An Introduction To Voice Biometrics

An Introduction to Voice
Biometrics
VoiceTrust Whitepaper
Top 10 Call Center Trends for 2014
Page 2 www.voicetrust.com
An Introduction to Voice Biometrics
Table of Contents
Introduction: The State of Fraud and Identity Theft ............................................. 3
What is Voice Biometrics? ................................................................................... 3
How Security is Compromised Today .................................................................. 4
Security Risks of Various Authentication Methods .............................................. 6
The Three Biggest Adopters of Voice Biometrics ................................................ 7
Solutions for Fraud Prevention and Strong Authentication .................................. 8
The Benefts of Voice Biometrics ....................................................................... 10
About VoiceTrust ............................................................................................... 12
Introduction: The State of Fraud and Identity Theft
Identity theft and fraud are on the rise, with at least 44 million
personal records compromised around the world in 2012. Over
$50 billion is lost each year because of identity theft, with banks,
insurance companies, and healthcare providers being the most
heavily affected industries.

Organizations still use passwords, security questions, and PINs to
authenticate their customers. This approach offers weak protection
against fraudsters that use stolen personal information to gain
unauthorized access to accounts. Voice biometrics is being used to
counter this threat with strong authentication to combat fraud and
makes identity verifcation more convenient for customers.

This whitepaper takes a closer look at voice biometrics, how it is being used across various
industries, and why it offers more secure identity verifcation than knowledge-based authentication
approaches.
What is Voice Biometrics?
Voice biometrics verifes a persons identity by analyzing hundreds
of voice characteristics, which are more unique to an individual
than a fngerprint.

It compares a persons voice with their voiceprint, a previously
recorded representation of their voice, to confrm or deny their
identity.

Voice authentication is commonly deployed as an additional
security layer, especially for organizations targeted by fraud rings
including banks, insurance companies, and healthcare providers.
It provides stronger authentication than a knowledge-based
approach by verifying people based on who they are, as opposed
to what they know.
How Widespread is It?

Gartner estimates that there were at least 150 million voice verifcations in 2012 in the
commercial space, with even more across government and intelligence agencies.
How Security is Compromised Today
Fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated and multiple reports from security providers including
Verizon, IBM, and Symantec show an increase in data breaches that compromise millions of personal
records each year. The section below outlines the most common ways sensitive information is stolen
by organized criminal rings to be used for identity theft.
Data Breaches

A recent Verizon report confrmed at least 44 million compromised records and 621 data breaches
worldwide in 2012. A variety of techniques such as hacking and malware are used to break into
databases and steal personal information for identity fraud. Recent high-profle breaches include
LivingSocial, LinkedIn, and EverNote where millions of names, email addresses, and passwords were
exposed. The US accounts for almost 50% of the worlds security breaches followed by the UK at 8%.
Financial organizations comprise an alarming 37% of all breaches carried out.
Sharing Credentials

Over 50% of respondents admit they have shared passwords or PINs with family members, friends,
or work colleagues. For example, family members commonly share credit cards to carry out fnancial
transactions. Work colleagues share credentials to access shared fles or specifc accounts.
Credential sharing compromises account security and allows any malicious user in possession of
these knowledge factors a 100% success rate of conducting an attack.
Phishing

Phishing tricks users into revealing personal information such as usernames, passwords, and
PINs. It usually works by sending the victim an email masquerading as a trustworthy company or
individual to lure them into providing information. Gartner estimates that 3% of targets fall victim to
phishing attacks; the most widely used social tactic by a wide margin. Global losses from phishing are
estimated at $1.5B in 2012.
Vishing

Vishing involves a fraudster calling a person on the phone to deceive them into providing private
information to be used in identity theft. It is a more sophisticated approach that commonly uses a
spoofed caller ID purporting to be from a misrepresented organization. It has a lower success rate
than phishing or brute-force attacks, but is often used when other methods are not successful.
Brute Force

Most authentication methods today rely on knowledge factors such as PINs, usernames, and
passwords to verify your identity. A 2012 study by DataGenetics examined over 3 million passwords
and revealed the security faws with knowledge-based authentication (KBA). More than 10% of the
passwords were 1234 and people commonly used their birthdays as their 4-digit PINs. This makes it
too easy for malicious individuals to compromise these accounts in the call center or online.
Security Risks of Various Authentication Methods
Biometrics such as voice, iris, fngerprint, and face offer the strongest form of identity assurance and
are superior to knowledge-based authentication approaches. The table below provides a comparison
of security vulnerabilities against fraud for voice authentication, physical tokens, and knowledge
factors such as security questions.

The ratings below correspond to how often vulnerabilities in each authentication method are
compromised:
Voice Biometrics PIN & Password Security Questions Physical Tokens
Data Breach / Theft Low Medium Medium High
Credential Sharing Low High High Medium
Brute Force Low High High Low
Social Engineering None Medium High None
Hacking Low Medium Medium Low / Medium
Phishing Low Medium Medium Low
Vishing None High High Low
High: More than 25% of the time
Medium: Between 5%-25%
Low: Less than 5%
Voice Biometrics Provides Stronger Authentication
Voice biometrics clearly provides stronger authentication than PINs, passwords, and security
questions as illustrated in the table above. It integrates as an additional security factor for
fraud prevention and risk management, or can be used as a standalone solution depending on
requirements.
Source: Opus Research
The 3 Biggest Adopters of Voice Biometrics
Financial Services

Banks and insurance companies are the most heavily hit by identity theft and
lose billions of dollars each year as a result. According to a Verizon report,
37% of all breaches in 2012 affected fnancial organizations. Three quarters
of executives at 19 of the top 40 U.S. fnancial institutions say that organized
criminal rings are the primary fraud threat in their call centers. They are using
voice authentication to combat fraud, protect customer and data privacy, and
provide faster service in the call center while maintaining higher security and
risk management standards.
Healthcare

There were 17 million breaches of patient information in 2011 according to the
Department of Health and Human Services. The economic consequences of
medical identity theft was over $40B in the US alone. High-profle breaches
including almost one million compromised personal health records at the
Utah Department of Health in 2012 continue to make mainstream headlines.
Healthcare providers use voice authentication to protect private health
information and ensure compliance with regulations such as HIPAA.

Healthcare providers are looking to secure access to electronic health records
with voice biometrics. Physicians and patients are able to remotely access
medical records with their mobile device or computer, using their voice as a
password for a more secure and convenient process.
Government

Voice authentication is being explored by governments to prevent identity
theft and corruption in payment programs such as pension funds and social
assistance programs which has the potential to save billions of dollars worldwide.
It saves citizens from a visit to a government kiosk each time they need to prove
their identity because they can authenticate from their phone.

This lowers lineups and improves back-offce effciency, protects citizens from
identity theft, and make governments more cost-effective.
VoiceTrust Solutions for Fraud Prevention and Stronger Authentication
VoiceTrusts voice authentication solutions offer a stronger and more convenient way to verify user
identity and is being deployed in an increasing number of scenarios across industries. The following
overview provides some of the more mainstream applications today.
Call Center Authentication

Voice authentication helps call centers prevent fraud and
verify the identity of their customers 20 seconds faster on
average according to Gartner. US call centers stand to save
billions of dollars with widespread adoption, considering they
spend $12.4B per year on customer verifcation alone.

Almost 75% of fnancial call centers were hit by organized
fraud rings in 2013 according to a recent Aite Group Research
report. The added layer of security that voice authentication
provides is one of the most effective ways to combat this
problem.

Customers appreciate faster service and not having to
remember PINs and passwords, helping with customer
experience metrics such as Net Promoter Score.
Financial Transactions and Payments

Voice authentication makes remote fnancial
transactions and fund transfers more secure and
immune to identity theft. The payment industry loses
more than $11B because of fraud each year and
affects issuers, merchants, and governments.

Voice biometrics makes the payment process more
convenient to buyers who no longer have to remember
multiple passwords, PINs, and security questions for
each transaction. High-risk payments and transfers are
protected with multiple authentication factors including
voice and mobile phone tokens to prevent fraud.
Automated Password Resets

IT helpdesks use voice authentication to automate employee
and customer password resets which comprise up to 30%
of support ticket volume. This provides signifcant cost
savings considering each manual reset averages $5-$15.
Helpdesks are one of the frst adopters of voice authentication
technologies and often see an ROI of less than a year.
Voice authentication can also be used to reset passwords for
online account logins such as Twitter or Google Business Apps.
In this scenario the user receives an automated phone call and
uses their voice to verify their identity. Voice fts well as part
of the multi-factor authentication strategies that are becoming
popular with online service providers.
Mobile Application Security

Three billion people will be using biometrics on their
mobile devices by 2018, generating more than $8 billion
in revenue. Voice is a more accurate form of identity
verifcation than the fngerprint scans in devices today
and is a natural ft for mobile devices.

Voice authentication provides an additional layer of
security for logging into mobile, web, and desktop
applications. It overcomes the weakness associated
with passwords and saves users the hassle of typing
long passwords and multiple security questions into
their device. The fnancial sector is an early adopter in
this area with various high-profle projects underway
to protect access to consumer and business banking
applications with voice.
The Benefts of Voice Biometrics
Voice biometrics authentication provides higher security and user convenience than other identity
verifcation methods, especially passwords and PINs. The advantages provided in this section
highlight why it is becoming a popular form of authentication.
Your Voice Cannot Be Stolen or Compromised

A voiceprint is a representation of your voice characteristics and is stored in database fle as a hashed
string of numbers and characters. A compromised voiceprint cannot be used for authentication, has
no value to hackers, and cannot be used to reverse-engineer someones voice. This makes it immune
to data breaches and theft of credentials that compromise millions of identity records each year.
Layered Security

Voice authentication fts into your existing security approach either as a stand-alone solution or as an
additional layer of security. This makes it suitable for multi-factor authentication which is gaining rapid
adoption around the world.
Users Find it Convenient

Surveys indicate that consumers fnd voice biometrics secure and convenient to use. This is no
surprise considering consumers are fed up with having to remember multiple PINs, passwords, and
security questions.
Stronger Identity Verifcation and Fraud Prevention

Voice biometrics has successful verifcation rates approaching 100% and has proven to be effective in
industries where security is paramount such as banks and insurance providers.
Remote Authentication

Voice naturally lends itself to remote authentication scenarios involving a mobile device or
computer. No additional hardware is required unlike other biometric methods such as iris scans. The
proliferation of mobile phones means billions of people around the world can be verifed using this
method.
Works In Any Language

Voice authentication verifes a users identity within seconds and works regardless of language or
accent. This makes it readily available to people around the world and has the capacity to make the
world more secure for billions of people.
Flexible Deployment

Voice verifcation can be deployed on-premise or in a variety of cloud settings (private, public, hybrid)
to meet the security requirements of any organization. Every aspect of the authentication experience
is confgurable to achieve the perfect balance between security and convenience.
Immune to Voice Recording

Voice authentication prevents replay attacks that use a voice recording to gain unauthorized access.
The system can ask for random words and numbers to be provided in a different order to prevent
fraudsters from successfully using a recording.
Contact Us
About VoiceTrust
We provide voice biometrics solutions that prevent fraud, eliminate identity theft, and make
application logins more secure. Fortune Global 500 clients including banks, insurance companies,
call centers, and enterprises rely on our solutions to verify the identity of millions of users. Founded in
2000, the privately-owned company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada with additional offces in the
USA, Germany, and UAE. For the latest insights on security and user authentication please follow
@VoiceTrust on Twitter, or visit www.voicetrust.com.
VoiceTrust Offces
Corporate HQ - Toronto, ON
Phone: +1 (416) 901-1333
Email: info@voicetrust.com
Canada - Montreal, QC
Phone: +1 (514) 587-2525
USA - Princeton, NJ
Phone: +1 (609) 751-9223
Germany - Munich
Phone: +49 (89) 127 16 0
UAE - Dubai
Phone: +971 4 445 8238

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