Biometrics discussed for account security, health risk identification and enterprise apps during pandemic

A trio of blog posts have been published by biometrics providers discussing technologies for identifying people and fraud attacks remotely to maintain continuity during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Remote Access Tools (RATs) are increasingly used by workforces distributed within their own homes, rather than at the office to prevent viral spread, but also by criminals to operate from within a user’s trusted device. Behavioral biometrics are effective at distinguishing between genuine or criminal RAT users, according to a new blog post from BioCatch.

If BioCatch’s system detects a RAT in use, particularly for the first time with a certain account, it means the user’s desktop PC or mobile device was infected with RAT malware, the user has granted access through a remote support tool such as Team Viewer or LogMeIn after falling a victim to social engineering, or it can be a legitimate use of a RAT by the genuine account-holder who is accessing their usual device remotely for some reason, BioCatch Chief Cyber Officer Uri Rivner writes.

The use of RATs for the first time by customers of a major Spanish bank was observed to increase dramatically in mid-March, as the total number of coronavirus cases in the country spiked, and a similar trend has been seen by BioCatch at a major Canadian bank with increased social distancing measures.

With new behaviors prompting people not only to perform more remote logins and transactions, but also to interact with devices remotely more often, BioCatch suggests behavioral biometrics can protect financial institutions and consumers against account fraud while they protect themselves against infection.

Imprivata outlines uses and maintenance

Imprivata says its OneSign is being used by Yale New Haven Health to identify users who may have been exposed to infectious disease, Imprivata Confirm ID for Remote Access is being used by Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters for secure enterprise authentication for remote workers, while other customers are using Imprivata Identity Governance for fast provisioning for access privileges. Others are using OneSign to build “touchless” environments, while organizations are using GroundControl to manage shared devices, according to a blog post.

The company discusses its measures for ensuring business continuity, and notes that there are no disruptions in its supply chain for fingerprint readers, palm vein scanners and other hardware. It also provides details for how to clean and maintain it biometric and other devices.

A potential $2 billion sale of the digital healthcare technology provider has been paused as markets grapple with uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

BIO-key suggests biometric authentication for remote workforces

BIO-key is touting the effectiveness of its biometric offerings for ensuring the secure operations of companies adopting remote workforce models, which involve their own set of challenges and threats.

The company notes that its products are trusted by the U.S. federal government, financial institutions, call center organizations, and businesses in insurance, education, retail, and manufacturing. BIO-key ID Director for Windows supports Active Directory for MFA to corporate networks and applications, and WEB-key enables biometric authentication to custom applications.

Article Topics

access management  |  behavioral biometrics  |  BIO-key  |  BioCatch  |  biometrics  |  fraud prevention  |  healthcare  |  identity verification  |  Imprivata