Nok Nok Labs is upgrading its mobile device risk-based authentication software to improve support for biometrics and other alternatives to passwords.
In offering a premium edition of its S3 Authentication Suite, Nok Nok Labs expands its role with the Faster IDentity Online Alliance, an organization seeking stronger mobile device security to improve customer experience and lower potential payment fraud costs.
Nok Nok Labs is a founding member of FIDO, which recently agreed to work with
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Nok Nok Labs views its role as a motivator to get companies away from the use of passwords, saying millions of compromised credentials have resulted in billions of dollars in lost business globally.
“Mobile authentication must evolve beyond today’s password-centric framework, and organizations must start developing a comprehensive risk-based strategy,” Phillip Dunkelberger, president and CEO of Nok Nok Labs, said an Oct. 12 press release. “We recognize the demand in the market for a unified solution allowing a more secure, yet simpler experience across heterogeneous devices, services and operating systems."
The upgraded S3 Authentication Suite is able to check for signs of tampering on a device through identity tools and IBM's security access manager.
It also monitors the travel speed of a mobile device signal, alerting whether a user's device has traveled too far in a short period of time. With this information, Nok Nok Labs said, users can set up policy-defined action to adjust risk scores or deny access from multiple locations within a short time interval.
The suite uses geolocation by checking out against a defined list of restricted countries, allowing a system administrator to deny access from disallowed locations and adjust a risk score.
Prior to the upgrade, the Nok Nok S3 Authentication Suite has been deployed with PayPal, Alipay and NTT Docomo.
Deployments are in progress at major banks, insurance companies, mobile network operators and major trading networks, Nok Nok Labs said.
