Wednesday, October 11, 2006

More On TrueMe and UPEK

"Biometrics, properly applied, would seem to be the answer to this troubling user security problem. As a result the TrueMe service enters a market in dire need of the capability it provides." -Rob Enderle, Principal Analyst for the Enderle Group.

TrueMe offers UPEK secure on-demand biometric authentication service over the Internet UPEK, Inc. has announced that its biometric solutions have now been extended to the Internet. This hardware and software offering is being utilized by the new TrueMe(tm) service, a secure on-demand biometric authentication service available over the Internet.

A San Francisco, Calif.-based integrated biometric authentication solutions provider, Pay By Touch Inc., has introduced TrueMe, a biometric authentication service delivered over the Internet.

The solution aims to solve the issue of password protection and management, not to mention credit card fraud and identity theft, in a world where RSA Security said password security and management is considered problematic at 88 percent of organizations it surveyed in recent months

Information about the user's finger is encrypted inside the finger sensor and combined with the unique device ID before it is sent to the TrueMe authentication servers.
The user's information is never exposed to the computer operating system or the public Internet.

The TrueMe authentication servers then decrypt and process the information, authenticate the user, and ensure he or she is authorized to use the specified device. The user's authenticated identity is sent through a secure connection to the website or service that the customer is trying to access. If the person is identified as an authorized user, he or she is immediately granted access.

TrueMe could also enable businesses to provide customers, partners, and employees with secure, authenticated access to their computers, desktop applications and password-protected Web sites and services such as banking and Internet service providers (ISPs). The solution's protection also extends to enterprise applications like Salesforce.com's no-demand business services, officials said.

With the TrueMe service, the data on the computer can be protected with the same finger sensor used for online authentication. In addition, multiple users can share the same computer by registering their individual fingers on the TrueMe sensor without compromising security, the company said.

"TrueMe brings the security and protection of our industry-leading biometric services to the Internet for the first time, providing a new layer of privacy and convenience to PC users everywhere," said Jon Siegal, executive vice president, Pay By Touch. "A recent Visa survey says consumers are more concerned about the loss of personal and financial data than they are over terrorism.

"Clearly this is an issue of concern to consumers and businesses alike. Our solution provides greater security and benefits to both the user and businesses than other solutions out there, and it does so without expecting the user to jump hoops all to get perhaps minimally better security than what is presently offered."


To that end, Salesforce.com, PC maker Lenovo, (who bought IBM) and biometric security solutions provider UPEK are among the first providers supported by TrueMe. TrueMe has certified the integrated finger sensors on the Lenovo ThinkPad T60 and X60.

Pay By Touch also announced that it has teamed with UPEK to offer a TrueMe-branded and certified USB finger sensor for users that do not have sensors built-in to their PCs.

The company is also certifying millions of UPEK sensors that are already embedded in laptops and USB devices. TrueMe uses secure hardware to provide finger-to-server security, greatly reducing identity theft threats, such as phishing and Trojan horse attacks.

Our vision has always been for our authentication technology to evolve from securing the device to securing the network to securing the service," said Alan Kramer, CEO, UPEK.

"Our success protecting computers and networks has laid the foundation for protecting the Internet experience, and
we are delighted to deepen our collaboration with Pay By Touch as they expand from innovating how transactions occur in stores to innovating how transactions occur online."

"We are working with UPEK to drive a fundamental paradigm shift in the way people prove and secure their identities online," stated Jon Siegal, Executive Vice President, Pay By Touch.

"The hardware-based security architecture under UPEK's sensors is ideal for our TrueMe service, and we are pleased to be working together to launch the industry's first on-demand biometric authentication service."

"We've known for decades that usernames and passwords are neither secure nor convenient enough to protect a user's identity or a company's assets", said Rob Enderle, Principal Analyst for the Enderle Group.

"Biometrics, properly applied, would seem to be the answer to this troubling user security problem. As a result the TrueMe service enters a market in dire need of the capability it provides."