Proof expands cryptographic signatures and biometrics to any content or transaction

Proof is expanding its target market dramatically, introducing a digital identity secured with biometrics and public key cryptography to enable certification or authorization of any kind of data or transaction.

The company says its new Certify solution can solve problems around deepfake and manipulated content, digital impersonation and account takeovers. It can even provide account recovery, where Proof has just won contracts, CEO Pat Kinsel says in an interview with Biometric Update to explain the new technology.

While the threat of generative AI to online content authenticity and public trust are well documented, Proof argues in its announcement that its greater danger comes from forged signatures, falsified records and biometric impersonation attacks.

The cryptographic signatures provided by Certify cannot be counterfeited by generative AI, according to Proof.

From notarization to PKI for everything

Proof started in online notarization, which did not exist at its inception, Kinsel notes. The company was born from Notarize, integrating Persona’s selfie biometrics for IAL2 identity proofing in 2023. It then integrated Socure’s biometrics and anomaly detection to protect against fraud last year.

“We’ve really created the national market for online notarization, passing state laws and getting all these policies changed at the federal level,” he says.

Online notarization is rooted in identity and PKI policy, Kinsel explains. Every notary gets a PKI certificate. Cryptographic, tamper-evident proof shows that binds the notary to the document. A video-based process makes it auditable.

“So our mission for a long time has been, ‘How do we bring that level of certainty to everything that you do online, and how do we do it with zero friction. So obviously biometrics comes into play here,” along with Proof’s established PKI certificates and workflows.

Proof has been digitizing business practices, such as for mortgages and wealth management, Kinsel says, and customers began to ask about reusing the identity link they had established, and applying the same level of certainty beyond notarization.

Certify provides that capability.

Individuals get certificates, just like notaries did in Proof’s original use case. But Kinsel notes that “we now can support any payload,” as everything from payments and account changes to media files are all just “blobs of data” that can be signed.

“We see the world of things that can be signed as one percent penetrated,” Kinsel assesses. As an example, biometrics and cryptographic certainty can serve any transaction currently utilizing an OTP, he argues.

VP of Product Darren Louie shared a demo of how Certify works. Most people arrive at the process while taking care of notarization for something they need. They scan an ID document, perform a selfie biometric and active liveness check, and then the customer can save their identity to join Proof’s network and receive a PKI certificate for future signatures.

“It’s not just electronically signed, it’s not just showing like a visual imprint of my signature,” Louie explains, “you can actually verify the bytes of this document, and it’s tied back to the certificate that was issued to me.”

On return visits, the user may be asked to authenticate themselves.

The reusable identity component of Certify utilizes the new Identity Authorization Network, which Proof has also announced the availability of. Creating a digital identity within Proof’s network allows users to skip repeated onboarding and use an established chain of trust for every authorization, the company says.

Beyond basic documents, Louie shares an example of a wire transaction authorization, in which a large transfer is securely authorized. The bank directs the customer to Proof for the authorization during the workflow, and the cryptographically signed authorization is retained as evidence of its legitimacy.

That cryptographic evidence has benefits for regulatory compliance, and Louie refers to the challenge of the Travel Rule in crypto as a potential use case for Certify.

Embedded identity

The company suggests digital identity can be embedded in tax returns, images or videos, records and documents, financial transactions or legal agreements to create verifiable records.

“Proof is addressing the threat of AI-generated fraud head-on with a solution that is entirely unique and in high demand, particularly in financial services,” says Travis Jarae, founder and CEO of Liminal, in the announcement. “Our data shows that 83% of buyers in financial services indicated they need a platform solution that covers identity and fraud use cases together.”

Florida Agency Network, which is Florida’s largest independent title company, has signed up to use the new digital identity software.

“Certify will help us meet the moment on the fraud threat that has overtaken our industry,” says its CEO, Aaron Davis. “We’ll now be able eliminate the risk of AI-powered identity fraud for the more than $2.5 billion in real estate transactions that we manage annually.”

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital identity  |  PKI  |  Proof  |  Proof Certify  |  reusable digital ID  |  selfie biometrics