HyprKey Rolls Out Biometric Three-Factor Authentication For All Bluetooth Devices
Two-factor authentication is an industry standard pushed widely by the Bitcoin community over the past few years. Most users are pressured to secure their funds and accounts to the maximum degree as it’s their money and their responsibility.
Hyprkey is stepping up the industry standard with their biometric tokens based on three-factor authentication. At only the size of a nicotine patch, the HYPR-3 sticker reportedly secures and authorizes everything with a fingerprint.
In a recent press release, CEO of Hypr Corp George Avetisov laid out a vision for the future of the extra level in security:
“We seek to end fraud by making it possible for the world to use three-factor authentication seamlessly with any and all identity-based applications. The HyprKey app is our first phase in replacing currently flawed software-based two-factor authentication with biometric-token based three-factor authentication. We seek to enlighten users on the benefits of such a protocol, the most immediate being convenience and the most pertinent being the elimination of cyber fraud.”
HyprKey Looking to Replace Passwords Altogether
According to HyprKey, the HYPR-3 token can attach to a Bluetooth-enabled device to replace passwords entirely. The protocol supposedly prevents identity thefts caused by malware and hackers by utilizing the biometric technology.
Beginning in November, the New York startup plans to launch the first step in a larger mobile payment protocol. HyprKey looks to replace password entry entirely by combining “something I have, something I am and something I know” to replace the password process.
Bojan Simic, the HyperKey CTO and architect of the proprietary software, also chimed in on the benefits of taking a step in the company’s direction.
“By logging in with the HyprKey app, users are able to eliminate the threat of hacking through malware, viruses, and compromised networks. We don’t want to tell users how to generate and store their passwords, but we do want to change the way they enter their passwords.”
What is Three-Factor Authentication?
Most bitcoin users know and understand two-factor authentication. First, you have ownership over a password to log into the website. Second, the service sends you an email or a text message, confirming your login. For a few years, this process looked to be the industry standard until a more secure way of commerce emerged. In fact, most consumers still believe two-factor authentication is the best way to protect with the current technology.
These are normally great for website logins, but the big question is how to prove your identity at the point of sale. With the current banking system, merchants are supposed to verify your credit card name with your driver’s license of identification card. Unfortunately, this system is not in place for Bitcoin transactions.
HyprKey solves the authentication problem by providing the HYPR-3 patch. After users stick it to a Bluetooth-enabled device, they authorize payments with their fingerprint. It takes something I am (their biometric data) and combines it with something I have (the HYPR-3 sticker) and something I know (their numeric PIN).
The fingerprint swipe unlocks HyprKey’s encrypted token generation, which then transmits an encrypted token to their pin-locked mobile device via Bluetooth technology. The mobile device then transmits the requestion as a one-way beacon to the cloud, and a digital wallet transaction is authorized, according to the HyprKey explanation on their website.
What do you think of HyprKey and three-factor authentication? Comment below!
Images from HyprKey and Shutterstock.
