Chatbots are conversational AI applications that can communicate with humans through either text or text-to-speech. Chatbots are usually integrated into messaging applications, voice response systems, and websites. Through these platforms, chatbots handle several tasks, including the following:
- Answer queries
- Process transactions
- Book meetings
- Other routine tasks
Chatbots have already proven their usefulness to different organizations, but there are still risks with using these automated solutions. When chatbots rely on KBA or knowledge-based authentication to verify a user’s identity upon login, anyone who knows a user’s login details will access their sensitive information, including bank details.
Because KBA systems are inefficient in ensuring that only the correct user will have access to their information, enterprises should either switch to a biometric-based identity verification solution or integrate it alongside existing authentication solutions. The reason why KBA must either be replaced or supplemented with biometric digital identity verification is that KBA relies on users to input their usernames and passwords that criminals can get through a data leak.
Bad actors can pose as certain users to chatbots when using leaked login details and steal the following data:
- Credit card info
- Bank details
- Social security number (SSN)
- Other personally identifiable information (PII)
Biometric identification mitigates this risk since bad actors will not have access to any potential victim’s biometric data, especially when the biometric authentication solution continues to verify a user’s identity outside the initial login. Should a massive data leak occur or a user’s device be compromised, biometric authentication will still ensure that only the real user will see their sensitive information.
If businesses do not want to stop using KBA methods, they can still improve their chatbots’ security by using biometrics to verify a user’s identity. However, businesses should still consider abandoning the dated authentication method to improve user experience as the process will be streamlined through the seamless integration of biometric authentication solutions.
When looking for reliable alternatives to KBA systems, enterprises will need to rely on an IDaaS or Identity as a Service provider like authID. The authID’s article on upgrading a chatbot’s IQ through seamlessly identifying customers through biometrics will have more information on the importance of using biometric authentication solutions.
