Exclusive: EyeVerify To Launch Commercially In 2013

eyeverify

According to recent research from Cisco, the number of mobile devices will exceed the global population in 2013, and Deloitte predicts more than 90 percent of user-generated passwords—even those considered strong by IT departments—are now vulnerable to hacking. Such inadequate password protection could result in billions of dollars in losses. That’s where EyeVerify comes in.

Consumers and content providers demand an authentication technology that goes beyond what we’ve used to date. Passwords are easily forgotten or stolen, consumers have expressed reluctance to embrace facial recognition and fingerprinting isn’t compatible with how people use mobile phones,” EyeVerify CEO Toby Rush said in a press release. “Eye prints combine reliability and accuracy with portability.

As previously reported by WallStreetInsanity, biometric verification is the way of the future. But retina- and iris-scanning identification systems require special equipment and aren’t yet realistic in most everyday applications. EyeVerify hopes to bring biometric security to the masses. Its software identifies users’ “eye prints,” or the patterns of veins in the whites of their eyes. Every person has four eye prints, one on each side of the iris of both eyes. According to EyeVerify, the method is as accurate as a fingerprint or iris scan, without the need for special equipment. The technology works in smartphones by using the rear-facing camera. The user simply faces the camera and looks to the left and right, allowing EyeVerify to capture eye prints from both eyes. The software then processes images of the eye prints by mapping the veins in the eyes. To unlock the phone in the future, the software matches the eyes with the eye print stored on the phone.

WallStreetInsanity got the scoop on an announcement EyeVerify plans to make Feb. 25. Data collected from Purdue University’s Biometric Standards, Performance and Assurance Laboratory now indicates that EyeVerify’s patented eye print technology actually exceeds many of today’s biometric industry standards and commercial requirements.

“Eye prints are a stable and accurate biometric authentication method. The third party validation from the Biometric Standards, Performance and Assurance Laboratory demonstrates that Eye print technology is suitable for deployment today,” Reza Derakhshani, EyeVerify’s chief scientist, said in an upcoming press release. “Eye prints combine a unique and convenient biometric which can be captured with cameras on smartphones. We are at a point in history where the ubiquity of smartphones and the reliability of Eye printing makes accurate mobile authentication available across countless applications to billions of people.

Not only has EyeVerify proven itself with the BSPA, but the company is set to announce the US Patent and Trademark Office has awarded it with a second patent covering the method and features used for pattern matching in the eye print verification system. EyeVerify’s first patent relates to the foundational concept of eye vein biometrics discovered by Derakhshani and Arun Ross in 2005.

Eight years ago, we began thinking about the challenges that result from existing and emerging biometric modalities,” said Derakhshani. “This technology is extremely valuable to anyone who has an interest in reliable, accurate mobile identity security and authentication.

In addition to the above announcements, WallStreetInsanity found out that EyeVerify plans to release specifics regarding its technology Feb. 25 at both the 2013 RSA Conference in San Francisco and the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona—where the company will also be featured as a Show Stopper. At the two events, EyeVerify will announce an exclusive beta program available for mobile security participants from March through the end of May. The exclusive beta program will offer close data—including prototype applications, SDK access, technical and engineering support, as well as quality assurance test plans and results—for any partners who may want to integrate the technology into their software when EyeVerify is commercially released during the third-quarter period.

The partners working with EyeVerify are still top secret, but EyeVerify’s EVP of Global Sales and Marketing Chris Barnett said they not only include phone manufacturers, but also mobile device management—companies that secure devices for enterprise customers—and security companies that provide password vaults. Industries likely to benefit from the technology include banking, healthcare, law enforcement and homeland security.

The problem with a password vault is how do you get into your password app? With a password,” Barnett told WallStreetInsanity. “And if I forget that password I’m toast. It makes sense you’d want something really secure.

Barnett explained the numerous ways EyeVerify might be used with mobile devices

When you think about the use cases, one case is phone lock, another case is application lock,” Barnett said. “Maybe I don’t want to have to lock and unlock just to get into my phone, so the end user can decide what’s important and wants to be locked, and we see that as something the partner or the user could decide. It can also be based on how recently you used your phone.

Barnett believes the technology will likely be picked up by commercial clients first, as some enterprises admit their systems have been hacked, and others simply don’t admit it. But the most vulnerable aspects of entire infrastructures are generally the phones employees bring in the doors.

While there will be consumers concerned about security, I think enterprises will move to adopt it first,” he said. “Enterprise is already looking for more ways to secure their networks.

How will EyeVerify be offered? Barnett says that is up to the partners, but it could be included in a bundle of hardware or software; or the technology could be offered as an app purchase. Regardless, it promises to be drastically cut cases of identity theft.

We’re living in a world where we conduct our lives online and on the go, and yet we’re plagued by password sprawl and identity theft and fraud,” Barnett said. “Eye printing solves the issue and, unlike other biometric verification offerings, is the first and only reliable mobile security solution that does not require additional hardware to deploy.