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How To Integrate Behavioral Biometrics Into AI Assistance for Security

by April Miller June 18th, 2024

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As cyberattacks become increasingly sophisticated, traditional security measures like passwords and firewalls are no longer enough to protect sensitive data. The convergence of two powerful technologies — behavioral biometrics and artificial intelligence (AI) — holds significant promise for creating a more robust and resilient cybersecurity framework. Many organizations already implement AI-powered security systems.

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Understanding behavioral biometrics in cybersecurity

At its core, biometric security aims to improve protection by using parts of the human body that are much more difficult to replicate. Advanced systems like quantum computing and machine learning (ML) may be able to guess a password but will likely struggle to emulate your fingerprints and facial features.

Behavioral biometrics take this security measure up a notch by using data related to your unique behaviors to authenticate and verify your identity. Examples include:

Mouse dynamics: This metric measures the speed and direction of mouse movements, as well as how you click and scroll when interacting with a page.
Keystroke dynamics: This covers how you type on a keyboard, including the typing speed and rhythm.
Voice recognition: Factors such as the tone, pitch, and rhythm of your voice serve as a unique identifier for establishing accessibility protocols.
Gait analysis: The length of your stride, the angle of your feet, and the rhythm of your steps are incredibly difficult to replicate, making them effective authentication measures.
Eye movement analysis: How you move your eyes, including how many times you blink, how you focus your gaze, and the speed and direction of each movement are unique behavioral markers.

By analyzing these distinct patterns, cybersecurity systems can validate whether a user is who they claim to be and better detect suspicious activity. Studies show that implementing AI-enabled behavioral biometrics provides an additional security layer beyond traditional verification methods, improving the robustness and accuracy of human activity recognition datasets.

Creating an AI-driven behavior biometrics framework

Many organizations already implement AI-powered security systems. Recent statistics show that 51% of business owners use AI for cybersecurity and fraud prevention. AI algorithms and ML can supercharge existing digital security systems through real-time threat detection, analysis, and automated responses.

A few years ago, this approach would have been sufficient to protect against cyber threats. However, the landscape has evolved quickly, as hackers have also weaponized AI to launch more sophisticated attacks. For instance, they can use advanced ML tools to identify patterns that reveal weaknesses in an organization’s security programs. Some threat actors leverage AI’s generative features to initiate deepfake video and voice duplication scams.

Integrating behavioral biometrics' advanced authentication features into their cybersecurity framework allows individuals and organizations to stay ahead of rapidly evolving cyber issues. This process comprises several steps depending on their current security posture and financial capabilities.

Defining security objectives

As with any integration, it’s important to first outline the goals of combining behavioral biometrics and AI for cybersecurity. Is it to address a recurring threat? Perhaps you just want to enhance your overall data management process.

Identifying your objectives is crucial to determining what behavioral biometric indicators to implement. For instance, eye movement dynamics can be largely effective in healthcare identity management since it already involves medically relevant information.

Data collection and storage

AI models can automate the behavioral data collection and storage processes. For instance, IoT sensors can capture and transmit real-time information about user behavior, making the procedure considerably faster with less specialized infrastructure.

Processing and adaptive learning

An AI-driven infrastructure is essential for processing the vast amount of captured behavioral data from multiple sources. AI and ML algorithms can also speed up baseline establishment, which the security system will use to measure the variance when authenticating users. Advanced pattern recognition models can assign risk scores to different interactions, flagging potential fraudulent behavior based on the deviation level.

Innovative ML will be instrumental in refining the cybersecurity system’s understanding of normal user behavior. For example, the algorithms can accommodate a loop mechanism where they learn from user feedback to continuously update verification processes and minimize false positives.

Balancing security and user experience

As cybersecurity becomes an integral business imperative, user experience considerations take the spotlight. According to a recent survey, 85% of CISOs regard cybersecurity as a crucial goal, similar to revenue growth and market share. However, the deployment method must center around convenience and confidentiality.

The complexity of collecting behavioral data from users depends on the type of indicator being integrated. Keystroke dynamics may require the user to simply type a few random sentences within a given timeframe. It gets more complicated when you ask users to walk around for a few minutes while the system captures their gait dynamics. How many people have the patience to go through such procedures?

If a company must collect complex behavioral data, gamifying the process could be a solution. Making the procedure fun and rewarding provides the right mix of incentives to motivate users to comply with the request.

Excessive friction in the authentication process can also be problematic. Imagine how frustrating it would be if a system required you to move your mouse repeatedly to verify your identity, but the process kept failing. Organizations can address this challenge by leveraging AI to adjust verification requirements dynamically — low-risk transactions may require minimal authentication, while high-risk activities trigger additional security steps.

Integrate behavioral biometrics into AI-assisted cybersecurity.

Integrating behavioral biometrics and AI represents the next step in the evolution of global cybersecurity measures and best practices. By introducing the ability to passively verify users based on their natural behaviors, organizations can stay ahead of sophisticated adversaries.