Biometrics-as-a-service provider HYPR Corp. today announced the general availability of its biometric tokenization platform.
Biometric authentication, which includes fingerprint, facial and voice recognition, has become increasingly popular following numerous data breaches that involved compromised passwords. However, developers and users are concerned about the risks associated with storing user data on a centralized server.
HYPR wants to help organizations address these concerns by making its Biometric Tokenization SDK available for third party integration.
Tokenization is the process in which sensitive information is replaced with a randomly generated unique token or symbol. By using tokens instead of the actual information, the risk of theft is reduced considerably because the data is useless if it’s intercepted or accessed by malicious actors.
The HYPR SDK is designed to allow developers to implement secure biometric authentication in any application. Mobile and desktop client libraries, and server-side software included in the SDK ensure that user data is stored securely on the device, while only a tokenized version is transmitted across the Internet.
Companies that want to use the HYPR SDK don’t have to replace their existing authentication scheme, HYPR noted. The solution, which works like an “add-on,” adds biometric authentication compatibility to existing infrastructure.
The HYPR SDK is designed to combine the security provided by advanced public key cryptography with the convenience of using a mobile biometric device, HYPR said. Another advantage of the platform is that it gives organizations full control of how their partners, employees and customers use biometric authentication.
“When we started building the HYPR platform, there was one device on the market with a fingerprint reader. By the end of 2016, analysts project over a billion biometric-enabled devices will be in Internet users’ hands. We’re ensuring that companies are utilizing those biometric devices the right way, and that user data is kept safe,” said George Avetisov, CEO of HYPR Corp.
Avetisov says the solution is already used by banks, mobile wallets and Bitcoin platforms, and the company has also been working with IoT developers, healthcare providers, and streaming content platforms to help them deploy biometric authentication.
Related: PCI Security Standards Council Releases Tokenization Product Guidelines
Related: Benefits and Challenges of Tokenization for Securing Transaction Data
Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a contributing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.
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