With the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution, most of our daily lives become dependent on IT, and the importance of ‘security’ for personal and corporate information is growing.
As modern people rely more on mobile devices and PCs, security risks such as privacy exposure and corporate information leakage are also increasing, and technological capabilities to prevent these are also evolving.
80% of data leaks come from password leaks, and more than 70% of current authentication systems use password-based authentication methods. The biggest problem with the password authentication system is that my secrets are not kept only by me, but are shared with service providers.
Even if the user manages it well, if the service provider is hacked, information will be leaked, and the service provider will be subject to a lawsuit for damages even though it has been authenticated with the registered password. More than half of Internet users use five or fewer passwords for all accounts, and passwords used in personal accounts are sometimes used for internal corporate authentication, resulting in damage.
To solve the password problem, many companies are introducing multi-factor authentication such as OTP. Although this method is effective in terms of security, system integration for introduction is complicated and expensive, and only numbers and characters are verified. Since it can be used by others, there is a risk of theft or leakage.
Octaco uses the individual’s unique biometric technology, verifies the user, applies encryption technology to all communication sections, and provides biometric security keys and solutions that store personal information in the h/w security area rather than s/w. It helps you enjoy a more convenient and safer digital life.
At the Pangyo Techno Valley Startup Campus, we met with Yoo Mi-young, CEO of Octaco, a biometric security company, and heard about ‘EzFinger.’
Q1. About Us
CEO Miyoung Yoo: Octaco provides safe and convenient authentication that replaces weak and inconvenient passwords based on a security authentication solution that satisfies AAL3 (Authentication Assurance Level 3), the strongest authentication level of NIST, an American standard research institute, which is classified as strong authentication. By doing so, it helps many people lead a safer and more convenient digital life.
This company seeks to end the era of weak and inconvenient passwords by using biometric recognition technology and the FIDO standard, an international standard for security certification, and to promote business growth and contribute to national development by providing safer and more convenient authentication.
Q2. Main target group
CEO Miyoung Yoo: Octaco’s customers can be said to be individuals and companies that use passwords. Octaco’s H/W biometric security key Easy Finger series supports a variety of work environments. It can be used in tablet and PC environments, and the Easy Finger card type allows everything from office entry to PC login and online authentication such as groupware with a single device.
The EzAuth biometric solution allows users to select and use various biometric devices, such as smartphone biometrics and fingerprint USB security keys, according to their convenience, and can be built at a price that is 10 times cheaper than other companies’ on-premise biometric solutions. It can also be easily linked with other security authentication and existing legacy systems for the company’s various work systems in just 2-3 days.
The Easy Finger series is a Windows Hello and FIDO certified product that allows you to conveniently use dozens of services such as Microsoft services such as Windows PC login, Office 365, and Azure Cloud, as well as Google Gmail, Google Cloud, and Salesforce, without installing additional software.
Q3. Differentiation of our products
CEO Miyoung Yoo: The online authentication service that replaces weak passwords, which accounts for more than 70% of the entire authentication market, is an encryption H/W security business that supports PC environments in addition to online authentication solutions using smartphone fingerprints, etc. There are about 4 companies worldwide. Among them, our company is currently the only company that can supply both H/W fingerprint security keys and biometric authentication solutions that apply technology to verify users using biometric recognition technology and use Windows Hello biometric authentication and FIDO authentication. It can be seen that it is.
Existing physical security certification provides security services centered on the biometric-based offline access control market and is vulnerable to cyber attacks, while information security certification focuses on encryption technology and S/W authentication solutions and is vulnerable to biometric H/W technology, but Octaco Provides H/W and S/W convergence security integrated authentication product solutions that combine biometric recognition technology and encryption technology.
Q4. Overseas expansion strategy
CEO Miyoung Yoo: Due to COVID-19, which has been prevalent since last year, many companies and organizations are engaging in non-face-to-face activities such as working from home, remote meetings, and online events. As a result, demand for cloud is rapidly increasing and security is also guaranteed through the digital transformation of many companies and organizations. The demand for available cloud services is increasing.
However, since most cloud authentication uses existing password authentication, if the administrator account is hijacked through phishing, etc., the damage will inevitably be greater. If you introduce and provide Easy Finger series products, it will be possible to solve problems caused by password authentication and provide higher security and convenience, so through partnerships with cloud authentication companies such as zscaler, MS, etc. or corporate consulting companies such as PWC, etc. We plan to advance into the local market.
Q5. current performance
CEO Miyoung Yoo: Samsung Life Insurance is using EasyFinger 2 for security authentication of employees within the company. Domestic company P is also using EasyFinger solution for increased smart office security authentication due to COVID-19, and many other Public institutions and companies have introduced EasyFinger and are using it for security authentication.
This year, we completed registration as an official vendor for Microsoft’s Security Key and are currently collaborating with SK Telecom to launch the world’s first fingerprint recognition security key, EasyQuant, using quantum random number generation technology, and through business cooperation with SK Telecom and ADT Caps to provide financial, We will expand into the global market by applying it to fields that require strong security certification, such as national defense.
Q7. Reasons for settling in Pangyo
CEO Miyoung Yoo: Pangyo is a global convergence R&D hub for IT and CT, and is a place where many IT companies and research institutes are concentrated, so it can be said to be the center of IT, making it the best place for joint research and development and collaboration with many companies and institutions. I think it is the location of .
In addition, it can be said to be an advantageous area for business activities as it has many areas where it can receive national and city support and is geographically close to the Gangnam area of Seoul.
Source: Pangyo Techno Valley Official Newsroom
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