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The Gartner Market Guides include definitions, benefits, key findings and recommendations for organizations looking to implement and utilize both User Authentication and Identity Verification technologies for security, risk management and fraud prevention.

As defined in the Market Guide for User Authentication, "User authentication is used to provide credence in an identity claim for a person already known to an organization. The credence must be sufficient to bring account takeover (ATO) risks within the organization’s risk tolerance. Without effective authentication, the security of and trust in that person’s digital interactions are deeply undermined".

When discussing the market direction for User Authentication, the Market Guide states "IAM leaders (and everyone else) should also reflect diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) considerations. To avoid impairing security, as well as UX[1], IAM leaders should choose methods that are equitable across different clines. IAM leaders should also pay attention to socioeconomic bias, especially with regard to the acceptability and possession of different authenticators[2]."

Additionally, in the Gartner Market Guide for Identity Verification, Identity Verification is defined as "the combination of activities during a remote interaction that brings a real-world identity claim within organizational risk tolerances. Identity verification capabilities, delivered as SaaS or on-premises, provide the assurance that a real-world identity exists and that the individual claiming the identity is its true owner and genuinely present during a remote interaction."

For security and risk management leaders who focus on identity and access management, the Gartner Market Guide for Identity Verification recommends leaders "Investigate if multiple use cases exist within your organization where the technology can improve security and/or UX both across workforce and customer interfaces. Examples include:

Customer use cases such as automating Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, preventing identity fraud during application processes, and increasing trust between buyers and sellers on marketplaces.
Workforce use cases such as remote hiring, onboarding, and ensuring the integrity of credentialing and account recovery processes."

The Gartner Market Guide for Identity Verification additionally highlighted common layers of defenses for both presentation and injection attacks, including Liveness detection, defined as "Active or passive techniques to assess genuine human presence prior to the selfie being taken. Active techniques typically involve asking the user to perform an action such as turning their head or smiling. Passive techniques may involve looking for micromovement in the face, 3D depth analysis, and changes in light reflection as blood flows under the skin and others."

For more information about Veridas’ industry-leading solutions, Veridas invites you to explore its website and engage with them on LinkedIn. We are shaping the future of identity verification and authentication.

[1]Hype Cycle for Digital Identity, 2023 discusses this not only in the profile for third-party biometrics, but also in the profile for identity verification (which uses biometric facial recognition technologies). Vendors should also review Product Managers Must Reduce Bias in Biometrics.

2 In particular, there is an increase in the market emphasis on smartphones for authentication which risks marginalizing the minority that do not own them. Many passwordless solutions rely on a user enrolling multiple personal devices — smartphones, tablets, PCs and hardware tokens — to create a "chain of trust," which enables identity recovery if a device is lost, stolen or otherwise replaced. This approach demonstrates a lack of awareness and empathy for the many global customers and citizens for whom this is impractical at best:

The Digital Lives of Refugees: How Displaced Populations Use Mobile Phones and What Gets in the Way, GSMA. Exploring the UK’s Digital Divide, Office for National Statistics.