Face as password and data breach control: biometric identification in information systems with Id-Logon
In recent years biometric technologies have become increasingly common in daily life and various sectors of the economy and business. Traditionally, the primary task of biometrics remains to ensure physical security. However, in today’s data-driven world, protecting information assets is equally important. The Id-Logon software product by RecFaces provides a powerful biometric identification solution that secures access to information systems, bridging physical and security needs.
With Id-Logon, organizations can perform access checks via facial recognition, using a webcam installed on any computer or mobile device to authenticate users against stored biometric profiles. Based on the results of the verification, a person is either authorized in the enterprise system or is denied in access. This process enables seamless access control to enterprise systems while minimizing data breach risks.
In this article, we explore how Id-Logon addresses common information security gaps and look at use cases that highlight its benefits.
Table of contents
- Fewer passwords – higher security
- Enhanced third party protection and access setting
- Additional functions – additional protection
- Additional benefits of Id-Logoon
- Expanding use cases: from business centers to critical industries
Fewer passwords – higher security
Using too simple easily guessed or commonly used passwords is one of the main “headaches” of information security specialists. Many passwords fail breach tests, exposing accounts to hackers who can swiftly crack simple combinations. Studies show that 85% corporate accounts lack sufficient breach protection, affecting companies of all sizes.
In most cases, corporate password policies often cause inconveniences for employees. With the aim to secure corporate systems, organizations are putting forward increasingly rigid password conditions. Complex combinations of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters – few people can remember at least one such password. So, when passwords are changed with fixed periodicity, on systematic memorized even the brain of people with good memory “breaks”.
As the result, employees have one way: to write passwords down on a piece of paper. At best, a person keeps this piece of paper around in the future, and at worst, right at the computer for all people to see. The security information policy of a company loses miserably to the trivial human element.
Id-Logon allows you to secure your organization’s information systems by introducing password-free biometric user identification. Face authentication streamlines access, removing the risk of password theft or hacking, thereby eliminating the threat of unauthorized entry into the corporate system. At the same time, the software solution also provides the function of notifying security personnel about an attempt to log in to the account by a third party.
Id-Logon not only provides a high level of authenticity of identification, but also eradicates the need to remember complex passwords. This means that it makes the procedure convenient and fast for company employees.
Enhanced third party protection and access setting
Obviously, no one spends 100% of their working time in front of a computer. So, when employees are away from their workplaces, they may forget to exit the system or turn off the computer, leaving it unlocked. This is another gap in the security of the company that can be exploited by intruders. Nevertheless, you can solve this problem using Id-Logon.
The software solution ensures periodic checks for the user presence at the computer. Without “finding” the employee, the system increases the frequency of checks, and after a fixed period of time automatically locks the device. In addition, if after successful biometric verification of one person at a computer their colleague or an unauthorized person starts working at that same computer, the system will promptly notify the employees of the information security department. It can also block access to all information corporate resources, if needed.
Id-Logon allows you to configure different device use cases. So, using a software solution, you can set a ban on the simultaneous presence of two or more employees at the computer or vice versa – to give the right to access the account to several employees. For this purpose, when registering in the base of biometric profiles, a person is associated with specific devices, allowing for flexible but secure access control.
Additional functions – additional protection
Working with certain information resources or conducting important operations, the usual procedure of identifying and verifying the user often is not enough. Therefore Id-Logon includes a range of added features to enhance security for sensitive operations and data:
Two-factor authentication: By combining password or PIN entry with user biometric verification, Id-Logon ensures a higher level of protection and excludes unauthorized access to the system, even if a password is compromised.
Data breach control: Id-Logon can work seamlessly with Data Loss Prevention (DLP) systems. By registering suspicious activity or performing certain operations, the DLP-system initiates an additional biometric verification of the user in the background. If the presence of an unauthorized person at the device is confirmed, Id-Logon alerts the security team.
Identity confirmation for key operations: When certain enterprise operations require extra identity confirmation, Id-Logon starts additional active verification of a person, ensuring that only authorized users can perform critical tasks. The system also logs verification data, creating a reliable audit trail, which allows you to check when and who carried out a particular operation.
Additional benefits of Id-Logon
Beyond improved data security through biometric identification and flexible access rights settings, Id-Logon provides organizations a number of other advantages:
1. Mobility
Id-Logon allows you to verify and identify users not only on desktop computers, but also on mobile devices: tablets and smartphones. This function is especially useful for mobile employees and for those who work remotely to access secure systems seamlessly.
2. Quick and easy setup
Installation of Id-Logon takes approximately 20 minutes. Its open API enables integration with various information systems. Service devices are equipped with a biometric authentication application and biometric sensors, so it’s compatible with standard and advanced webcams for flexibility in diverse environments.
3. Integration with key directory services
Id-Logon has advanced integration with Microsoft Active Directory. If it is necessary, the product can also be integrated with LDAP directories, such as Oracle Internet Directory and IBM Tivoli Internet Directory Server.
Deep integration with directory services allows you to expand the functionality of classic biometric verification authentication systems “by face” and further increase the level of information security of the organization.
4. Violation analytics
The facial biometric software solution Id-Logon allows you to generate comprehensive reports on user authentication in enterprise systems and maintain statistics on detected security violations. It enables organizations to analyze incidents and trends by device or user group. So, you can analyze violations by a specific group of devices or by a certain device. Also, it is possible to check the data on the type of violations of interest.
5. Rapid authentication
Average authentication time to verify access rights by face is under 1.5 seconds, which provides fast and efficient access control.
6. Reliable facial recognition algorithms
Id-Logon’s facial recognition algorithm performs accurately even in challenging conditions (e.g., poor lighting or when users wear masks). The probability of providing access to a third party (false positive event) is less than 0.0001%, and access denial of an authorized employee (false negative event) is no more than 3%.
7. Protection against illegal photo access (Liveness detection)
Id-Logon completely excludes the risks of providing access to the company device to third parties, even if they use photos or videos of a person with access rights. For this purpose, the software solution provides advanced Liveness detection algorithm, which ensures that access is gained only by an authorized employee.
Expanding use cases: from business centers to critical industries
We witness that password-free biometric authentication in enterprise systems not only allows you to achieve a higher level of information security, but also makes the procedure more convenient for end users. Therefore, in a broad sense, the Id-Logon facial biometric software solution can be useful to any company, regardless of the field and number of people in the staff.
However, for some organizations the use of biometric authentication in the short term should become ubiquitous and obligatory tool for ensuring information security. First of all, we are talking about companies operating in high-security industries, including finance, energy, and industrial sectors.
1. Financial sector
For banks, improvement of data protection mechanisms today is critical due to high rates of cybercrime and the development of information attack technologies. In addition, the work of banks implies a large number of different operations in different areas, which also requires the introduction of a wide range of appropriate solutions in information security.
In this case, biometric authentication offers essential protection, allowing banks to stay ahead of emerging cyber threats.
2. Energy and industrial facilities
At energy plants and industrial facilities, the focus is not on administrative staff working in the central office or department, but on-site staff. It goes without saying that the consequences of violations in these industries are not only reputational or financial, but can also lead to serious emergencies. Thus, the absence of a dispatcher, operator or employee of security service in the workplace during an emergency situation at a nuclear or thermal power plant is fraught with destruction of the strategic infrastructure of cities and regions, an environmental disaster, a threat to the life and health of the population.
In this case, biometric authentication helps ensure that only authorized personnel are present at the moment, protecting operational safety and reducing risk.
3. Business centers
Increasingly, business centers are adopting password-free biometric authentication. For example, Id-Logon was successfully implemented in the office space of the new generation of MULTIPACE by the Pridex Group. This software solution integrated with other RecFaces’ products enables seamless access of employees to the entire office space infrastructure, when employees do not need to remember passwords or carry access cards during their stay in the business center.
Entrance to the building, receiving services, booking meeting rooms, authorization at the working computer – all these actions are implemented using facial recognition technology.
The introduction of Id-Logon allows organizations to ensure reliable and fast access of employees to enterprise systems, confirm important operations using additional biometric authentication, limit access of unauthorized persons to company devices, and monitor the presence of employees in the workplace, offering robust protection and convenience.
