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Each user has a slightly different way in which he/she subconsciously responds to this
challenge. Invisible challenges measure multiple response attributes, including the pressure
applied to the smartphone, which hand is used, response time, correction path, correction

patterns, and speed and trajectory of the mouse or finger movements.

In addition to authentication, cognitive biometrics is also used to detect behavior consistent
with known threats and fraudsters. The concept is the same. First, the known threat behavior
is profiled. Then, each user session is compared against a list of known criminal behaviors,
such as Automated Scripts, Malware/Bot/Man-in-the-Browser attacks and Remote Access
Attacks (RATs).

Since cognitive biometrics doesn’t depend on user responses like traditional authentication
measures, each person has a distinct biometric signature which cannot be matched by
anyone else or by an automated process, and it is nearly impossible to duplicate. While no
individual cognitive response can identify a user alone, when piled together it creates a
unique user profile.

Beyond improving end-user experience and the obvious monetary savings, using this type of
authentication can help banks achieve a much greater goal – expand business and drive
revenue. To maintain a competitive edge, banks and eCommerce sites need to continually
introduce new products and services, in particular, in their Web and mobile applications.
However, adding new service and functionality (e.g. mobile wallets, peer-to-peer payments)
to the online channels exposes the organization to new risks that cannot be mitigated with
existing security controls without significant impact on user experience. By layering
cognitive biometric analysis on top of existing security controls, organizations can generate
more business without accepting more risk.

As the inefficiencies of traditional authentication methods continue to be highlighted with
major breaches and continued friction for end-users, costing businesses millions of dollars a
year, we are seeing a significant shift towards cognitive biometrics which better protects
companies online and offers a more user-friendly experience for customers.

About the Author

Oren Kedem is the VP of Product Management at BioCatch. He brings over 15 years of
experience in product management in the areas of Web Fraud Detection and Enterprise
Security. Prior to joining BioCatch, Oren served as Director of Product Marketing at Trusteer
(now part of IBM) and led the Anti-fraud eCommerce solution at RSA (now part of EMC). He
also served at various product marketing and management positions at BMC covering the
Identify and Access Management and System's Management solutions. Oren can be
reached online at [email protected] and at our company website
www.biocatch.com.

33 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – July 2014 Edition
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