Belfast-based biometric tech company B-Secur has revealed plans to open an office in San Francisco and ambitious plans to be the first NI company to be valued at over $1bn US.We're all familiar with biometrics today, with fingerprints and facial recognition now being used to conveniently unlock our phones, but what if your heart rhythm could be used to unlock your car? That's the technology that Belfast-based tech company B-Secur demonstrated recently at CES 2019, using Cardiac Biometrics to continuously authenticate a user via sensors that could be embedded in a car's steering wheel.
The field of biometrics has had a shaky history when it comes to secure authentication. Many security experts agree that biometric data can be used to effectively identify a person but
shouldn't be used as the sole source of authentication in a system that is expected to be secure. It's possible to fake biometric factors such as fingerprints and facial recognition and in the event of a data breach these factors can't be changed as easily as a password, but it's reportedly very difficult to fake cardiac biometrics.
B-Secur's technology won't be just for the automotive industry, though, with plans to integrate the sensor into clothing and wearables for users. The device boasts the ability to not only accurately indentify a user based on their heart rhythm but also assess stress levels and detect health problems in realtime, providing continuous data that could revolutionise early detection of health symptoms.
CEO Alan Foreman said in
an interview with Belfast Telegraph "I have a vision that we will make this the first, or one of the first, unicorns to come from Northern Ireland," indicating the company's goal to become one of the first privately held companies from Northern Ireland to be valued at over $1bn US. According to
business directory NI Business Info, only Northern Bank Ltd, Aib Group (Uk) P.L.C., and Northern Ireland Water Ltd have reached this net worth valuation.
Source: Belfast Telegraph
About the author
Brendan is a Sync NI writer with a special interest in the gaming sector, programming, emerging technology, and physics. To connect with Brendan, feel free to send him an email or follow him on Twitter.
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