Veridium, a leader in strong authentication solutions using biometrics instead of passwords and tokens, and a competitor in the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, has closed its Series B funding round of $16.5 million.
The investment round was led by UK entrepreneur and philanthropist, Michael Spencer, with participation from Citrix Systems, Inc. and financial services executive and investor Michael Powell.
The Series B financing enables Veridium to continue to drive innovation and accelerate the product development for its comprehensive authentication platform using a suite of biometrics including face, fingerprint, and behavioral.
Additionally, to meet customer demand, the company plans to scale its sales and marketing infrastructure across the Americas, Europe and Asia to further build its leadership in strong authentication solutions using biometrics.
Veridium is transforming authentication within identity access management through a complete software-only biometrics platform.
Using Veridium’s technology, users can replace passwords, tokens, one-time passwords (OTPs) or swipe cards with multiple biometrics from their smartphone, including: native device sensors such as face and fingerprint, and Veridium’s 4 Fingers TouchlessID.
Fingerprint Recognition with 4 Fingers Touchless ID
Veridium’s Computer Vision team developed 4 Fingers TouchlessID because a highly secure mobile fingerprint recognition biometric simply didn’t exist.
The team’s approach uses a smartphone to capture a high-quality image of your hand, providing more data to ensure the integrity and complexity of the biometric vector.
The more complex the biometric vector is, the more precise and reliable authentication is.
The Veridium team is working with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to include 4 Fingers TouchlessID in the government’s certification program for contactless fingerprint capture.
This will ensure compatibility with developing law enforcement and immigration fingerprinting standards.
(Learns More. Everyone acknowledges that passwords are a weak link in enterprise security. You can lose them, share them, and crack them. Biometrics can strengthen legacy systems by adding an additional layer of security. See VeridiumID in action. Courtesy of Veridium and Vimeo)
What Is Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)?
Two-factor authentication (2FA) historically relies on the use of a traditional password, as well as an algorithmically generated one-time password (OTP) as a secondary authentication factor.
Between the cost of managing these token-based systems and the lack of security they offer, more companies are looking for a more flexible, secure, enterprise-ready option.
Enter biometrics.
Biometric-based multi-factor authentication replaces what you have (tokens) and what you know (passwords) and replaces them with what you are, your fingerprint, face, iris, or other biometrics, to provide strong authentication that can be configured to fit a wider variety of organizational needs.
Single-Factor Authentication
When you log in with just a username and password, passcode, or PIN, this is called single-factor authentication.
This is the lowest level of secure access management an organization can deploy, and should only be used for accessing non-sensitive information, like a mobile game or shared corporate accounts that don’t have access to any private data.
Two-Factor Authentication
The next step up in authentication is 2FA. This is when you use a username/password, passcode, or PIN, and then are requested to input a second security measure, like an SMS or token-based OTP or biometric.
Using a second factor is a significant bump in security that should be used for any account that has even marginal access to sensitive data, such as corporate email, social media accounts, or even physical access to secure buildings.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Adding in a third, fourth, or even fifth authentication factor expands the security of any access management solution into the realm of multi-factor authentication (MFA).
MFA offers scalable, tiered levels of security that can be deployed for controlling access to the most sensitive of data.
Financial records, medical information, government databases, and the like should all deploy various levels of MFA, incorporating several factors, which can include: passwords, secret questions, OTPs, biometrics, location, user behavior, registered mobile devices, and more.
(Learn More. See how you can simplify two-factor authentication by eliminating costly security tokens and replace them with mobile biometric authentications from Veridium. Eliminate the cost and hassle of tokens and improve security for your company. Courtesy of Veridium and Vimeo)
VeridiumID is an End-to-End Multi-Factor Authentication Platform
Organizations need to optimize security by deploying an all-inclusive multi-factor authentication platform that’s highly scalable, leveraging configurable selections of authentication factors to form tiered security levels.
This approach allows for the level of authentication to scale with security needs and ensure that it remains convenient for end users to access the information and facilities they need.
VeridiumID is a highly configurable solution that is ready to integrate with any existing identity and access management infrastructure that provides the framework for MFA and biometric authentication to bring strong authentication to any organization.
Eliminating tokens and passwords reduces friction for end users, increases productivity by reducing calls to the help desk and saves time by eliminating password resets or lost or damaged tokens.
How it Works
A single-step multi-factor biometric authentication solution for the enterprise.
(See how VeridiumID can be used in place of traditional passwords from opening doors to authenticating high value stock trades in this short animation.. Courtesy of Veridium and Vimeo)
The result is increased security, improved convenience and user experience; all while reducing fraud at a lower total cost of ownership than traditional multi-factor authentication (MFA) solutions.
“In today’s digital age, global organizations are challenged to secure their most critical assets against advanced threats in a way that’s both convenient and secure,” said Michael Spencer.
“Veridium is unique in the industry because it provides organizations with an enterprise-ready authentication solution to address those problems with the adoption of biometrics – while increasing security and convenience.”
Currently, Veridium has customers across the globe, spanning multiple industries.
Most recently the company has added several of the world’s largest financial services organizations.
In May, the company announced that a multinational Swiss bank selected Veridium to replace passwords, tokens and swipe cards, validating the need for stronger more user-friendly authentication processes.
“Deploying biometric authentication is a clear win for financial service organizations,” said Michael Powell.
“Organizations continue to see the benefits of biometric authentication, including simplifying and securing the login process and identifying with precision who you are dealing with.”
Michael Spencer, who is the Group Chief Executive Officer of NEX Group, which is in the process of being acquired by CME Group for $5.5 billion, will be joining Veridium’s board of directors along with .
“We are delighted to have the support of Michael Spencer, Michael Powell and Citrix to continue our journey to build best-in-class biometric authentication solutions,” said James Stickland, CEO, Veridium.
“With the financing, we’re committed to continue driving innovation of our biometric authentication solutions while driving global scalability to meet customer needs.”
As demand dramatically increases for better enterprise security, Veridium is disrupting the traditional authentication model with its full suite of biometric technology including the world’s first patented multi-finger contactless biometric authentication system, 4 Fingers TouchlessID.
The company’s current product portfolio includes:
- VeridiumID Platform: The company’s software-only platform for biometric authentication that works in conjunction with a front-end mobile SDK, allowing organizations to embed biometrics including face, fingerprint, 4 Fingers TouchlessID and behavioral, all within a company’s app.
- For enhanced security, the platform uses visual cryptography to store biometric data between the mobile device and server.
- Broad Platform Support and Integration: Veridium has six enterprise-ready connectors enabling enterprises to eliminate passwords and tokens, replacing them with a software-only biometric authentication solution.
- Integrations include: Active Directory, Microsoft Azure, Citrix StoreFront, NetScaler, ShareFile and Cloud Services, RADIUS, SAML, OpenID and WSO2.
- Veridium Authenticator App: The company’s recently available enterprise-ready app which enables organizations to deploy biometric authentication to reduce cost while ensuring convenient, fast and secure identity verification.
- The app is available for download on Apple App and Google Play stores.
Veridium Competes in 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program
AST focuses on Homeland Security and Public Safety Breaking News, the Newest Initiatives and Hottest Technologies in Physical & IT Security, essential to meeting today’s growing security challenges.
The 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, is organized to recognize the most distinguished vendors of Physical, IT, Port Security, Law Enforcement, Border Security, First Responders, (Fire, EMT, Military, Support Services Vets, SBA, Medical Tech) as well as the Federal, State, County and Municipal Government Agencies – to acknowledge their outstanding efforts to ‘Keep our Nation Secure, One City at a Time.
As an ‘ASTORS’ competitor, Veridium will be competing against the industry’s leading providers of Innovative Identification Management Solutions and Law Enforcement Counter Terrorism, Crime Prevention Programs for Federal/State/Local.
To Learn More about the ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, see 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Award Winners Honored at ISC East.
Over 100 distinguished guests from National, State and Local Governments, and Industry Leading Corporate Executives from companies allied to Government, gathered from across North America and the Middle East to be honored from disciplines across the Security Industry in their respective fields which included representatives from:
The Department of Homeland Security- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- The Department of Justice
- The Security Exchange Commission
- State and Municipal Law Enforcement Agencies
- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Leaders in Private Security
