EU Business News Q4 2018

24 EU BUSINESS NEWS / Q3 2018 , Biometric Experts iProov Support UK Home Office With Technology To Assure Genuine Presence Liveness detection technology to enable digital customer journey for individuals accessing new large-scale Home Office services. iProov, a leading provider of biometric facial verification technology, has recently announced that it will play a key role in a multi-year contract with the UK Home Office for the provision of smartphone- based digital identity verification. This new capability will assist the UK Home Office in delivering secure, easy-to-use interactions with individuals in accordance with the digital services agenda. The app to support applications for the EU Exit Settlement Scheme includes this technology. The new digital service, which will be provided in partnership with immigration and border management company WorldReach Software with support from Dutch contactless document specialist ReadID, allows secure enrolment onto Home Office services using a smartphone app. The process involves biometric matching of the user’s selfie against the image read from a user’s passport chip, using iProov’s unique Flashmark technology to provide robust liveness detection. iProov is unique in its ability to ‘assure genuine presence’. In a self-serve identity verification environment, a system must be able to confirm whether or not the person presenting themselves for verification is genuinely the owner of an ID credential – not a photo, screen image, a recording or doctored video. iProov has eleven granted patents in the UK and US for its technology which detects such attempted frauds. This is not the first time iProov has been recognised for its industry leading identity verification technology. In April 2018, the company announced that it had become the first British, and indeed overseas, organisation to be awarded a contract from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) to help US DHS to enhance and secure cross-border passenger travel. The company also won the 2017 National Cyber Security Centre’s Cyber Den competition at CYBERUK 2017; it has received a number of grants from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency; and in September 2017 was named the sole UK member of the SINET16, a select group of cyber-security innovators. In the financial services sector its technology is in live use with banks such as ING in the Netherlands. iProov’s Founder and CEO, Andrew Bud, comments, “We are delighted that the Home Office has chosen to use iProov’s unique technology for this large and important application. Our position as the worldwide leader in this sector has been built with great support from the UK Government over many years. Our mission to assure trust in the online ecosystem has never been more important.” London-based iProov was founded in 2011. The company’s facial biometric technology is used by banks and governments around the world for secure customer onboarding, logon and authentication, to ensure new and returning users are genuine and guard against fraudulent attempts to gain access to personal data or use a stolen identity.