A global biometric authentication system, supported by cryptography and available on all platforms and devices. This is the commitment of Keyless, an innovative startup co-founded by Andrea Carmignani and Fabian Eberle, chosen among the three winners of the Open-F@b Call4Ideas 2020 contest promoted by BNP Paribas Cardif in partnership with InsuranceUp.
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How Keyless was conceived
Keyless is the brainchild of Andrea Carmignani, while pursuing an MBA at the international business school INSEAD (Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires). Together with his study mate and co-founder Fabian Eberle, he realized the potential of a global identification system that could give users greater control of their information and identity online.
In doing so, Carmignani and Eberle strive to create a global solution to streamline the authentication process across the entire Internet and for any digital service. Teaming up with privacy and security experts Paolo Gasti and Giuseppe Antinesse, Keyless was born. An advanced biometric authentication system for users to easily log in and out anywhere in the digital environment, regardless of device, platform or OS, and with no concern for privacy or data security.
How Keyless works
“Keyless features a password-free authentication solution based on the latest breakthroughs in biometric technology and encryption,” said Eberle. “Our system leverages privacy-first technology to ensure that biometric data will never be jeopardized, lost or stolen.”
The system works by capturing and encrypting biometric templates on the user’s device, which are then fragmented and scattered across its proprietary cloud network for storage, and used in authentication throughout any device. By relying on a single baseline biometric template, the system ensures that each user is indeed who they claim to be.
“Keyless solutions are also designed to integrate into existing identity and access management systems and with consumer-facing applications,” pointed out Eberle. ” This way, Keyless can be integrated and deployed even where no special technical expertise exists.”
Why Keyless is different from any other biometric authentication system
Keyless’ main unique feature is its Keyless Network: “a series of cloud servers not relying on any physical device and used exclusively for storing and processing biometric templates for authentication,” explained Eberle.
Its privacy-first technology, in addition to protecting biometric data from being compromised, also provides for a wide range of exclusive features based on local authentication for storing and processing biometrics. These features include one-stop user identification and self-service device backup, recovery and revocation.
The Open-F@b Call4Ideas challenge and the projects for the future
Keyless was one of three innovative projects that won the seventh edition of Open-F@b Call4Ideas, the international call promoted by BNP Paribas Cardif, in collaboration with InsuranceUp, which this year focused on finding solutions for the Next Normal, the new normal of the future.
“This particular challenge was interesting as we not only had to convince the panel, but the audiences as well,” commented co-founder Fabian Eberle. As such, it was the public that voted to advance the projects to the finals. “The challenge stemmed from each pitch having a maximum limit of one minute to present the solution. Although our solution is simple, its applications are a lot and rely on complex technologies such as advanced biometrics and cryptography to solve a complicated issue. So having just a minute to delve into the problem and explain the benefits of our particular solution was challenging.” That didn’t stop the team, which succeeded in making the most of the time allotted and clinching the win.
Despite a challenging year, Keyless made a lot of progress in 2020, doubling its team and managing to launch passwordless authentication solutions to support a wide pool of workforce and consumer use-cases. In 2021, it aims to accelerate its go-to-market strategy across Europe and extend its product portfolio, with a particular focus on new features for passwordless authentication.
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