Biometric Authentication Provides Better Mobile Device Security, Heavy Reading Finds

BOSTON, June 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As mobile devices, smartphones and tablets become more prolific, the need to secure them grows exponentially, and biometric authentication offers that security, according to the latest report from Heavy Reading Insider (www.heavyreading.com/mobile-networks), a subscription research service from Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com).

Biometrics Offer Promise for More Secure Smartphones examines the market for biometric authentication on smartphones, analyzing the most lucrative verticals for the market, and discussing drivers and challenges in the industry. It includes a comparative analysis of solutions available and details trends that will likely occur in the industry over the next 18-24 months.

For a list of companies covered in this report, http://twimgs.com/audiencedevelopment/LRHR/PDFS/mni0613_companies.pdf

"Today's phones already enable contactless payments, mobile wallets and mobile banking, and these changes signal the need for secure services that can be performed wirelessly or with a smartphone," says Denise Culver, research analyst with Heavy Reading Insider and author of the report. "And as smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices continue to proliferate and provide users with powerful, mobile, networked multimedia computing options, the need to secure them will become even greater."

The drive behind biometric authentication on smartphones will occur from both the consumer and enterprise, Culver says. "Not only will individuals begin to demand greater security for their personal devices, but enterprises will as well, especially as BYOD models continue to proliferate," she continues. "Integration will be driven by smartphone and tablet manufacturers as the technology for adding fingerprint, iris, voice and other types of biometric authentication becomes better integrated and easier to optimize for mobile devices."

Key findings of Biometrics Offer Promise for More Secure Smartphones include the following:

• The disruptive effect of biometric authentication on smartphones will be felt across many industries, from IDs and passports to website logins, anti-counterfeiting and key replacements.
• Regulatory compliance requirements also drive the banking and healthcare industries to be among the first to incorporate biometric authentication.
• Telecom service providers will be in a strong position for biometrics due to their need to differentiate their service from competitors and offer more capabilities through smartphone apps.
• Preventing unauthorized access to accounts and sensitive data are two of the strongest drivers in the industry.
• Lack of industry standards regulating biometric authentication could delay for smartphone applications.

Biometrics Offer Promise for More Secure Smartphones is available as part of an annual single-user subscription (six issues) to Heavy Reading Mobile Networks Insider, priced at $1,595. Individual reports are available for $900 (single-user license).

To subscribe, or for more information, please visit: www.heavyreading.com/mobile-networks. For more information on all of Heavy Reading's Insider services, please visit www.heavyreading.com/research.

To request a free executive summary of the report, or for details on multi-user licensing options, please contact:

David Williams
Global Director of Sales, Research
Heavy Reading
858-829-8612
david.williams@ubm.com

Press/analyst contact:
Jennifer Baker
Marketing Director, Light Reading Communications Network
617-747-4110
jennifer.baker@ubm.com

About Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com)
Heavy Reading is an independent research organization offering deep analysis of emerging telecom trends to network operators, technology suppliers, and investors. Its product portfolio includes in-depth reports that address critical next-generation technology and service issues, market trackers that focus on the telecom industry's most critical technology sectors, exclusive worldwide surveys of network operator decision-makers that identify future purchasing and deployment plans, and a rich array of custom and consulting services that give clients the market intelligence needed to compete successfully in the global telecom industry. As a division of UBM Tech (tech.ubm.com), Heavy Reading contributes to the only integrated business information platform serving the global communications industry.

SOURCE Heavy Reading