The importance of identity checks is driven home to us in reel life. You can see Jason Bourne, James Bond, and many a hero and villain in spy and crime thrillers. They are seen manipulating identity papers, breaking into electronically secured doors, hacking systems, and crossing borders with false identity documents. Forging documents is an old trade. It has worried security establishments, bankers, financiers, business people, and individuals.
One of my earliest brushes with electronic security systems goes back to the early years of the last decade. We pursued the ambitious UK E borders advanced passenger information project in Tata Consultancy Services. Since then, security technology has evolved and greatly improved.
Identity Check options
Technology now enables us to detect document fraud in just a few seconds. Scanning systems supported by powerful algorithms can detect manipulations of images. High-speed data transmission has made it possible for us to send and receive documents all across the globe.
Data is now routinely sent across networks in an encrypted format. It makes it difficult for hackers to hack, decode, steal, and misuse the data in transit. Applications are no longer needed to be installed on every device. These can be downloaded from the cloud. Updating and maintenance of such cloud-based systems can be done conveniently.
Document handling costs have dropped with the induction of this technology. Processing has become faster. If the system runs autonomously, cost savings due to a reduced workforce will increase. Such systems will eliminate the risk of human errors and omissions. Faster processing will also mean an enhanced ability to handle larger volumes of data, higher process efficiency, and better margins.
Financial fraud is a major challenge faced today by banks and financial services providers. The financial services industry has tried to protect itself by bringing checks at multiple levels. Checking customer identity is one such check. Customers need to carry identity documents in original and get these verified in person before being permitted to open an account, receive a loan, and avail of other critical services.
Use cases
Loans, investments, opening bank accounts, obtaining a new telephone connection, a driving license, and many other transactions and access to various services require a KYC (Know Your Customer) document check. In many countries, KYC verification is mandatory.
Identity verification has become all the more critical in light of the threat from terrorists, infiltrators, and impersonators. Security organizations have been obliged to take on more staff to conduct physical document checks.
The people and transactions requiring identity document checks are particularly high at border control points and banks. An automated system that does away with the human interface will reduce staffing costs. It will enable faster turnaround, reduced waiting time, and enhanced customer satisfaction.
Banks and financial services are taking place increasingly online. Customers prefer the convenience of their homes and offices to conduct business. If the KYC process can be completed remotely, that will be a huge customer convenience.
The Solution
To understand the developments in security technology, I got down to chatting with Ofer Friedman, Vice President of Au10tix Limited, a Cypress-registered company. Au10tix is a subsidiary of ICTS International. ICTS International is a NASDAQ-listed security firm founded by intelligence, military, and security experts.
Au10tix’s team of electronic security experts is based out of Israel. This team has developed document verification technology proprietary to the company. With the help of the system, identity documents are scanned and verified. Documents can be submitted to the system both in physical and electronic format. The company claims that physical copies are checked, authenticated, and confirmed on a fully autonomous system in just ten seconds.
The system can check and process documents sent from remote locations digitally. Authentication is done over the cloud. The system can verify and map documents against hot lists, anti-terrorist and other databases. It makes the process robust and comprehensive.
Friedman told me that the solution could detect inconsistencies in a document, like seeing a forged picture and manipulating the text. Most other systems, he said, can only detect image fraud. Au10tix system can identify manipulations to a text too.
The application can work standalone. It can also be integrated into an existing solution. For example, the system can be combined with a current banking solution if deployed in a bank. Integrated, the entire system can operate seamlessly. Friedman states that this is an integrated API portal-based solution. However, full integration will require writing some code to perform seamlessly with an integrated banking solution.
Document processing and authentication, as mentioned earlier, are done in a virtual private cloud environment providing an extra layer of security. When asked if the solution could be deployed on a standalone server located within an organization, Friedman replied in the affirmative. Such capability becomes relevant for clients with intelligence, national security, and the military.
A geopolitical or security threat is always close for such clients. Installing the system in a server on location becomes a critical requirement. According to the Au10tix website, the system can be integrated with biometric readers, barcode readers, magnetic strip and chip readers, signature pads, etc.
Friedman claims that the Auto10tix solution is unique and comparative solutions are unavailable in the market. The algorithm, the company website claims, has machine learning capability. The application is said to be available in multiple languages.
The next steps
In the future, Au10tix technology, probably with modifications, can be used to verify larger businesses and other documents. These, too, are subject to manipulation for monetary and other purposes. We will likely see more updates and refinements in the future. Even in its current state, it is a very useful solution appropriate to the need as it existed today in 2016.