Behavioral Biometrics – Types, Use Cases, Benefits

The use of mobile technology and continuous exchange of data has raised privacy and security concerns for businesses and individuals. Traditional methods of security, such as PIN and pattern locks, continue to become largely ineffective when it comes to advanced privacy threats. Hence, advanced authentication security measures, like behavioral biometrics, are gaining popularity. Behavioral biometric authentication can help you stay one step ahead of fraudsters, who are continuously evolving in sophistication, scale, and ambition:

• 2017 marked an all-time high for global cyberattacks with a total of 160,000 incidents
• Nearly 47% of Americans experienced identity theft in 2020
• The global behavioral biometrics market size was valued at $0.87 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 24.5% from 2020 to 2027

What Is Behavioral Biometrics?

Behavioral biometrics uniquely identify measurable patterns in human activities. The term contrasts with physical biometrics which involves innate human characteristics such as fingerprint or iris. Behavioral biometric authentication includes keystroke dynamics, gait analysis, cognitive biometrics, and signature analysis.  By analyzing a user’s digital and cognitive abilities, behavior biometrics is one of the most secure methods of authentication against fraud detection.

It distinguishes between legitimate users and cybercriminals by identifying people based on their online behavior and interactions, rather than static information or physical features.  It uses machine learning to examine patterns in human activity and determine whether someone is who they claim to be when they engage online. It also differentiates whether the action is human-driven or part of an automated attack.

Types of Behavioral Biometrics

Although this technology is continuously evolving, there are three main types in use —vocal patterns, device-based, and kinesthetics. 

Kinesthetics

1. Posture: The unique characteristic of an individual’s bodily position and weight distribution
2. Gait: A person’s walking style, which includes movements such as stride length, upper body posture, and pace of travel

Voice Patterns

1. Voice Inputs: The distinct, recurring sound variations that occur when a user speaks or vocalizes

Device-Based Gestures

1. Keystroke Dynamics: Typing patterns that differ from one user to the next. These include a mix of keystroke speed and duration, changes in these for certain key sequences, and common patterns that appear when typing common groups of keystrokes like words or control sequences.
2. Cursor Movement: Paths, tracking speed, direction changes, clicks, and interactions between these are all examples of unique patterns in mouse or trackpad cursor movement

Behavioral Biometrics Use Cases

Behavioral biometrics have three common use cases, including ecommerce, payments, and access control.

Ecommerce

In comparison to other businesses, the ecommerce industry is always on the bleeding edge of technology to improve their users’ experience due to the high level of competition. The next evolutionary step in bringing the online experience closer to that of in-store customers is to incorporate behavioral biometrics into the entire ecommerce customer experience. For example, based on how a visitor uses the mouse, how swiftly they strike the keys on the keyboard, and how much pressure they apply for the same, a website may make an educated judgment about their gender and age to show appropriate products based on the data collected.

Banking

It prevent account takeover by employing continuous monitoring procedures that confirm the user’s identity during the active session and not just at the time of entrance. Financial institutions can prevent fraudulent transfers by having visibility into the entire session.

Access Control Systems

Using gait analysis, behavioral biometric can be used as an effective means of access control systems. Studying the walking patterns of a human, access can be granted to the building quickly, reducing bottlenecks in congested areas. 

Physical Biometrics Vs. Behavioral Biometrics

• Behavioral biometrics analyzes parameters, such as a user’s keystrokes when typing, navigational patterns, screen pressure, typing speed, mouse or mobile movements, gyroscope position, and more. Physical biometrics refer to physiological features on the human body – a fingerprint, retina, or palm vein.
• The basic purpose of biometrics is to develop a registration system that would only rarely deny access to genuine users while entirely excluding illegal invaders. When compared to passwords and cards, such a system offers far more solid security; after all, your own body cannot be stolen or lost.
• Because users do not need to take any further steps while using this technology, they are also known as passive biometrics. They are not required to press a specialized button or speak through a microphone. It can also detect fraud early on, even before the perpetrator commits the crime (for example, stealing from stores).

Advantages of Behavioral Biometrics

Four major benefits of behavioral biometric are:

1. Flexible: The amount of behavioral data that can be studied is nearly infinite, and each project’s data collection can be tailored to meet their specific requirements.

2. Convenient: It function without taking the user’s attention away from their work.

3. Efficient: It can be used in real time to provide enhanced security for both threat detection and authentication.

4. Secure: It’s nearly impossible to imitate or determine behavioral features. Simultaneous analysis of multiple parameters improves accuracy and security.

Conclusion

Behavioral biometrics are gaining huge popularity and for good reason. Unlike many types of physical biometrics, it may easily be gathered using current devices and analyzed using simple software. Because of this, they are easier and less expensive to deploy.