1Kosmos achieves DEA biometrics standard for controlled substances in iBeta test

1Kosmos has announced the biometric subsystem of its BlockID platform has received certification for the handling of sensitive materials after undergoing testing by iBeta.

The live biometrics capabilities of its platform surpassed the false match rate (FMR) standard of 0.001 percent at a 95 percent confidence rate in iBeta’s 21 CFR 1311.116 test.

The company recorded zero false matches during 200 live biometric attempts on both iOS and Android devices.

“Preventing false matches in live biometrics is both critical for identity proofing in sensitive applications and extremely hard to accomplish,” says 1Kosmos CTO Rohan Pinto.

“Not only did BlockID meet iBeta’s FMR requirements, we exceeded them. Our compliance with the 21 CFR, FIDO2 and NIST standards provides customers full confidence in the reliability and accuracy of our live identity verification capabilities.”

The iBeta certification satisfies requirements from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances (EPCS).

“The regulations require 2-factor authentication of individuals to a system that electronically prescribes controlled substances,” the report explains.

“The regulations allow for two of three factors to be used for authentication. One of those factors may include a biometric from the individual claiming an identity.”

In this regard, test requirements established by the DEA stipulated that the examined biometric subsystem should operate at a point with 95 percent confidence that the false match rate is 0.001 or lower.

iBeta utilized the test methods defined in ISO/IEC 19795-1 and ISO/IEC 19795-2 to acquire biometric data and used it to test the technology of the biometric subsystem to validate an operating point that met this requirement.

Following these testing criteria, the 1Kosmos BlockID Biometric Subsystem met the necessary requirements.

According to 1Kosmos, the new certification validates the reliability of BlockID for accurately performing live biometrics for identity proofing.

In other words, it is due to the fact that all user data stored both on local devices and online is properly secured, also thanks to the fact BlockID complies with both FIDO2 and NIST 800-63-3 standards.

“Our compliance with the 21 CFR, FIDO2, and NIST standards provides customers full confidence in the reliability and accuracy of our live identity verification capabilities,” Pinto concludes.

For context, 1Kosmos also achieved International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 27001 certification last November.

More recently, the company reported a five-fold growth in passwordless biometrics customers in its first year of commercial sales and announced a new partnership with iValue.

This post was updated at 4:03pm Eastern on February 12, 2022 to reflect corrections in the announcement.

Article Topics

1Kosmos  |  1Kosmos BlockID  |  accuracy  |  biometric liveness detection  |  biometric testing  |  biometrics  |  data protection  |  ePrescribing  |  iBeta  |  identity verification  |  ISO standards