The power of mobile behavior and what it means for app security
At Appdome, our goal is to empower mobile app developers and IT professionals by enabling them to rapidly integrate mobile apps and smart services without coding. As mobile apps increasingly become a part of our daily lives, the security of apps remain a critical priority. That’s where our new partner BehavioSec comes in.
BehavioSec provides sophisticated user authentication by combining advanced biometrics with behavioral analysis techniques. What does that mean exactly? It allows you to authenticate your app users not based on what they do, but how they do it, in real-time. With Appdome for BehavioSec, the full functionality of BehavioSec’s mobile SDK can now be codelessly integrated to your app in a matter of minutes.
To help our community learn more about the power of mobile biometrics and what it means for your app’s security, we sat down for a brief Q&A with Calum Macleod, BehavioSec’s director of business development.
Alan: Let’s start with a quick background. Tell us a little bit about BehavioSec and what you do.
Calum: BehavioSec provides a technology platform that helps identify and verify a user by the way they interact on a device. In relation to mobile apps, our technology tracks the way you interact on your mobile device – the way you type, swipe, the pressure on the screen – even the angle you hold your device. There are a variety of components on a mobile device that BehavioSec collects, allowing us to authenticate users through behavioral patterns. This sophisticated user data and subsequent analysis prevents fraudulent activity and attacks.
A: Tell us about your customers.
C: BehavioSec is used by leading banks and enterprises. Our sweet spot to date has been the financial sector. For good reason, banks are typically very concerned about the growth of mobile technology and that we as consumers are becoming much more user experience-oriented versus security-oriented. A consumer tends to feel it is the responsibility of the service provider to provide the security. We don’t want to do it ourselves and we want life to be as easy as possible. As companies recognize this reality, they realize the importance and benefits of biometric authentication, both via web and mobile applications. Accurate user identification and protection is a win for both the service provider and its customers.
A: What initiated your interest in Appdome as a partner? Was there a specific IT problem or business pain point you needed to address?
C: What originally brought Appdome to our attention was a mutual client and our shared belief in mobile security and cool technology. Appdome saw value in what we were doing and we saw value in Appdome and how its platform automated the implementation of our SDK. Similar to a company recognizing that biometrics can prevent fraudulent activity, we had to first acknowledge that our SDK might not be as easy as we thought. Everyone wants to believe that your SDK is the best in the world and can be implemented in seconds. The reality is it cannot, unless you are leveraging an integration tool like Appdome.
Furthermore, we were also having client interactions where implementing our SDK just wasn’t a priority for their R&D department. Developers tend to enjoy working on the user experience – the look and feel of an app – often creating a roadblock for us. Now, by enabling our clients to integrate our technology seamlessly, it helps move the business along. Finally, by expediting the SDK implementation, our solution is exposed to a much larger cross section of the industry. Whether it’s healthcare, government or e-commerce, our technology can translate to any vertical with an online presence.
A: Previously, how long did it take a developer to implement your SDK? And how has this process changed since making your technology easily integratable via the Appdome platform?
C: It varies based on the use case, but previously we have seen it go from a couple of days, to several weeks, to six months. It depends on several factors – skill level of developers in-house, the level of focus on the project. Even if the client loves the technology, limited resources can delay a project. As we continue to get the word out that we can make your life easier by adding our technology via the Appdome platform, we see a positive reaction from not only current customers but prospects as well. That is an optimistic indicator that clients see value in both biometric security and rapid deployment.
A: What can you share about working with Appdome?
C: I’ve been in the industry for a long time, and I’ve discovered over the years I’d rather work with people I like versus work with people who have a great solution. If you happen to find a company with people you like that also has a great solution, it’s simply a win-win. That’s what we’ve found in Appdome. Plain and simple, our technologies work and together we are helping our customers overcome security and integration pain points to help them be successful.
BehavioSec’s biometric and behavior-based authentication solutions are available as part of Appdome’s “Identity” Service Category. Sign up for a free test drive of the Appdome platform and add this advanced protection to your mobile app today.
