New CUNA White Paper Asks the Member Identity Authentication Question

“Are you who you say you are?” As a credit union, helping members answer that question easily and confidently has been a challenge. Lengthy and difficult security interrogations have traditionally been used for member identity authentication in contact center conversations. This can help make accounts secure but painful for legitimate members to access. According to Gartner Research, up to 30% of the time members can’t successfully validate their identity because they forgot the right answers. 

Fraudsters Will Try to Fake It Until They Make It

Even when members don’t remember their own information, fraudsters can often use social engineering to find or guess the right answers. Gartner also points out that fraudsters have a very good chance of defeating knowledge-based authentication if they are well prepared (a 30-60% risk). And if thieves don’t get it right the first time, they just keep on trying. The CUNA Technology Council’s white paper addresses this growing risk, delving into the benefits of tighter security and trends in technology that can make member accounts nearly impenetrable. 

Overview of Topics Covered:

• Types of authentication methods for member-facing and staff-facing applications
• Trends in authentication—which traditional authentication methods are here to stay and which other methods are emerging
• How authentication keeps members safe while also protecting their privacy

The full paper entitled “ Let’s See Some ID: Building Smarter Internal and External Authentication” is available to CUNA Council members here. (Not a member yet? Go here for information on how to join.)

Voice Authentication Featured as an Emerging Technology for Credit Unions

In the face of this ongoing assault on member account security, digital identity authentication is coming to the forefront as a preferred solution. While fraud losses have historically remained low even with traditional verification methods, there is a downside. According to Illuma CEO/Founder Milind Borkar, “The problem, and the reason why credit unions invest in technologies like ours, is that the effectiveness of security Q&A often comes at the cost of creating friction in a member’s experience.”

For the call center in particular, voice biometrics offer a seamless solution. “What we enable for our credit union clients is the ability to authenticate members over natural conversation every time they call into the contact center. Authentication happens in the background, allowing members to interact with their credit union without experiencing any of the friction typical of authentication processes.”

How does voice verification measure up in terms of effectiveness? With a configurable false positive rate typically set to less than 1%, it provides a high level of confidence and security to members and credit unions. Voice biometrics are immune to social engineering fraud since there are no pins, passcodes, or security answers to exploit. With the Illuma Shield™ platform, the member’s vocal markers are combined with characteristics from their calling device to create a unique AudioPrint™ that is securely stored and virtually impossible to replicate. 

Learn more about Illuma Shield™ for Fraud Prevention here.