Liveness Detection Technology: Tool in Combating Cyber Fraud

Digital onboarding and passwordless authentication have become widely adopted, especially with the advancement of online transaction technology. However, it has also come with the downside of an increase in fraud. Fraudsters are coming up with creative ways to beat the system, causing a rise in fear and the mass embrace of liveness detection technology. 
 

Nevertheless, in between service providers working round the clock to perfect their solutions and a perfect product in itself, the market is still missing a few components to cater to ever-growing needs. Liveness detection technology has conveniently addressed concerns, while others still require some dotting of i’s and crossing of t’s.

Why is Cyber Fraud Prevalent in Today’s Digital Market?

Cyber fraud is prevalent today largely due to the robust digital ecosystem created by technology. The more digitized the process, the more possibilities there are for an external breach. For a fact, manual processes cannot be hacked as opposed to digital ones, however, their extremely time-consuming and expensive nature makes it impossible for modern-day processes to remain at that level. 
 

Ideally, a non-digital environment greatly limits fraud - for example, a fraudster walking into a bank would find it difficult to open accounts with 3 different government IDs or driver’s licenses, all containing different photos and names. On the other hand, a digital account opening platform, for all its convenience makes it easier for fraudsters to spoof identities and perpetrate fraudulent transactions.
 

This has caused an endless struggle between financial institutions and fraudsters with both constantly trying to stay ahead of the other. The result is a colossal increase in the demand for more secure verification technology, of which biometrics, precisely facial recognition, leads the market. This technology can confirm a user’s identity based on facial features which could be presented using a device that has a camera. 
 

However, facial recognition itself is not insulated from spoofing. A good example of an instance is when a fraudster steals a high-resolution image of a customer as well as their other personal data, using such information to pass the recognition test. Addressing this unreliability is where liveness detection enters the fray.

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Why The Demand For Liveness Detection?

Liveness detection is the ability to leverage technology in detecting the user’s live presence at the point of capture. This is done in order to determine if it's a real individual or a fake representation. It solves the problem of spoofing facial recognition. Liveness detection technology possesses capabilities like 3D image mapping, motion detection, multi-frame image processing and more compared to facial recognition.
 

This makes it harder to beat, as it could work alongside or separate from the identity verification process as an extra layer of security. Liveness detection is a very excellent way to prevent unauthorized access and is useful for several processes like loan applications. Its reliability and extra layer of security has made it one of the fastest-growing technology markets in the identity verification industry. 

 However, from performance loopholes to competition from service providers and process friction, there are still apparent challenges preventing the technology from being dominant. 

 

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Understanding Today’s Market: The How and Why Liveness Detection is on A Constant Growth

According to verified market research by biometrics update, the total biometrics global market is expected to witness significant growth, with estimated figures reaching $127.32 billion by 2030. Most of these projections are based on the market penetration of industries with high customer onboarding requirements. Ideally, this refers to financial institutions and government firms.  
 

The banking and financial payment industry's constant need to secure their customers and satisfy compliance has acted as a propeller for the adoption of this technology. Government firms, on the other hand, have facilitated the adoption of this technology, especially through biometric passport initiatives and electronic IDs (dIDs). Presently, 50 of 54 African nations currently offer biometric passports.  
 

As a business, adding an extra layer of liveness security check is an effective way to limit the activities of fraudsters. Top financial institutions around the world today like banks, currently make use of this technology during customer onboarding and loan applications and as a form of multifactor authentication for strategic transactions and access to customer data.  

 

Are There Any Challenges and Limitations to Liveness Detection Technology? 

Of course, wherever there is potential, there also exist challenges and limitations. However, these challenges could stand as an opportunity to serve the market better or hinder it depending on how well service providers address them. They include: 
 

1. Data:

Data remains one of the most pressing issues regarding liveness detection technology. There have long been standing concerns over the fact that most AI-operated biometric technologies do not have access to enough training data. 
 

This lack of data can cause accuracy gaps in the biometric verification process when identifying users' features like skin tone, gender, age and more. A good example of this is seen in a report by MIT News, in which a study found gender and skill type bias in commercial artificial intelligence systems. 
 

2. Level of Accuracy:

Liveness detection technology is still relatively new, as service providers are constantly updating their AI to provide more accurate results while reducing the time spent by users. This technology would certainly take time to perfect. 
 

3. Seamlessness

Lack of data and accuracy are not the only problems facing biometric verification. In today’s world, customer patience is slim as no one likes any extra bit beyond what is mandated. Customers always want the process to be as smooth and seamless as possible and a micro-second stutter could mean the difference between a new customer and a drop-off during onboarding. The presence of friction could stall digital onboarding processes more than they facilitate them. 

 

Bottom Line 

Although Liveness detection is possibly the future of biometric authentication, the technology remains rough at the edges. A service provider like Youverify remains committed to constantly testing and updating its liveness detection authentication feature with the right data to improve accuracy. At the moment, this service is used by global financial institutions and startups for more robust security.   

Nevertheless, liveness detection, the future of biometric verification for KYC onboarding and authentication remains on track to become one of the most secure forms of verification in the fight against money laundering and countering terrorist financing.
 

See how 100+ global institutions use YV OS for liveness detection during KYC and AML screening of customers for compliance and real-time risk detection. Request a demo today.