Patent Showcases Cognitive Biometrics

There are plenty of opinions and theories on the best way to move past passwords and into an era of strong authentication—and biometrics are one key piece of the conversation. A new patent for technology that extracts cognitive parameters from the interaction between a user and a device shows that it’s not all about retina scans and fingerprint sensors, either.

The US Patent Office has granted BioCatch a patent entitled “Device, system, and method for detecting user identity based on motor control loop model,” which provides biometric accuracy and continuous user authentication by combining unique cognitive, motor, behavioral, physiological and anatomical parameters.

In other words, rather than requiring users to authenticate themselves to their connected devices with a username and password, BioCatch’s technology authenticates them based on their unique cognitive parameters and the way they interact with their devices.

This means that authentication incorporates physiological factors, such as press-size, hand tremor and hand-eye coordination; cognitive traits, such as usage preferences and device interaction patterns; and contextual factors, including device ID, device preference, network access and geolocation.

This overcomes in theory one of the main objections facing biometrics: the ability to be mimicked. Fingerprints can be replicated in latex, as the iPhone TouchID hacks demonstrated; and facial recognition cameras can be fooled by photographs. The BioCatch technology instead provides a multi-layered user profile that is based on that user’s unique behavior – which cannot be lost or stolen, and is much harder to imitate.

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