White Paper: Nymi Band. Redefining Identity

Transcription

1 White Paper: Nymi Band Redefining Identity Lysanne Pinto TWR2009 December 11 th, 2015

2 Contents Introduction... 1 Biometrics... 2 Electrocardiograms as a Biometric Solution... 3 Technical Overview of the Nymi Band... 4 What is the Nymi Band?... 4 What Does it Look Like?... 4 How Does it Work?... 6 Features and Benefits of the Nymi Band... 7 Nymi Band as a Wearable... 7 Nymi Band s Privacy by Design... 7 Nymi Band s Bluetooth Low Energy... 8 Conclusion... 8 Summary... 8 Where to Get the Nymi Band?... 9

3 Glossary Activation: The process of capturing and processing a sample of the user s ECG in order to turn it into a biometric template. Biometrics: A universal behavioral or physiological characteristic that is used to identify a person. Enrollment: The process of authenticating the user s identity against the previously created biometric template. Electrocardiogram (ECG): An interpretation of changes in the electrical activity of the heart overtime, depicted as a wave. Information for an ECG is collected by placing electrodes externally on both sides of the body. Nymi Companion Application (NCA): Nymi s own application run on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, which facilitates enrollment and activation of the Nymi Band. Privacy by Design: The philosophy and approach of embedding privacy into the design specifications of various technologies. Spoof: The act of recreating data to impersonate a communication. For Nymi Band users, an attacker would attempt to mimic their ECG in order to access their applications, devices, and personal data.

4 Executive Summary The purpose of this white paper is to show how sacrificing security and privacy for convenience is a problem in today s society, and to show how the Nymi Band will improve your life by making your digital identity secure and private. The Nymi Band is a wearable wristband device that enables the wearer with secure and continuous authentication through biometric ECG identification. This wearable device addresses today s issues of security and convenience, and also enables a hyperpersonalized user experience for the emerging applications of tomorrow. The Nymi Band uses HeartID a proprietary technology that leverages the wearer s unique ECG as a biometric identifier. HeartID is the core technology in Nimy, which functions as a set of algorithms that allow you to be identified by your ECG. Nimy is a device that is wearable, is designed with embedded privacy, and communicates through Bluetooth Low Energy, which allows for the benefits of convenience, security, and hyper-personalization. The following white paper aims to show how the Nymi Band s ECG biometric system is a solution to the problem of identity, as it provides more convenient and secure authentication.

5 Introduction The purpose of this white paper is to show how sacrificing security and privacy for convenience is a problem in today s society, and to show how the Nymi Band will improve your life by making your digital identity secure and private. Our daily lives are scattered with things that we constantly need to carry with us; from what s in our wallet, like payment cards and government-issued IDs; to what we carry in our pockets, such as house keys, car keys, and workplace badges; to the things that we need to remember, such as passwords, PINs, and usernames. All of these different things are tools that authenticate your identity in order to use a system, service, or device. Moreover, these tools can be lost, stolen, or compromised, thus posing inconvenience and risk involved with your personal data and identity 1. Finally, this white paper is for enterprise security enterprises that want to implement secure and continuous authentication solutions, for consumers who want the convenience of a wearable device without sacrificing security, and for developers who are interested in developing more applications for the Nymi Band. Therefore, as a solution to the problem of identity, biometrics has been introduced in order to provide more convenient and secure authentication. This white paper will cover: Biometrics Technical overview of the Nymi Band Key features and benefits of the Nymi Band, and Conclusion 1 Agrafioti. F., Hatzinakos, D. ECG biometric analysis in cardiac irregularity conditions. In Signal, Image, and Video Processing

6 Biometrics The traditional password and username combination is insecure and inconvenient. As we are moving away from traditional forms of passwords to authenticate a person s digital identity, the use of biometric recognition systems is more secure and convenient as they are unique to each individual and avoid the problem of having to remember a multitude of passwords. A biometric is defined as a behavioral or physiological characteristic that is used to recognize a person s identity 2. The most common forms of biometric systems used to authenticate identity are: hand recognition, facial recognition, iris recognition, and fingerprint recognition 3. For example, mobile devices and laptops can now be unlocked with fingerprints. Moreover, a recent report from PYMNTS.com in Identity Tracker claims ( ) that the worldwide biometrics technology market will grow from $2 billion in 2015 to $14.9 billion by , thus suggesting that biometrics are a key trend. However, these forms of biometrics either ( ) can not provide reliable performance in terms of recognitions accuracy or are not robust enough against falsification 5. That is to say, these common forms of biometrics still pose a challenge as they can be lifted or captured without a person s consent. 2 SearchSecurity, 'What is biometrics? - Definition from WhatIs.com', [Online]. Available: [Accessed: 08- Dec- 2015]. 3 The Economist, 'A heart to my key', [Online]. Available: [Accessed: 08- Dec- 2015]. 4 Oberthur Technologies. PYMNTS.com Report. In Identity Tracker. Available: Wang, Y., Agrafioti, F., Harzinakos, D., Plataniotis, K. N. Analysis of human electrocardiogram for biometric recognition. In EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing

7 Electrocardiograms as a Biometric Solution As an alternative to the most commonly used biometrics, the electrocardiogram or ECG, has been proven to be the most reliable biometric for identity authentication 5. The reason for this is that the physiological and geometrical differences of the heart in different individuals display certain uniqueness in their ECG signals (See Figure 1 below). The ECG is the signal that describes the electrical activity of the heart, which provides information about the heart s rate, rhythm, and morphology 5. In medical settings, the ECG is usually recorded by placing a set of electrodes on the body. That is to say, biometrics are convenient to use, but also secure the most secure being your heartbeat. ECG is the ultimate biometric because unlike a fingerprint, it is internal and difficult to spoof. ECG Wave Unique to the Individual Figure 1: Illustrates the Uniqueness of the ECGs 3

8 Technical Overview of the Nymi Band This section will answer three main questions such as: (1) What is the Nymi Band?, (2) What does it look like?, and (3) How does it work? What is the Nymi Band? The Nymi Band is a wearable wristband device that enables the wearer with secure and continuous authentication through biometric ECG identification. This wearable device addresses today s issues of security and convenience, and also enables a hyperpersonalized user experience for the emerging applications of tomorrow. The Nymi Band uses HeartID a proprietary technology that leverages the wearer s unique ECG as a biometric identifier. HeartID is the core technology in Nimy, which functions as a set of algorithms that allow you to be identified by your ECG. The founders of Nymi, Karl Martin and Foteini Agrafioti both completed their PhD s in biometric cryptography at the UofT in Toronto. The core technology of the Nymi Band was developed in Foteini s PhD. What Does it Look Like? The Nymi Band looks similar to other wearable wristband devices, like the Fitbit Fitness Tracker, for example. It consists of two main components: (1) the band and (2) the core. The band is composed of a high quality hypoallergenic material with an IPX7 waterresistance rating so you can wear it all day without any discomfort. It comes in two sizes, small and large. The small band measures 5.8 to 7 and the large band measures 6.6 to 7.8 (See Figure 2 on the next page for an illustration of the sizes). 4

9 Figure 2: Illustrates the Two Sizes of the Nimy Band Moreover, the band contains a bottom sensor and a top sensor. The bottoms sensor touches your wrist while the top sensor senses your opposite hand. These two sensors are integral to the Nymi Band s function as they read and capture your ECG. They will be discussed in more detail later in the next section. Second, the core of the Nimy Band contains the HeartID technology, which reads and transforms your ECG for authentication. This will also be discussed in more detail in the next section. Also, the core contains the device s battery. The battery life lasts for five days and takes two hours to charge. This is convenient as it allows the wearer to have the band on for a long period of time without having to take it off to charge (See Figure 2 on the next page for an illustration of the main components). Finally, in order to appeal to a sense of fashion, you can get the band in three different colors: red, white, or black. 5

10 Top Sensor Bottom Sensor Core Band Battery Lights Figure 3: Illustrates the Main Components of the Nymi Band How Does it Work? As previously discussed, the Nymi Band contains an electronics module, called the Nymi Core, which incorporates an ECG sensor with two electrodes located on the top and bottom of the module. One electrode touches the wrist, and one is exposed on the top side of the Nymi Core. ECG data can be captured when the user wears the Nymi Band on one wrist and touches the top electrode with the opposite hand. Moreover, the Nymi Band functions by a two-step process of enrollment and activation. Firstly, the process of enrollment entails capturing and processing a sample of the user s ECG in order to turn it into a biometric template. Secondly, once enrolled, the process of activation entails authenticating the user s identity against the previously created biometric template. 6

11 Key Features and Benefits of the Nymi Band This section will discuss the main key features and their benefits, which make the Nymi band s secure and continuous authentication unique compared to other biometric solutions on the market. The three main key features that this white paper will focus on are: the Nymi Band as a wearable, the Nymi Band s Privacy by Design, and the Nymi Band s Bluetooth Low Energy. Nymi Band as a Wearable Because the Nymi Band is a wearable device, it allows for the benefit of convenience, as you will no longer have to remember and enter passwords or PINs. Moreover, from when you put it on, to when you take it off, the Nymi Band s HeartID will continuously authenticate your identity even in spite of a change in heart rate due to illness, exercise, or other dynamic conditions 6. Nymi Band s Privacy by Design Because the Nymi Band incorporates the philosophy of Privacy by Design, the notion of privacy is embedded in the design of the Nymi Band, it ultimately respects the user s privacy 7. That is to say, the Nymi Band s ECG biometric system allows for the benefit of maximum security, as it is difficult to spoof or even track. Moreover, this is due to its three-factor authentication process, which includes: biometric authentication (ECG), 6 T. Zerucha, 'You can wear your heart on your sleeve and authenticate everything with Nymi', Bankless Times, [Online]. Available: [Accessed: 08- Dec- 2015]. 7 Cavoukian, A. Privacy by Design. In Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. Available:

12 possession of your Nymi Band, and possession of your device that has your Nymi Companion Application (NCA). Without all three factors, the device will not work. Nymi Band s Bluetooth Low Energy Because the Nymi Band connects with other devices with its Bluetooth Low Energy frequency, this allows for the benefit of hyper-personalization. That is to say, once authenticated, the Nymi Band communicates its wearer s identity to nearby devices only with its wearer s approval 8. This ensures that your personal data is not collected and tracked by default 9. Moreover, Nymi s sensors also allow for proximity and gesture recognition, which enables seamless and dynamic interactions with technology. Conclusion This section will conclude with a summary of the white paper, as well as with information on where to get the Nimy Band. Summary The way people provide their identity for convenience is problematic. When it comes to wearable authentication technology, people should never feel like they have to sacrifice security and privacy for the sake of convenience. The Nymi Band s secure and continuous ECG biometric authentication is a solution to this problem as the Nymi Band can replace every current identity authentication tool, and can be seamlessly employed in situations where PINs, passwords, and other biometric solutions are employed. 8 J. Havens, 'An Inconvenient Proof', TechCrunch, [Online]. Available: [Accessed: 08- Dec- 2015]. 9 J. Havens, 'Creating a code of ethics for artificial intelligence', Mashable, [Online]. Available: [Accessed: 08- Dec- 2015]. 8

13 Where to Get the Nimy Band? Although the Nymi Band is still in development, the Nymi Band Discovery Kit is available for purchase at the cost of $149. The Nymi Band Discovery Kit is intended for developers who want to help create a platform for Nymi Enabled Applications (NEAs). Follow the links below for more information on where to buy the Nymi Band, information about its development, more information about Nymi, and how to contact Nymi for questions or comments. To buy the Nymi Band Discvoery Kit: For developers: For more information on Nymi and the Nymi Band: Send Nymi a Comment or Ask a Question: - contact Drop by the Nymi Office or Write a Letter: Office: 82 Peter Street, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5V 2G5 9

14 References [1] Agrafioti. F., Hatzinakos, D. ECG biometric analysis in cardiac irregularity conditions. In Signal, Image, and Video Processing [2] SearchSecurity, 'What is biometrics? - Definition from WhatIs.com', [Online]. Available: [Accessed: 08- Dec- 2015]. [3] The Economist, 'A heart to my key', [Online]. Available: [Accessed: 08- Dec- 2015]. [4] Oberthur Technologies. PYMNTS.com Report. In Identity Tracker. Available: Final-1.pdf [5] Wang, Y., Agrafioti, F., Harzinakos, D., Plataniotis, K. N. Analysis of human electrocardiogram for biometric recognition. In EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing [6] T. Zerucha, 'You can wear your heart on your sleeve and authenticate everything with Nymi', Bankless Times, [Online]. Available: [Accessed: 08- Dec- 2015]. [7] Cavoukian, A. Privacy by Design. In Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. Available: [8] J. Havens, 'An Inconvenient Proof', TechCrunch, [Online]. Available: [Accessed: 08- Dec- 2015]. [9] J. Havens, 'Creating a code of ethics for artificial intelligence', Mashable, [Online]. Available: [Accessed: 08- Dec- 2015]. 10