Dock Labs webinar pitches decentralized digital ID solution for caller authentication

The days of voice biometrics being stored and used by call centers to authenticate customers may be coming to an end, under pressure from sophisticated fraud and AI spoofs. An alternative based on decentralized digital identity, developed by Dock Labs and partners, is currently going through a proof of concept trial, and was presented in a recent webinar on “The Future of Caller Authentication.”

Dock Labs CEO Nick Lambert was joined by Helene Vigue of GSMA and Glyn Povah of Telefónica Tech to discuss their PoC for Trusted Caller Identity, which also involved TMT ID. TMT ID raised £30 million in a funding round late last year.

Lambert demonstrated the technology trialled during the POC, which allows call centers to perform biometric identity verification through the customer’s digital ID wallet app. The process involved a call to a relying party (a fictitious healthcare provider in the demo), which sends a prompt to the user’s phone to carry out identity verification with the Truvera digital ID wallet app. Posing as the customer, Lambert opened the notification and clicked to confirm that he was authorizing the verification.

The process took just under a minute from the start of the call. The equivalent legacy process, likely involving KBA questions and possibly an OTP, can take four or five minutes, Povah says.

Under the hood, the mobile operator has issued a credential for proof of ownership of the phone number into the digital wallet from Dock Labs as the first step, prior to the process demonstrated.

The decentralized approach, with the needed data stored on and managed from the user’s device, is not what we’re used to seeing, Lambert says. It could involve alternative methods, like using a browser-based wallet, and still deliver the same selective disclosure capability for privacy protection.

Cryptographic proofs allow the relying party to verify the credential for the phone number and SIM card without communicating directly with the issuer.

Povah compared the process to the more familiar way that open banking transactions are carried out.

The DIDComm open protocol is used for encrypted message transmission, and Lambert notes that the verifiable credentials (VCs) stored by the user or the digital wallet that holds them can be protected with biometrics to ratchet up the assurance level.

The PoC is intended to evaluate the integration of the various technologies, including Dock Labs’ digital wallet and MNO APIs, which Povah says has been proven effective. The benefits to consumers and call centers and business impact of the PoC are also being measured in preparation for a possible commercial rollout.

Vigue highlighted the combination speed and practical privacy protection as an encouraging early observation from the PoC. Privacy protection through user control also benefits most businesses, since they do not want to take on the compliance requirements that go with storing the data they need, if they don’t have to, Lambert added.

And reducing call time by even a minute can save around a dollar per interaction for the call center.

The PoC may be opened to more participants soon, Lambert says, and the partners plan to share its results as soon as they are ready.

Article Topics

caller authentication  |  decentralized identifiers (DIDs)  |  DIDComm  |  digital wallets  |  Dock  |  GSMA  |  research and development  |  Telefónica Tech  |  TMT ID  |  Trusted Caller Identity