Augmented identity could be need of the hour as the world goes contactless

Even as the world is becoming digital, protecting your identity has become more important than ever. Knowingly or unknowingly we are sharing way too much on the internet. The challenge is to keep your identity safe and secure. We all are aware of the repercussions of the failure to do so.

IDEMIA, a France-based technology company, is experimenting with a new way to protect users’ identity. Touted as “Augmented Identity”, the solution aims to guarantee an identity that is secure, authenticated, and verifiable. The idea is to ensure only you can be you. The solution also encompasses biometrics, which itself has seen an evolution from touch-based to a contactless.

“The full potential of augmented identity is yet to unfold. The public and private sectors are driving their growing usage. In our increasingly connected world, biometrics stands as one of the key enablers of securing digital transformation. Today, the central focus of the biometric industry is to protect our identity and improve security for all of us, as only with biometrics ‘ONLY YOU CAN BE YOU’,” said Sanjeev Shriya, India Regional President, IDEMIA in an interview with Hindustan Times.

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IDEMIA is also leveraging cutting edge solutions to further develop augmented reality solutions.

“Biometrics have also seeped into government enrolment mechanisms in various identity documents. In the last few years, new age technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have expanded the width and fast forwarded the development of augmented identity solutions making it more accurate, faster, and secured. Neural network, Machine Learning, Data analytics are some of the branches of AI that play a vital role in improving the science behind biometric technology,” he added.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has also forced the traditional biometrics to evolve. The touch-based biometrics may soon be replaced by contactless solutions. India biometrics market stood at $ 778 million in 2016 and is forecasted to exhibit a CAGR of 26% through 2022, on account of the growing number of government initiatives, increasing internet and smartphone penetration, rising demand for security and protection against identity theft, data loss, etc, according to a TechSci Research.

“In the post Covid era as economies around the globe will begin the careful process of reopening their borders to foreign visitors, contactless biometric solutions will indeed gain popularity for the increased safety and security which they can offer over traditional methods that tend to require far more contact amongst both people and commonly touched surfaces,” he explained.