometrics can work in the background to pick up on these patterns and determine that a user is who they say they are.
How can biometrics prevent identity theft?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that there were well over 2 million reports of fraud from consumers, with imposter scams and online shopping fraud topping the list of fraudulent activities. The use of biometrics can secure online transactions and help to prevent identity theft.
A signature can be forged, and passwords and login credentials can be stolen. But it is much more difficult to mimic a user’s direct actions and biometric patterns. Programs scanning for behavioural biometrics are often unobtrusive and unnoticed by the end user. They are running in the background to provide a host of data to help identify a user.
Much of the security software being used by retailers and banks today has behavioural biometrics built in to protect against fraud and identity theft.
Benefits of behavioural biometrics over standard security measures
Systems that use behavioral biometrics do not require any extra steps for users, and can be harder to get around than standard security measures.
Standard security measures often use a multi-factor authentication (MFA) process, for instance. Banks require users to log in with a username and password, and then receive a text to fully access the account. But both phone numbers and login credentials can be hacked and stolen through malware and identity theft.
On top of this, many users do not want to go through extra steps to access their account. With behavioural biometrics, even if the user’s login information and phone number have been breached, there is still an extra layer of security. A cybercriminal is much less likely to know exactly how a user interacts with their smartphone or computer.
Behavioural biometrics can help to identify when someone who is not the user is trying to gain access to these accounts. Behavioural biometrics is extremely accurate in identifying individuals specifically.
Biometrics & AML compliance for banking
Financial firms and banks are required to comply with AML rules and regulations under the Bank Secrecy Act. This means that they must work to ensure that users are legitimate and the money is authentic and not gained through suspicious activity or fraud.
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