BIO-key launches user-controlled mobile fingerprint authentication platform

BIO-key International has launched a new system for fingerprint authentication, which the company says allows integrations to accommodate and expand on concepts embodied in mobile biometric platforms.

Called FreeChoiceID, the company says this is an entirely new approach to mobile authentication privacy.

“The time has come for ubiquitous fingerprint biometric authentication,” Michael DePasquale, BIO-key CEO said. “Apple’s Touch ID system and other soon-to-be-introduced finger biometric device offerings will lead to an unprecedented increase in awareness of the effortless security and convenience afforded by fingerprint authentication, something our customers and partners have already achieved with BIO-key’s WEB-key platform. With the release of this new FreeChoiceID module for WEB-key, BIO-key will allow greater flexibility in where and how fingerprint template data is stored, as well as where and how matching occurs — on the device — using BIO-key’s or another available biometric matching subsystem, or in the cloud — on secured servers at an enterprise’s or service provider’s data center. Regardless of the model employed, a BIO-key integrated application can authenticate any user, regardless of the device or subsystem used, or where the biometric data resides.”

According to the company, FreeChoiceID leverages BIO-key’s patents on the use of trusted computing environments such as TrustZone(TM) in storing biometric and related key data, and BIO-key’s patented secure transport of biometric and secondary form-factor user authentication data between devices and across public or private networks. Expanding upon BIO-key’s patented WEB-key platform, FreeChoiceID ensures consumer and enterprise user authentication data is secured as it is moved between a device and cloud-based services, and that data is properly protected when it is used by WEB-key.

This is primarily intent to give users control over the privacy of their biometric data – controlling where it is stored, in what form as well as which applications have access to it. Using the BIO-key FreeChoiceID mobile application, users of a BIO-key integrated application can approve or deny each access to their biometric data by any BIO-key application even when it is stored on a server in a public or private cloud, the company says.

“We want to accommodate all needs in this dynamic marketplace, and FreeChoiceID is a natural evolution of our vision,” Jim Sullivan, BIO-key’s VP of Strategy and Business Development said. “With the introduction of fingerprint authentication on mobile devices such as Apple’s Touch ID, our customers want to incorporate those on-device authentication modules into an overall fingerprint biometric ecosystem which spans mobile, laptop, as well as face-to-face authentication scenarios. Consistent with this vision, we plan to allow users with accessible on-device biometric subsystems to associate them with their WEB-key cloud-based identity, and then conduct authentication via WEB-key, using the local subsystem on their device. As new accessible biometric authentication modules enter the market, we will incorporate them into this ecosystem as well. A single integration with BIO-key will leverage all available possibilities.”

Reported previously, Frost & Sullivan recently awarded BIO-key with an award for competitive strategy innovation and leadership.

Article Topics

authentication  |  BIO-key  |  consumer  |  integration  |  smartphone