BiometricsVoice biometrics solves PINs-related security problems

Published 15 July 2008

Survey shows that bank customers are worried that PINs, passwords, and security questions may not be the most viable ways of identifying individuals when it comes to accessing their details; researchers say voice biometrics is the solution

A recent study by SpeechStorm found that the majority of consumers are worried that PINs, passwords, and security questions may not be the most viable ways of identifying individuals when it comes to accessing their details. Over half (61 percent) of those polled said that they were concerned that these may not be the most secure forms of verification.
University of Ulster head of voice authentication research Professor Michael McTear said that voice recognition software could be one solution. “It is imperative that banks should be encouraged to provide an effective and easy-to-use method for additional security. Voice authentication provides such a method,” he said. “The customer is not required to enter complicated sequences of numbers and letters but simply answers a few questions in their normal voice. Voice biometrics is an effective and reliable technology for authenticating valid customers and, more importantly, for rejecting ‘impostors’ whose voice does not match the customer’s voiceprint.”

Professor McTear was speaking in reference to banking verification but the same technology could be used in other lines of business where companies must verify the identification of clients who require access to their accounts.