How Confident Multifactor Authentication™ Works

How it works:

1. The first time a user registers, they select a few authentication categories they can remember -- such as dogs, flowers and cars.
2. When two-factor authentication is needed, a randomly-generated grid of images is sent to the user’s smartphone (the second factor).
3. To authenticate, the user must correctly identify which images fit their previously-chosen categories by tapping the correct pictures on the phone's touch screen display.
   

The specific pictures shown to the user and their location on the grid are different each time and a unique authentication code is encrypted behind each picture. By identifying the correct images, the user is reassembling a one-time authentication code which is sent back to Confident Technologies for verification. If the user identified the correct images that match their secret categories, the web session will proceed automatically. The entire process remains out-of-band from the web session.

Benefits

• More secure than plain text, SMS authentication codes
• One-time password is encrypted within an image-based authentication challenge that the user solves on their mobile phone
• Easy to use -- simply tap a few images to identify your secret categories
• Authentication process remains out-of-band from the web session
• The specific pictures are different every time, but the user's categories always remain the same

Business Applications

Use two-factor authentication for:

• Secure account logins
• Transaction verification
• Device authorization
• Password reset and account changes
• High-risk or high-value transactions

Deployment Options

Confident Multifactor Authentication™ can be used as a stand-alone two-factor authentication solution or integrated with existing security solutions as an extra layer of authentication. The image-based authentication challenge can be delivered as an application on a user's smartphone or as a zero-footprint model using the mobile browser. Additional delivery methods are available for users who do not have smartphones.