Friction less authentication based on how you type

TypingDNA provides proprietary A.I. based typing biometrics technology (a.k.a. keystroke dynamics) to truly identify users by the way they type on their keyboards.

Kevin William David interviewed Raul Popa, CEO of TypingDNA to know more.

Hi Raul, So tell us about TypingDNA?

Simply put, TypingDNA recognizes people by the way they type. The way you type on your keyboard (both on PC and mobile) is unique and can be used for authentication. This is similar to how you identify a person by other biometrics like fingerprint, voice and other behavioral traits. The cool thing about typing biometric authentication is that it can be used in the background which creates a frictionless experience for the user.

Tell me more about why you are building this?

Traditional username and password alone are not enough. We see more and more attacks and hacks on the platforms we use daily to listen to music, do payments, chat with others and the list goes on.

We believe that a truly secure login authentication is a combination of something only the rightful person knows (login credentials) and is (biometrics) with no UX compromise. We engineered TypingDNA to let developers easily do that.

How is TypingDNA different from what already exists in the market?

First, compared to other 2FA like SMS (most used one to date), the user experience is greatly improved. You don’t have to switch devices anymore, get delayed SMS, pay an extra fee when you are outside of the country and so on.

Second, our customers discovered in their independent testings that our matching accuracy is higher compared to other companies that they tried. Also, we can achieve similar matching accuracy after seeing only 1 or 2 previous typing patterns of a user where other companies have to look at 5 to 10 previous samples at least. Last but not least, our customers love the easy to integrate API that we built.

Some of the similar companies are KeyTrac, BehavioSec, and BioCatch. They developed similar technology. At the same time, we face indirect competitors in the 2FA industry who use SMS or any other 2FA method.

Who uses TypingDNA? What types of roles do your customers have at their companies?

TypingDNA is used to prevent identity frauds in online banking, online learning and where second factor authentication is required. Roles vary from developers to CEO but for sure most of them have a technical background. B2D is actually our go-to-market strategy and it works.

Were there any early ‘growth hacks’ or tactics that have contributed to your current success?

We recently launched the TypingDNA Authenticator which is a free authenticator that generates 2FA OTP verification codes right in your browser (no more switching to your phone) and is protected with your “TypingDNA” pattern. It’s the first app that is consumer oriented and uses typing biometrics as a security feature. We believe there is a lot of education to be done because a lot of people don’t know that such a feature exists. Ultimately, this will open a new market for us. It was featured as #1 product on ProductHunt and TechCrunch wrote about it which brought us a lot of exposure and signups.

What have been some of the most interesting integrations you’ve added? Are there any that have been particularly impactful for you?

The integrations we have with proctoring companies are really interesting, the fact that we can automate identity verifications in online exams is pretty valuable. Some of the largest universities are using our technology through the proctoring companies that integrated us. Being part of the emerging online education and helping make it safer and more affordable is something definitely impactful.

Finally, What are the products that you depend on to run the company & how do you use them?

For marketing, we use apps like Hubspot (onboarding, email campaigns, CRM, etc.), SEMrush (SEO tracking) and all of the popular social media for advertising (wherever developers are).

Originally published at siftery.com.