The Future of Authentication is Here.
It's Just Not Evenly Distributed
Yes, I am quoting the legendary sci-fi writer William Gibson. The idea is that we already have the capability to deliver fast, secure, and convenient authentication for mobile devices but, to date, there is only one handset that even approximates this capability – the iPhone X from Apple. And even that is not delivering nearly the level of functionality available today to make it easier for folks to access their devices.
As I described in my recent guest post on BiometricUpdate, I was one of the 107,000 attendees braving the wind and rain in Barcelona late last month to attend the Mobile World Congress 2018. While there, I had many interesting conversations with fellow event-goers about a range of topics from the current state of smartphone functionality to the timeline for global 5G deployment to the role the mobile industry is playing in supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development goals. But I have to say that I was struck by the continued waffling around the best way to provide secure authentication for mobile devices. As a long-term 3D face authentication evangelist, it just seems so obvious to me. I mean, it is 2018 already!
As it turns out, the production team at MWC18 had partnered with PwC to place face recognition booths at the entrance to the event. But they did not seem to be getting much play. Despite the setting being a building full of technical wonks looking for the next big thing, people were still pulling out their paper identification documents to get into the show, buy event swag, and communicate with each other.
Fortunately, to paraphrase Malcolm Gladwell, we are at a tipping point when it comes to being able to deliver fast and secure mobile authentication. These are, in fact, exciting times in the area of rethinking how we access our phones, laptops and tablets. We are seeing the intersection of three technical developments that have the potential to radically transform – and improve – the way we access our mobile devices.
3D cameras continue to get smaller and smaller, cheaper to manufacture at scale and more rugged
Software is getting more powerful and is able to easily manage and rationalize the torrent of data that the 3D cameras are capturing
AI-specific chips are being incorporated into mobile devices, delivering the dedicated processing power needed to run complex algorithms and machine-learning protocols
There are, of course, always issues with interoperability and compatibility and the need to support down-level and legacy systems – all the stuff we deal with when upgrading from one generation of technology to the next. But we are poised to exploit these powerful elements to deliver the “future of authentication.”
I look forward to having it be more evenly distributed. Maybe next winter in Barcelona.