Voice Biometrics Now Viable Security Option, says CellMax

Financial institutions looking to protect themselves against identity theft and security lapses should be looking to voice biometrics, says Tel Aviv, Israel-based CellMax Systems.

Voice biometrics - the technology that authenticates the identity of a person based on their voice - is a good solution for any company doing business over a communications network that needs a person to be positively identified on the other end, Ziv Barzilay, founder and CTO of voice biometrics company CellMax, says.Until recently voice biometrics lagged in popularity behind other physical biometric methods of identification and verification such as fingerprinting, iris scanning and facial recognition.

People complained that voice biometrics was inaccurate, costly and impractical to implement.

But Barzilay says there has been a "quantum leap in voice biometrics" following an "influx in post-9/11 venture investment in security technologies."

"New voice solutions are performing far beyond current market offerings," he adds. "Today algorithms and more robust computer processing power have made voice biometrics highly accurate."

Voice biometrics is the only biometric technology that enables immediate authentication anywhere at any time, simply by using a landline phone, cell phone or microphone, he points out. "Voice is the verifier and the person is the password."

CellMax's solution examines the 15-plus parameters that make up our voiceprint. These include our teeth, nasal cavity, nostrils, lips, tongue, jaw, lungs, diaphragm, and soft and hard palates.

The system registers, stores and analyzes the data using a real-time, highly accurate algorithm.

Barzilay says not only is voice biometrics now accurate, it is also cost-effective.

"Voice biometrics does not require any additional hardware, with the notable exception of a microphone. In the end, the voice is the only biometric that can be delivered over any type of communication network," says Barzilay. Melanie Rodier has worked as a print and broadcast journalist for over 10 years, covering business and finance, general news, and film trade news. Prior to joining Wall Street & Technology in April 2007, Melanie lived in Paris, where she worked for the International Herald ... View Full Bio