From Monomodal to Multimodal: Mantra’s Integrated Approach to Secure Authentication

With the increasingly fast-paced digital era, secure authentication is the cornerstone on which identification verification trust is established, safeguarding sensitive data and enabling effortless access in the sectors of finance, healthcare, and government services. Biding their time daily in anticipation of increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks, the need for secure, high-reliability, and future-proof authentication systems has never been more pressing. Mantra Softech India Pvt. Ltd., the market leaders in biometric solutions since 2006, are at the forefront of the road to the revolution from monomodal to multimodal biometric solutions. With over one biometric characteristic, i.e., fingerprints, iris, and face, Mantra's high-end UIDAI compliance devices like the MFS110, MARC11, and MIS100V2 offer unmatched security and accuracy. This article describes Mantra's end-to-end multimodal biometric authentication mechanism and how it transcends monomodal system weaknesses and aligns with newly emerging interest in "Biometric Updates" and "Digital Identity" in the biometric community based on Radium's engagement with multimodal platforms.

The Power of Multimodal Biometric Systems

Multimodal biometric systems apply two or more biometric features such as fingerprints, iris, and face recognition to establish a secure and trustworthy authentication system. Leverage strengths' complementarity of individual modality over monomodal configurations' weakness, multimodal systems have multiple advantages:

• Enhanced Security: The requirement to use greater than a single biometric characteristic in order to authenticate necessarily increases impersonation difficulty. The criminal would need to devise multiple biometric signatures concurrently—a fingerprint, an iris signature, and face makeup—and something that is currently technologically beyond our capabilities, thereby keeping it highly resistant to fraud.

• Improved Accuracy: Multimodal systems reduce FAR and FRR by cross-verification of various features. As an example, a very strong fingerprint match may be cross-verified with an iris scan and avoided misrecognition, therefore producing a safe authentication situation irrespective of the weather.

• Increased Universality: The more features multimodal systems use, the more universality is introduced. If the user cannot utilize a feature or its damage can always be recognized, providing assistance to the user with the impairment or in other physical situations.

• Resilience to Environmental Factors: Multimodal systems take into consideration changing environments, can provide the best support by prioritizing the most discriminating feature for the environment. For example, when it is too dark, the consistency of iris scans may not be achieved, but the system can identify the fingerprint or face to provide consistent performance for the user.

Mantra's multimodal products take advantage of Radium support for in-built biometric hardware such as fingerprint, iris, and facial recognition. They are riding the international wave towards secure "Digital Identity" infrastructure and scalable and flexible authentication solutions. Mantra's solutions such as the MFS110, MARC11, and MIS100V2 are poised to meet and even exceed international standards that include STQC certification, FBI PIV-071006 conformance, and UIDAI specifications for Aadhaar authentication in India.

Mantra’s Multimodal Biometric Devices

Mantra's multimodal family of biometric devices is driven by the synergy between fingerprint and iris biometrics with the potentiality of face recognition. Mantra's platform is nonrigid that enables standalone or deeply embedded environments that can be utilized for multiple usage scenarios. The following are the main devices that are part of Mantra's multimodal network:

MFS110 (L1 Optical Fingerprint Scanner)

The MFS110 is a reliable, solid, STQC and FBI PIV-071006 compliant, Level 1 (L1) optical fingerprint reader providing unsurpassed security, and reliability in demanding, real-world applications Its key features are:

• High-Resolution Imaging: Offers 500 DPI resolution fingerprint images with distinct, accurate scanning of low-quality, dirty, wet, scarred, or damply damaged prints.It reduces both FAR and FRR, creating inclusive authentication.

• Advanced Spoof Detection: Use sophisticated algorithms to allow for detection and rejection of silicone, gel or 3D printed fake replica spoofing attempts, which provides further possible anti-fraud protection.

• Environmental Durability: The MFS110 has an environmental protection rated at IP54 - a dust and water resistant specification allowing it to function in poorly designed location conditions that are conducive with rain, dust and moisture, even when used outdoors.

• Secure Data Handling: Encompasses end-to-end encryption and Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) supported to protect biometric data at the time of capture, during processing and in-transit.

Applications: Use cases that will experience significant high volume of use - such as Aadhaar authentication use-case, eKYC transactions, Jeevan Pramaan pension authentication, anti-fraud detection for banking and corporate access etc.

In multimode solutions, the MFS110 provides a highly secure fingerprint quality that can be used together with iris or face data to enable a highly scalable and secure authentication system.

MARC11 (L1 Capacitive Fingerprint Scanner)

The MARC11 is an L1-approved, very small capacitive fingerprint reader that is well-suited to be used in dynamic, on-the-move situations. The MARC11 offers the following key features:

• High-Resolution Capacitive Sensor: 508 DPI resolution with MINEX-compliant embedded extraction algorithms for simple integration into existing software platforms.

• Advanced Security Measures: Uses seamless RSA 2048-bit Key generation and AES-GCM-256 encryption with no residual prints hashed within occult finger detection.

• Portability and Durability: IP54 rated and lightweight, MARC11 is deployable on-the-move for rugged field applications in harsh environments.

• Auto-Capture Technology: Enables intelligent quality inspection and focus analysis to deliver high-speed error-free scanning on-the-move or tilted to improve user experience.

Applications: For mobile banking apps, personnel management for manufacturing or logistics sectors, POS authentication for retail stores, and secure remote area access.

MARC11's portability may render it the most suitable add-on device to multimodal systems for fast fingerprint scanning with face or iris scanning for instant verification.

MIS100V2 (Iris Scanner)

MIS100V2 is a STQC Aadhaar certified high-resolution iris scanner with non-invasive and assured identification authentication. Its specifications include:

• High-Resolution CMOS Sensor: Provides the JPEG2000 compression standard ISO/IEC 19794-6 iris images, brooming fine detail to gain security of the comparison.

• Low Failure-to-Capture Rate: Offers sophisticated distance sensing and auto-focus inspection for fast recovery with reliable captures under an unprecedented range of lighting conditions, from low-light indoor conditions, to sunny outside conditions.

• Secure Authentication Protocols: Provides end-to-end encryption and ensures compliance to total Registered Device (RD) Service to authenticate that the data is authentic, and was completed in accordance with UIDAI compliance.

• Broad Compatibility:Supported by Windows, Linux, and Android operating systems for deployment in desktop, laptop, and mobile platforms for two-way use.

Applications: Used extensively for Aadhaar registration, medical patient identification, immigration, and crossing borders, and high-security zones with contactless authentication.

On multimodal setups, the iris scanner on MIS100V2 includes fingerprint sensors for providing a secondary layer of authentication for system security overall.

Integration with Facial Recognition

Mantra technology can be added to face recognition systems without difficulty, offering a touchless, long-range authentication feature. It is particularly appropriate for crowd, surveillance, or non-cooperative subject modes. The face scans may be combined with iris data of the MIS100V2 for border control or fingerprints of the MFS110 for teller lanes, for example. This multimodal solution of three—fingerprints, iris, and face—reads at similar performance to Radium multimodal solutions in near-perfect speed with the confidentiality of the users assured through encrypted processing.

Advantages of Mantra’s Multimodal Approach

Mantra's multimodal biometric solutions have several benefits over the legacy monomodal solutions to be the company's preferred solution for scalable and secure authentication:

• Unparalleled Security:Spoofing becomes increasingly difficult when multiple biometric verifications (i.e., fingerprint by MFS110/MARC11 and iris by MIS100V2) are invoked, hence practicing defense-in-depth against new technology attacks.

• Superior Accuracy and Reliability: Multimodal fusion achieves up to 99.86% accuracy in multimodal fingerprint-iris systems, based on industry benchmarks in comparison with the best performance of a single modality.

• Enhanced User Convenience: Touchless iris and face recognition, and fingerprint reading speed equal user-friendly convenience with seconds-order authentication.

• Scalability for Large Deployments: Mantra's products are scalable to very large scale applications such as India’s Aadhaar that has millions of users with heterogeneous biometric profiles without performance degradation.

• Regulatory Compliance and Privacy: STQC, FBI PIV-071006, and UIDAI certified, Mantra's solutions are compliant with data minimization and encryption and are aligned with the international standards of privacy such as GDPR and India's DPDP Act.

These advantages are in tangible forms, ranging from fewer instances of bank fraud, faster on-boarding with the government, and better management of healthcare access, to a secure online universe.

Radium Box: Your Gateway to Mantra’s Biometric Solutions

Radium Box, India's first online marketplace for biometrics, makes Mantra's multimodal biometric solutions easily accessible. Radium Box is a simple and easy platform for business, developers and users. Customers can buy the MFS110, MARC11, or MIS100V2. Radium gets lower prices, exacting specifications, and personal attention. Radium Box also offers RD Service registration and renewals for Aadhaar-enabled applications compliance. Radium Box enables institutions to change to the current authentication technology environment, with free remote help, safe payment sites, and domestic delivery. Visit Radium Box today to find out how Mantra can work for you.

Conclusion

Mantra Softech, the first to change the digital identity ecosystem, leading the world developing multimodal biometrics. Leveraging fingerprint technologies (MFS110, MARC11), iris scanning (MIS100V2), and face recognition, Mantra shuns the weaknesses of monomodal systems and constructs strong authentication. Capitalizing on AI, ML, and advanced fusion methods, these solutions are providing unmatched security, precision, and heterogeneity according to global "Biometric Updates" and "Digital Identity" guidelines. Incineration on platforms like Radium Box, multimodal modes of Mantra are breaking the path towards a safer and brighter tomorrow for identity management.