Current processes

There are currently five authentication methods that enhance the security of access and have proved their efficiency in the “enterprise” authentication area:

• Physical tokens (hardware OTP, USB keys ...)
• Security grids
• Software tokens, including public key infrastructure (PKI)
• Smart cards
• Biometrics
  

Physical tokens (hardware OTP, USB keys ...)
The physical tokens come in various forms: token with a screen, USB keys ...
This process has always been relatively expensive to deploy, manage and maintain. The chips can be used very efficiently in combination with other authentication methods to provide the enterprise-level security based on the risk profile of users.

Security grids
This is a card issued to each user. Users are invited to enter characters from the grid at the connection (often used in transactions of electronic bank cards). Inexpensive to produce and deploy and easy to use and maintain, these grids are very intuitive and are very successful in the enterprises.
These grids can be produced and distributed in a number of ways, as the format of a PVC badge / card, paper and even practically in electronic form.

Software tokens
Digital identities, such as those powered by a PKI, offer the advantages of two-factor authentication without deploying a physical token to the end-user. Frequently used by organizations that use the PKI for the production and distribution of keys and certificates that make up a digital identity.
Systems provide sound management of keys and certificates that allow not only authentication, but encryption and digital signature.

Smart Cards
Smart cards are widely used in Europe, and strongly growing in other parts of the world. They provide a two-factor portable digital authentication, they are a flexible option for businesses considering tokens for physical and logical access.

Biometrics
Biometrics is a technology for identifying people based on the measurement and analysis of physical characteristics of an individual such as fingerprints, iris and retina of the eyes, face pattern, etc...

Because of the costs and difficulties related to their production, maintenance and management, biometric systems are generally cost-effective only in systems requiring a highly secured control in physical access.

The specificity of these processes is that they use means of generating password for the user, these means are

• Either software-only, when an application is installed on the user's terminal, it is called "software tokens" ; the disadvantage of this method is that the user can log only on the terminal equipped with the application.
  
  
• Either hardware and software, when using physical tokens such as smart cards, keys with screen, USB keys, with an algorithm that generates a new alphanumeric password with a constant time interval, security grids with a two-way table input, the coordinates (easting / northing) of the security code changing at each connection request. These solutions allow a user to connect from any device but require the continued detention of a dedicated hardware device with the associated risks (waste, management of outages, damage ...).They are suitable for corporate use (a few thousand users) but not at all for consumers use (local, online web sales / services, governments, ..)

Our solution: Mobilkee

We use the "mobile" authentication method (MT-FA), using the mobile device to generate a One Time Password. No login to a GSM network is required.

To achieve a process of two-factor authentication, it is necessary to conduct a series of applications that work together to implement the full authentication process.

The basic components of our system are:

1. Our mobile application "lynkee" reading 2D barcodes, which can be installed on different mobile phones and can perform image processing in real time (or less than 5 sec. for mobile allowing only snapshot mode. The application is available on different platforms (Java Mobile, Windows Mobile, Symbian, iPhone, BlackBerry, Android to support the maximum number of mobile phones available on the market and guaranteeing the performance level of image processing).
   
   
2. A server platform generating encrypted 2D barcode displayed on the terminal screen (PC ...), verifying the OTP and archiving the user authentication data.