Featured Research
Financial institutions can reap significant financial gains by using voiceprints to authenticate through the phone channel. By our calculations, a large money center bank will see over $100 million in economic benefit from reducing fraud loss in the contact center, lowering operating costs, and providing a more pleasing customer experience.
This report is made available courtesy of Victrio. Click here to view the report summary. Contact Pete Headrick (pheadrick@opusresearch.net) to receive a copy
For more information on becoming an Opus Research client, please contact Pete Headrick (pheadrick@opusresearch.net).
A common discussion topic at the recent Voice Biometrics Conference San Francisco revolved around the use of voice verification in multi-factor authentication mechanisms. With a growing to push to find alternatives to passwords, voice biometrics will likely be used in conjunction with knowledge-based authentication questions or as part of a larger strategic authentication methodology.
Another form of multi-factor authentication includes multi-modal biometric verification. SpeechPro, a provider of biometric authentication solutions, unveiled this week a new product combining voice and face recognition for security authentication on a mobile app.
The product is called “VoiceKey.OnePass” using smartphones as the vehicle to capture voice and face biometric information in a short enrollment process. In order to gain secure access to customer information at a subsequent time, the mobile application prompts the user to authenticate using their voice and their face.
VoiceKey.OnePass is currently available for the Android operating system and will be available on the Apple iOS operating system in late May 2013, according to the company.
SpeechPro, which is the U.S. operating business of Speech Technology Center based in Russia, has a broad portfolio of audio and speech processing software with several large deployments of voice biometrics in the law enforcement and forensic realm. The new mobile app is an extension of VoiceKey, a server-based voice authentication application platform.
The company also announced a new partnership with Voxeo to broadly deliver SpeechPro’s VoiceKey Intelligent Voice Authentication solution to Voxeo customers for IVR services. More information can be found here.
McAfee’s LiveSafe Suite uses Face Recognition and Voice Biometrics to Protect Personal Information
Security software specialist McAfee (an Intel Company) has introduced a comprehensive new service called LiveSafe, to help individuals protect “unlimited number of PCs, Macs, smartphones or tablets.” Core capabilities start with basic protection from malware or viruses on Windows, Android and iOS-based devices. It also addresses some of the new problems that a mobile lifestyle entails, including an “anti-theft” function that helps “lock and locate” lost devices, as well as a password management feature based on McAfee SafeKey, which provides a single password for accessing the many username/password combinations that plague online denizens.
A novel feature of LiveSafe McAfee is its ability to secure a customer’s “digital assets” using two biometric attributes, both voiceprint and facial recognition are used to provide fast, secure access to up to 1 gigabyte of encrypted data. McAfee expects LiveSafe users to upload such things as financial records, passports or important legal documents, such as deeds or trusts so that they can be accessed from all of the supported devices.
LiveSafe is a first-of-its-kind combination of personal information management, identity verification resources and security services. It reflects the fact that the folks at McAfee understand how living the mobile life and being constantly online through a variety of devices exposes people to constant security threats. Banks and telephone companies have tried to convince folks to upload important documents for protection and today almost a dozen firms around the world have developed elements of the personal data ecosystem.
It makes sense for individuals to look to a a security-oriented technology provider for such a service, especially when they have gone the distance of adding biometric authentication which, by definition, is the only authentication factor that is “something you are.”
LiveSafe is being offered at a promotional $19.99 annual subscription. After the introductory period, the regular price will be $79.99.
Voice Biometrics Conference San Francisco – May 8-9, 2013
Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco
Agenda & Presentations
This month in San Francisco, Opus Research organized and produced the largest voice biometrics conference to date. Top analysts, industry experts, interested prospects and successful implementers met to hear keynote presentations and panel discussions on the business opportunities, strategies and applications, deployment options, and what’s next for voice biometrics.
Sponsors
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM
The Big Picture Gets Bigger – Opening remarks from Opus Research, taking stock of the past, present and future of voice biometric-based technology and markets.
Speaker: Dan Miller, Senior Analyst, Opus Research
View Presentation
1:15 PM – 1:45 PM
Beyond Passwords: FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) and the Larger Market for Strong Authentication – With the explosive growth of electronic commerce and mobile banking, the need for strong authentication is growing. PayPal is helping spearhead the FIDO Alliance, which introduces a viable alternative to passwords with a standards-based approach to authentication that raises security and ensures privacy, while simplifying authentication. FIDO unleashes vast potential for both existing and many new markets. The question is: “How big is the market opportunity for voice and all biometrics in a FIDO enabled world?”
Speaker: Michael Barrett, Chief Information Security Officer, PayPal
View Presentation
1:45 PM – 2:30 PM
Opportunities in a Post-Password World – The explosion of mobile devices and use of the cloud have exacerbated both the usability and security flaws of passwords, increasing the need for alternatives. What role will voice biometrics play within the larger group of potential authentication approaches? What are the issues that organizations will need to consider when thinking about how to incorporate these new authentication mechanisms?
Speakers:
Mayank Upadhyay,Principal Engineer, Google
Emilio Martinez,CEO, Agnitio
Sebastian Taveau, CTO, Validity
Andy Steingruebl, Director, Customer and Ecosystem Security, PayPal
Phillip Dunkelberger, President & CEO, Nok Nok Labs (moderator)
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Reality Check: Natural Interaction in the Connected Home – Voice biometrics is playing an increasing role in consumer-facing smart devices. From using your voice to “wake-up” any device or access home alarm controls, to voice-initiated personalized settings for home entertainment systems, unified communications and video analytics.
Speakers:
Steve Jones, Executive Director, Speech FX
Chris Wein, Senior Director of Software and Systems, GEO Semiconductor
Julia Webb, VP Sales & Marketing, VoiceVault
View Presentation
3:30 PM – 4:15 PM
Case Study: Voice Verification by Mobile Operator Avea – Avea, a leading GSM operator in Turkey with a customer base of 12.8 million, has implemented a call center voice verification system registering more than one million vocal passwords in the first year.
Speakers:
Gokhan Ayas, Department Manager, Call Centers & Alternative Channels, Avea
Serdar Karadayi, Managing Director, Sestek
View Presentation
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM
Keynote: Powering Security and Easy Authentication in a Multi-Channel World – Security has high value and mitigates high risk in today’s expanding multi-perimeter world. Learn how organizations such as Bank Leumi have benefited from incorporating voice biometrics in their Identity & Verification process. Empowering organizations to deploy cross-channel and multi-factor authentication while delivering an incredibly positive user experience, voice biometrics is poised to become a key authentication tool within web and mobile just as it has within the IVR and call center space.
Speakers:
Archit Lohokare, Worldwide Product Manager, IBM Security Systems
View Presentation
Brett Beranek, Solutions Marketing Manager, Enterprise Marketing Nuance Communications, Inc.
View Presentation
Thursday, May 9, 2013
9:00 AM – 9:45 AM
Case Study: Passive Authentication at Barclays – Hear how one of the largest global banks deploys voice-based authentication in the background, saving time for Advisors and making a better experience for their clients without compromising security.
Speaker : Matt Smallman, Sr. Manager Retail Client Service Group, Barclays
View Presentation
9:45 AM – 10:30 AM
Financial Roundtable – Financial services companies have been at the forefront of the multi-factor authentication phenomenon. Hear from a panel of executives as they share perspectives on the opportunities and challenges they confronted as they evaluated, tested and deployed voice biometrics to support strong, yet convenient security.
Speakers:
Ken Palla, Vice President, Union Bank
David Pollino,Fraud Prevention Officer, Bank of the West
Advait Deshpande, Senior Manager, Retail Client Service Group, Vanguard
Chuck Buffum, President, Buffum Consulting (moderator)
10:45 AM – 11:30 AM
Reality Check: Operationalizing Voice Biometrics – Your existing voice recording infrastructure and metadata can be used in the battle against fraud and to protect your contact center. NICE Systems will show you how existing call recording, call monitoring and analytic fabrics can be leveraged to build the voice prints that become the foundation for voice-based authentication and fraudster detection, as well as how to operationalize voice biometrics to achieve real business value and a compelling ROI.
Speaker: Elad Hoffman, Real Time Authentication Solution Manager, NICE Systems
View Presentation
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
What You Can Learn From a Phone Call – There’s more to fraud detection than voiceprints. Hear what other factors can come into play to support strong authentication.
Speakers:
Vijay Balasubramaniyan, CEO & Co-Founder, Pindrop Security
Patrick Cox, CEO, TRUSTID, Inc.
John Amein, Senior VP Product Managment, Voxeo
Dan Miller, Senior Analyst, Opus Research
1:15 PM – 1:45 PM
Reality Check: The Power of a Black List, the Promise of a White List – Financial services companies are finding out that they can reduce fraud loss by quickly detecting imposters. But that is just the start of the story. Learn how the combination of multiple factors can lead to lower financial losses.
Speaker: Mark Lazar, CEO, Victrio, Inc.
View Presentation
1:45 PM – 2:15 PM
Reality Check: The Case for Voice + Face Recognition – A single factor is seldom enough to establish high confidence levels when identifying a specific individual. Learn how the security services in Ecuador specified and then implemented a system that combines voice biometrics and facial recognition in a unique way to support their law enforcement efforts.
Speaker: Alexey Khitrov, Strategic Development Director, Speech Technology Center
View Presentation
2:15 PM – 3:00 PM
The Future of Secure, Mobile Authentication – Mobile devices have the potential to be the universal device to make authentication stronger. But a host of challenges stand in the way for mobile security platforms. What are the key enablers and how does voice fit into a comprehensive mobile security strategy?
Speakers:
Ollie Whitehouse, Associate Director, NCC Group
View Presentation
Lauren Horaist, Senior Product Marketing Manager, RSA
View Presentation
3:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Reality Check: Mobile Voice Authentication – Demonstration of a consumer voice application connecting the dots between spoken words, strong user authentication and the personalization of mobile devices, applications and services.
Speaker: Anastasia Pavlovic, Technology Product Manager, Agnitio
View Presentation
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Reality Check: e-Government Applications for Voice Authentication – A look into a government initiative to integrate voiceprints into a national ID database enabling qualified citizens to receive aid money, pensions or cast a vote in national elections with just a telephone call.
Speaker: Roanne Levitt, Vice President, VoiceTrust eServices Canada Inc.
View Presentation
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Reality Check: Introduction to Truly Handsfree 3.0 – Deep integration of speech processing and voice verification with mobile and consumer electronic devices promise to deliver on the promise of a vision first presented in the Star Trek series of the early ’60s. In the here-and-now of 2013 we can look at the opportunities suggested by a combination of trigger words, voice biometrics and embedded speech processing.
Speaker: Todd Mozer, President, CEO & Chairman of Sensory, Inc.
View Presentation
4:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Executive Panel: Where We’re At and Where We’re Going – Voice biometrics has evolved from a technology to a set of solutions that span mobile commerce, home electronics and automotive marketplaces – in addition to e-commerce contact centers. Top industry experts answer “what’s next?” for their products, companies, partners and customers, paying special attention to what it will take to make voice biometrics an integral part of platforms that promote secure, convenient, trusted commerce.
Speakers:
Almog Aley-raz, GM & VP Voice Biometrics and Security Solutions, Nuance
Ken Palla, Vice President, Union Bank
Todd Mozer, President, CEO & Chairman of Sensory, Inc.
Chuck Buffum, President, Buffum Consulting
Dan Miller, Senior Analyst, Opus Research (moderator)
Voice Biometrics Conference 2013-San Francisco came to a close yesterday after a succession of presentations and panels that highlighted the growing need for better authentication and the role that voice biometrics can play far beyond its original presence alongside IVRs (interactive voice response systems) in enterprise contact centers. We started with a keynote presentation by Michael Barrett, chief information security officer for PayPal and (perhaps more importantly) the chairman of the FIDO Alliance. He described how and why the clunky and largely ineffective use of UserName and Passwords for personal authentication is ready for its end-of-life.
He highlighted how protocols, platforms and products that conform to the architecture endorsed by the FIDO Alliance (which stands for “Fast ID Online”) will enable end-users (ideally, all people) to select the means of authentication that they find most convenient at the time they need to assert their respective identities. We started with such a broad discussion – “Let’s Replace Passwords” – to play up the fact that the world is ready for alternatives to current ways of authenticating and that using one’s voice as an identifier will have real value in an increasingly mobile, hands-free and eyes-front world in which biometrics are being taken seriously, and no single factor will suffice.
Participating by executives from Google, Nok Nok Labs, Validity and Agnitio, in addition to PayPal, in a subsequent discussion demonstrated how seriously the initiative is being taken by industry influencers and creative start-ups, alike. The protocol, along with several working use cases, is already very mature. It reflects a world where individual credentials and authentication mechanisms move to the access devices and are directly under the control of the end user. This should have great appeal to device makers and their owners, and it already started discussions at the conference surrounding whether banks, retailers or other businesses with financial stakes will find authentication at the endpoint to be acceptable to them.
To highlight the global nature of the voice-based authentication phenomenon, the next enabled the manager of contact centers and alternative channels from Avea, a large GSM/wireless provider in Turkey to show how his company registered the voiceprints from over 1.5 million subscribers in order to replace challenge questions, which both customers and contact center agents were finding to be annoying and expensive. The implementation uses software and systems from Turkish speech processing specialist Sestek and provided proof positive that solutions can scale quickly and provide rapid payback by shaving more than 20 seconds from customer care calls.
We followed with a presentation from a different technology alliance – VoiceVault, Geo Semiconductor and SpeechFX – to show how the speech recognition, speaker recognition and gesture analysis can be integrated into home electronics to support highly-personalized interactions with the family television. Then Day One came to a close with yet another partnership describing how enterprises are meeting the security challenges that are exacerbated by mobile workers, multi-channel commerce and high levels of real time collaboration. The speakers were from IBM and Nuance and reflected how voice biometrics, in conjunction with other authentication methods, help companies deal support secure communications in a “multi-perimeter world.”
Day Two kicked off with another validation point for voice biometrics. As multiple newspapers around the world were happy to report, Barclays Wealth and Investment advisors are using passive enrollment and passive authentication to simplify caller authentication to the point where customers can securely carry out high value interactions. As a sample, in the UK, the Telegraph’s reporter observed that “Barcleys Wealth customers will no longer need to answer security questions and remember pin codes to use telephone banking.” Similar stories appeared in the Wall Street Journal, ZDNet, Gizmodo and several technology and business outlets, with quotes from VBC-SF’s keynote speaker Matt Smallman, who is in charge of Customer Experience, Strategy and Change at Barclays.
Smallman’s talk was punctuated by a roundtable of executives from a variety of financial institutions, including Bank of the West, Vanguard, and Union Bank. In sum, they described how changes in customer usage patterns, especially online banking and mobile applications necessitate close evaluation of alternatives. At this point, only a handful of banks have integrated biometric-based authentication, but they are well-aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the alternatives before them.
Beyond banking, Day Two highlighted real-world use cases for voice biometrics, starting with a presentation from NICE Systems to describe how to “operationalize” the technology by leveraging existing contact center resources, especially call recording and analytics systems. This was followed by a thought-provoking discussion of “What You Can Learn from a Phone Call,” featuring the likes of Pindrop Security, TRUSTID and Voxeo, which are all companies that have developed technologies that can determine the risk associated with a phone call and its originator based on unique data about such things as the originating number, line characteristics, “device signatures” and the like.
In addition to deep technology discussions, Day Two featured a number of ”reality checks” giving solutions providers a chance to describe the state of the technologies and general acceptance of such things as using “black lists” and “white lists” for fraud prevention (via Victrio), adding face recognition (SpeechPro), mobile enrollment and authentication (Agnitio), eGovernment implementations (VoiceTrust) and embedded solutions for “Truly Handsfree” authentication and speech recognition (Sensory). The intent – which attendees tell us was largely successful – was to provide solid basis for assessment of “market maturity” which is always dependent on whether the underlying technologies perform as advertised (which is largely a “yes”) and whether businesses and device makers are ready to put them to use, which is largely dependent on whether they see demand from their own customers, clientele or citizens.
We closed with a panel of executives to talk about where we are and where we’re going. The consensus is that no single technology or architecture is about to dominate in the world of strong, convenient authentication. Therefore, solutions providers must be prepared to support all channels and form factors. I, myself, think that future success will depend largely on marketing efforts of service providers, device makers, retailers and even automobile manufacturers. It starts with linking strong authentication with “personalization,” while making spoken words or commands a preferred method for authentication. Though the largest implementations have, thus far, been in contact centers and associated with IVR platforms, the most promising areas for growth are taking place at the edges. That means in the background (supporting passive enrollment and authentication) and at the other extreme, inside individual devices or components.
Once that sort of positioning is accomplished, you’ll see the potential for voice-based authentication to ride the coat-tails of the personal virtual assistants, automotive entertainment systems and the next generation of remote controls for home entertainment and utility systems.
Featured Research
The market for voice biometrics-based solutions has matured significantly in the past year. In this document Opus Research compares the products and strategic position of a select group of solution providers and presents structured analysis that should benefit decision makers planning to introduce speaker verification in their contact centers or on mobile devices or networks.
Featured Research Reports are available to registered users only.
Click Here to View the Report Summary
For more information on becoming an Opus Research client, please contact Pete Headrick (pheadrick@opusresearch.net).
Enterprise Readiness Series: The Case for Passive, Voice-Based Authentication
Featured Research
Today’s customer authentication methods are from another age. Opus Research interviewed security and customer care professionals in Global 100 companies to learn about their perception and attitudes toward passive authentication of customers using voice. Respondents provided insights into the value of multi-factor authentication and provided “key success factors” for implementing strong, context-aware authentication without burdening customers with passwords or answers to challenge questions.
This report is made available courtesy of NICE Systems. Click here to view the report summary. Contact Pete Headrick (pheadrick@opusresearch.net) to receive a copy
For more information on becoming an Opus Research client, please contact Pete Headrick (pheadrick@opusresearch.net).
A new generation of voice biometrics is being deployed in call centers. Technological advancements now enable “passive” authentication with high levels of accuracy, which overcomes historical challenges to customer adoption of voice authentication.
This free webinar will help you understand how new technologies deliver a better call center customer experience and how major financial institutions are implementing passive voice biometrics for customer authentication and fraud detection.
What you’ll learn:
- A primer on “passive voice biometrics” highlighting enrollment & verification
- Underlying new technologies: Passive operation, dual screening, multi-factor analysis
- Real-world field implementations showing business results and performance metrics
Who should attend:
- Executives and managers in customer care and call centers who want to know alternatives for strong, convenient user authentication
- Experts in information security and access control
- Fraud and risk management specialists
Speakers:
- Vipul Vyas, VP of Client Development – Victrio
- Joe Schmid, VP, Product Management of Authentication Solutions – Victrio
- Derek Top, Editorial Director – Opus Research
Live Webcast: Fulfilling the Promise of Voice Authentication – The Passive Approach
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 — 2 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. PST
Register at BrightTalk or Sign Up Below to join the Webcast
Financial Services Roundtable Highlights Program at Voice Biometrics Conference San Francisco
By popular demand, Opus Research will convene a roundtable of panelists from Vanguard, Union Bank and Bank of the West at the upcoming Voice Biometrics Conference-San Francisco (May 8-9). Banks and financial services providers have been among the first to evaluate, pilot and implement voice biometrics-based authentication systems for both internal and customer-facing resources.
The panelists will share their viewpoints based on years of experience balancing security considerations with issues surrounding customer experience, employee education, technological compatibilities and return on investment.
The list of panelists include: Ken Palla, Vice President of Union Bank; David Pollino, Fraud Prevention Officer from Bank of the West; and Advait Deshpande, Sr. Manager of Client Services at Vanguard Securities. Collectively, they have decades of experience and represent a 360-degree view of the challenges and opportunities that voice biometrics-based technologies present to the financial services community.
Additionally, PayPal chief information security officer Michael Barrett, a respected security industry executive and well-known for his ground-breaking work in identity management, will present an opening keynote at VBC San Francisco (#VBCSF), highlighting a need for stronger authentication for electronic commerce and mobile banking . Barrett is also the current president for the FIDO Alliance — a consortium of e-commerce technology and service providers promoting a standards-based, open protocol for online authentication. Following’s Barrett’s presentation, representatives from Google, Agnitio, Validity and Nok Nok Labs will participate in interactive panel discussion on how new technologies, including voice biometrics, represent current alternatives to passwords.
The conference features a roster of 30 speakers from around the world. They are prepared to describe the potential for voice biometrics to enhance the quality of customer experience and security for telecommunications, healthcare, government services and mobile commerce, in addition to financial services.
Sponsors for VBC San Francisco include: Nuance, NICE Systems, IBM, VoiceVault, Voxeo, Agnitio, Sestek, SpeechPro, VoiceTrust, Sensory, Inc., TRUSTID, Pindrop Security and Victrio.
With mobile banking clearly on the rise — upwards to one billion users by 2017, according to one study by Juniper Research — the need for strong, secure transactions has never been greater.
To help provide critical security for billions of financial transactions, VoiceVault announced today the global availability of a smartphone and tablet application (for both Android and iOS) tapping voice biometrics as part of a multifactor authentication process for securing commercial banking ACH payments and wire transfers.
The simultaneous launch of the app in 40 countries points to growing international acceptance to voice biometrics in mobile applications. Given the complexities of regional compliance and stringent international privacy requirements for financial institutions, the announcement was no small feat. “This is the first voice biometric mobile application that has obtained global regulatory acceptance and this has been achieved while maintaining very stringent accuracy levels demanded by the financial services industry,” said Julia Webb, VP of Sales and Marketing for VoiceVault in the statement.
Indeed, voice-based authentication for mobile banking appears to be gaining momentum. Noted in an article last fall from American Banker, “banks have done a 180″ in terms of their attitudes toward voice biometrics.
At the time, mobile security platform provider InAuth released SDKs to support fraud prevention and imposter detection by monitoring and risk-scoring mobile devices and their users. Said Mike Patterson, CEO of InAuth in the release: “Mobile applications are the most vulnerable access point for fraud and advanced cyber threats as most financial institutions’ mobile security is far behind that of their solutions and strategies for preventing and mitigating PC-based attacks.”
Also last year, Nuance Communications announced a partnership with Chennai-based Uniphore Software Systems to bring voice biometric-based authentication to mobile banking throughout India, involving an integration at five Indian banks.