There has also been a 295% increase in novel face swaps. This is according to a new biometric threat intelligence report by iProov.

Gur Geva, founder and CEO of iiDENTIFii, a premier partner of iProov in Africa, says, “Biometric attacks continue to grow in volume, intensity and sophistication. If we are to successfully combat these risks, we need to uncover and understand the anatomy of biometric attacks.”

As governments and businesses continue to unlock new value and efficiency through digital services, one key challenge remains. Organisations need to be assured that the person on the other side of the screen is human, and are who they claim to be.

INTERPOL’s first-ever Global Crime Trend report estimates that over 70 per cent of respondents (all from law enforcement) expect crimes such as ransomware and phishing attacks to increase significantly in the next three to five years.

This renders traditional verification technologies such as one-time passwords (OTPs) outdated and a security risk. Biometrics such as iris and retina offer a deeper method of verification but fall short in terms of liveness – they cannot bind a digital identity to a real-world individual in motion. In addition to this, the technology used to capture this biometric data may not always be as accessible or inclusive as required.

Geva says, “We have worked with our local public and private sector partners to champion face-verification authentication in South Africa and beyond.” By scanning their facial features using their smartphone or tablet, individuals can verify their identity.

However, as this space grows, so do the threats to its safety. “Cybercriminals continue to find new, sophisticated ways to intercept this technology. With this in mind, organisations need to remember that not all face verification technologies can keep up with the rapidly changing threat landscape or have the same level of security, resilience and ability to adapt to novel threats.”

Biometric security threats currently fall into two categories: presentation attacks and digital injection attacks. Presentation attacks refer to photos, videos or even masks being held up to a screen to fool the technology into mapping the features of the identity being defrauded. In the case of digital injection attacks, imagery is injected directly into the video stream, either through emulators, hacking tools, or virtual cameras. Geva explains, “In 2022, we witnessed injection attacks occur five times more frequently than persistent presentation attacks across the web. This is because injection attacks are far more scalable than presentation attacks, as they do not require the manual creation of a physical artefact or any physical presentation, but rather the creation of a highly automated attack machine.”

2022 saw dramatic changes in digital injection attacks. Criminals are now advancing across platforms, targeting mobile web, native Android, and native iOS via emulators. With the emergence and growth of sophisticated face swaps, low-skilled criminals now have the means to launch advanced attacks. Threat actors launched motion-based attacks simultaneously and at scale against hundreds of systems globally.

Three types of synthetic injection attacks dominated the threat landscape in 2022: two-dimensional image face swaps, image-to-video deepfakes and video face swaps. The iProov report defines face swaps as “a form of synthetic imagery created using two inputs where a criminal combines traits from one face, such as motion, with the appearance of another face to create a new synthetic 3D video output”. This results in a product that carries the person’s individual facial features “so accurately that the imagery can match their government-issued identification photograph.”

Cybercriminals now have access to publicly available prepacked tools from code depository websites, allowing them to create and launch advanced synthetic attacks with little skill. In addition to this, the Crime-as-a-Service economy enables bad actors to buy, sell, and share attack methods over the dark web.

A recent Europol report stated that Deepfakes-as-a-service has led to organisations delivering tailored deepfakes upon request.

Geva concludes, “Understanding the anatomy of a biometric attack is crucial in helping the public and private sector make decisions based on real-world threat intelligence, ensuring technology meets the anticipated threats. The technology organisations use to detect liveness has to be equipped with the latest defence. At iiDENTIFii, our platform is informed by the most recent research into biometric threats.”

Using the right technology as a catalyst, these sectors can support financial inclusion and widespread economic growth.

Gur Geva, founder and CEO of iiDENTIFii, a world-leading biometric authentication platform, says, “Biometric technology is a crucial consideration in Nigeria’s ongoing digital expansion. If financial institutions, telecommunications companies and the public sector adopt enterprise-grade biometric authentication, they can provide services to Nigerian consumers safely, efficiently and at scale.”

iiDENTIFii is in the process of rolling out its offering in over 20 countries across Africa following increased demand from both new and existing clients who require a trusted identity verification (IDV) partner in various jurisdictions.

Biometric authentication technology is changing how we identify ourselves with our mobile devices. Using leading technologies, companies such as iiDENTIFii ensure that banks, insurers, telecommunications companies and government institutions are certain that the person on the other end of the screen is identifiable, verifiable and human.

Geva adds, “As the only IDV company in Africa that provides enterprise-grade level services, we understand the far-reaching benefit of biometrics in protecting the assets of companies and consumers and fighting financial crime. We believe the requirement for digitised biometric authentication in Africa is immense. The region is a sleeping giant when it comes to accessing traditional bank accounts, digital banking, and affordable financial services.”

Recent figures from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) state that the number of active mobile subscriptions in the country has reached about 222,571 million in December 2022 and teledensity of 116.60 per cent.

This level of digital adoption needs to be met with intentional digital security measures. Added to this, Nigeria’s recent greylisting provides an opportunity to interrogate cyber security in the region and how biometric authentication can deter financial crime.

This technology also plays a powerful role in digital and financial inclusion. Historically, biometric identification has been for the privileged few – the technologically advanced with access to hi-tech, leading-edge equipment – providing access to services that are typically not for the digitally excluded. However, remote digital biometric authentication has a crucial role in bridging the digital divide.

Geva adds, “The digitally excluded are missing out on access. Without access, the keys to both social and financial inclusion are unreachable. Those who do not have access to newer technologies are disadvantaged in healthcare, education and financial support. These areas have a significant negative impact on an individual’s overall quality of life. For this reason, we actively consider unserved and underserved communities in our solutions.”

This inclusive digital identity approach can open doors to critical government services such as labour markets, government benefits and financial services, without the risk of impersonation or fraudulent funding. This extends to those with limited ability to engage in the digital world. “We applaud Nigeria’s focus on digital literacy in the country and are proud to say we are one of the only IDVs that can operate on mobile devices that aren’t smartphones.” There is also the matter of diversity and innate technology bias, which iiDENTIFii targets through their technology, “Our focus in Africa has enabled us to create an extensive library of faces that reflects our continent.”

Undoubtedly, Nigeria’s ICT sector and overall online activity will continue to grow exponentially. Trusting and authenticating the digital identity of individuals communicating and transacting online will continue to become more and more paramount and essential.

Geva concludes, “Nigeria’s ICT sector is making great strides in enabling growth and literacy. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with industry and government stakeholders to drive safety and positive change.”

This is, to date, the largest African Series A in the identity verification space.

iiDENTIFii is a world leader in biometric authentication. Its advanced face authentication technology securely authenticates users via their cellphones or PCs within seconds.

iiDENTIFii operates across several industry verticals and is used by the largest pan-African banks, insurers and mining houses for both customer and employee authentication. Its customers include Standard Bank, ABSA Bank, and Investec Bank.

Investors in the round alongside Arise are growth-stage private equity firm Sanari Capital and veteran US tech entrepreneur Bill Spruill.

iiDENTIFii will use this investment to fund its expansion across Africa. Cybercrime within the financial sector is a growing threat to the continent.

The consequences of attackers exploiting security vulnerabilities are particularly severe for financial services and banking apps that process sensitive financial information.

The use of iiDENTIFii’s biometric authentication to protect access to this sensitive financial information makes iiDENTIFii’s solution an integral part of financial inclusion, digital inclusion, and identity inclusion on the continent.

“I’m incredibly proud of our engineering team and our growth as a company over the past three years,” says iiDENTIFii Founder and CEO, Gur Geva. “This investment validates our central business thesis that we are the preferred partner for enterprise-grade identity in Africa. We’re excited to put the investment to work as we close in on our goal of authenticating every face in Africa. With this new funding and the networks of Arise, Sanari, and Bill – we confidently continue our mission of stopping identity theft in Africa.”

“In addition to complementing Arise’s portfolio of bank investments across Sub-Saharan Africa, this investment heralds our foray into the African fintech market,” says Arise CEO Gavin Tipper. “We are excited about our partnership with iiDENTIFii, which will allow us to offer their unique technology to banks in Sub-Saharan Africa, strengthening digital anti-money laundering practices and advancing financial inclusion.”

“At Sanari, we place a strong emphasis on digital and human enablement to unlock business potential,” says Sihle Gumede of Sanari Capital. “iiDENTIFii is, therefore, a great addition to our investment portfolio and we look forward to being part of its ongoing growth journey. We are excited about co-creating a scalable and sustainable pan-African biometrics business.”

“As an entrepreneur and investor, I’ve had a significant amount of experience with transformative technology,” says Bill Spruill “The work being done by iiDENTIFii is particularly exciting and I am excited to see the impact it has on the African continent.”

iiDENTIFii recently won KPMG’s Tech Innovator in Africa award and will compete for the global title, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal in November 2022. 

It has previously, amongst other awards, won MTN App of the Year and Microsoft Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Partner of the Year.