Many fail to realise that identity verification has become a widespread practice in our day-to-day life, from email logins to bank account transfers to doctor appointments. Identity verification is to prove the user is whom they claim to be.
Digital identity proofing is, as security expert Transmit Security explains (https://www.transmitsecurity.com/blog/identity-proofing), the method of authenticating or verifying the legitimacy of a person before granting them access. The identity proofing process relies on some users’ characteristics to match with the existing identity information in the database provided during sign-up.
Identity Proofing Process
Digital Identity proofing is a process that involves many steps to guarantee a secure and safe account. Here is how identity proofing works.
- Data Collection
Data collection steps involve the collecting of relevant information about the user. This is often done through an Identity and Access Management System (IAM). Data collection commences when a user begins their account enrolment.
The user IAM database holds identity information and access privileges and is always managed by the company’s IT department/ team. At this step, an individual is required to provide truthful information about them, including name, social security number, and passwords, among other relevant data.
- Data Validation (Customer Identity Verification)
Digital identity proofing is crucial in the fight against online fraudsters and hackers, which can cost financial losses amounting to millions of dollars. Therefore, financial institutions are more concerned with the data verification process to ensure the claimed users are who they say they are.
Data validation is checking data’s accuracy, integrity, and authority before using or authorising it for business operations. Before accessing any services, the user must provide valid information like ID, account numbers, multiple-factor authentication, and passwords.
Data validation may also require the user to identify themselves as humans by conducting a simple pictorial or numeric test to rule out the possibility of bots when logging in.
- Continued Authentication
The account authentication process is continuous throughout the entire period a user is an account holder. Therefore, users might be asked to occasionally validate or change their login credentials like passwords, email, and phone numbers or change the account security questions.
Users are advised to create strong passwords that are not easy to crack. However, some institutions use a multi-factor authentication process before granting users access for additional security.
Data authentication might frequently call users to verify their details, like phone numbers and addresses. Should the system sense any suspicious fraudulent login attempts like keying in wrong passwords severally, the user might be required to re-register their account.
Types Of Digital Identity Proofing Verification Techniques
- Knowledge-Based Authentication
Knowledge-based authentication is a very simple authentication mode that relies on the user’s basic knowledge. The user must have some private security questions unknown to outsiders except family and friends.
The security questions can include simple questions like the name of your pet or hometown. However, fraudsters can still have access to such information in a way.
- Identity Document Verification
The other way users can verify their identity online is through identity documents. These include providing your ID, driver’s licence, or social security number. However, it is worth noting that users can only use the identity documents used during the account enrolling phase.
- Biometric Verification
The most secure way of verifying digital accounts is through biometric verification. The user is required to provide their physical presence to gain access to their accounts. Biometric verification requires users to provide facial, iris, and fingerprint authentications.
To prove ownership of an account and human presence, some companies and institutions require users to provide real-time selfies or pictures with specific instructions like facing in a particular direction.
- Out-Of-Band Proofing
Out-of-band proofing is a more secure account verification method as it requires the user to provide more than one proof of ownership for their account. Users must log in with their user name and input a code sent to their SMS or email.
This makes it difficult for cybercriminals to gain malicious access to your account unless they access all the separate communication forms.
Christian Scott is the founder and operator of Malware Brains, a comprehensive cybersecurity website dedicated to educating individuals and businesses about malware and its impacts on society. With over 25 years of collective industry experience, Christian and his team of experts provide unbiased, factual information to help users understand and mitigate the risks associated with malicious software.
