By Craig Guthrie, deputy editor After years of indecision, 2014 seemed the year when major US and European banks began considering biometrics in earnest as the best solution to prevent fraud, secure smartphone apps and authorise transactions. From finger vein readers to voiceprints, and fingerprint scanning cards to cardio-rhythm wristbands, a range of options have been touted as the best solution to balance privacy, convenience and security. One modality that’s hit less headlines is behavioural biometrics – quietly recording a user’s mannerisms and device “events” to generate distinct patterns for identity authentication.

Swedish firm BehavioSec has been a forerunner in integrating the tech with financial service providers. Following extensive trials with Nordic banks, the firm's solution has been deployed across the region for mobile and internet banking, and is now being adopted by other financial institutions globally

Its trials have shown strong potential – and without raising the potential logistics headaches that could accompany major hardware changes.

In Scandinavian trials, BehavioSec’s solution detected a false user in between 20 to 60 seconds of them picking up a smartphone, when the technology is installed at OS-level. When BehavioSec’s technology was used at application-level, a major e-commerce trial demonstrated accuracy levels of 99.8%.

There is also scope for deeper integration into our daily lives. Since 2012, the firm has been working with the US's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on advanced active authentication. If realised, the research would see behavioural biometrics embedded in devices before we even buy them - meaning that every aspect of our mobile behaviour - from thumb swipes to page scrolling - would be silently logged and analysed. Planet Biometrics discussed the trend of biometrics in banking and the potentials of behaviour-tracking technology with Neil Costigan, CEO of Behaviosec.