Solution for OTP frauds: IIT Mandi develops authentication system based on behaviour patterns
New Delhi (PTI): Do the rising number of OTP frauds and password hacking instances concern you? Researchers at IIT Mandi have developed a revolutionary system which will capture unique user biometric-based behaviour patterns for secure authentication, eliminating the use of conventional methods.
The system called "adapID" has been developed in collaboration with Deep Algorithms with Amit Shukla from the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi and J P Mishra from Deep Algorithms, spearheading the development of the tool -- a behaviour biometric-based authentication system leveraging haptics data.
Deep Algorithms is an IIT Mandi and IIT Kanpur incubated company with its head office in Hyderabad, Research and Development office in IIT Mandi and partner office in the USA.
The system has already been granted a patent and has been deployed at a bank and a forensic company. The team is currently in talks with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) to use it for authentication in government schemes.
Those involved in the development of the system explained that in today's digitally driven landscape, organisations encounter the daunting challenge of safeguarding sensitive data against relentless cyber threats while ensuring a seamless user experience.
"Conventional authentication methods relying on passwords and static security measures prove inadequate, leaving organisations susceptible to breaches and burdening users with cumbersome access processes.
"The escalating instances of cyber fraud, notably attributed to OTP compromises, have spurred organisations to seek robust solutions to fortify against unauthorised access and data breaches," Shukla told PTI.
"Traditional authentication methods, dependent on passwords and OTPs, increasingly succumb to phishing attacks and brute force breaches, thereby compromising security and user satisfaction. adapID will herald a paradigm shift in secure authentication by harnessing the potency of behavioural and physiological biometrics, offering unparalleled security measures," he added.
Shukla explained that the innovative approach will obviate the necessity for passwords and OTPs, streamlining user access processes while bolstering defences against emerging threats.
"The adapID AI adaptive authentication integrates behavioural and physiological biometrics, presenting a multi-layered authentication framework that dynamically adapts to evolving user behaviour. This password-less authentication system will employ advanced technology, encompassing invisible keyboard features and decentralised web protocols, to establish a novel standard in secure authentication," he said.
"Our groundbreaking behaviour biometric-based system will redefine secure authentication, effectively eliminating the reliance on passwords and introducing seamless continuous authentication.
"With adapID, we not only aim to revolutionise security protocols but also empower organisations to navigate the complexities of the digital age with unwavering confidence," he said.
Deep Algorithms' J P Mishra explained that adapID addresses an array of cyber threats, including fraud, unauthorised access and phishing attacks, spanning across industries such as financial services, government, technology and critical infrastructure.
"By furnishing the most robust form of authentication and discerning anomalies in user behaviour, adapID equips organisations with a dynamic and adaptive security posture. As organisations navigate the intricate landscape of cybersecurity threats, adapID will emerge as a pioneering solution, presenting a dynamic, adaptive and secure authentication framework.
"With its innovative integration of behavioural biometrics and continuous authentication, the innovation will establish a new benchmark in secure authentication, empowering organisations to safeguard sensitive data," Mishra said.
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SC stays CBI probe into West Bengal govt officials' role in teacher recruitment scam
New Delhi, Apr 29: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Calcutta High Court order directing the CBI to probe the role of West Bengal government officials in a teacher recruitment scam. It, however, refused to stay for now the cancellation of the appointment of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff.
The top court was hearing a plea by the West Bengal government against a high court order invalidating the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff made by the School Service Commission (SSC) in state-run and state-aided schools.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, however, refused to stay the high court order cancelling the appointments and said it will hear the matter on May 6.
Observing that taking away the jobs of about 25,000 persons is a serious matter, the top court asked if it is possible to segregate the valid and invalid appointments on the basis of the material available and who the beneficiaries of the fraud are.
"We will stay the direction which says the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) will undertake further investigation against officials in the state government," the bench said.
Calcutta High Court had said the CBI would undertake further investigations with regard to the persons in the state government involved in approving the creation of supernumerary posts to accommodate illegal appointments.
If necessary, the CBI will undertake custodial interrogation of such persons involved, it had said.
Challenging the order, the state government, in its appeal filed before the top court, said the high court cancelled the appointments "arbitrarily".
"The high court failed to appreciate the ramification of cancelling the entire selection process, leading to straightaway termination of teaching and non-teaching staff from service with immediate effect, without giving sufficient time to the petitioner state to deal with such an exigency, rendering the education system at a standstill," the plea said.
Calcutta High Court last week declared the selection process as "null and void" and directed the CBI to probe the appointment process. It also asked the central agency to submit a report within three months.
"All appointments granted in the selection processes involved being violative of articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, are declared null and void and cancelled," the high court said in its April 22 order.
The high court said those appointed outside the officially available 24,640 vacancies, appointed after the expiry of the official date of recruitment, and those who submitted blank Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets but obtained appointment to return all remunerations and benefits received by them with 12 per cent interest per annum within four weeks.
Observing that it had given "anxious consideration to the passionate plea" that persons who obtained the appointments legally would be prejudiced if the entire selection process was cancelled, the bench said it hardly had any choice left.
The high court held that all appointments involved were violative of articles 14 (equality before law) and 16 (prohibiting discrimination in employment in any government office) of the Constitution.
"It is shocking that, at the level of the cabinet of the state government, a decision is taken to protect employment obtained fraudulently in a selection process conducted by SSC for state-funded schools, knowing fully well that, such appointments were obtained beyond the panel and after expiry of the panel, at the bare minimum," the high court had said.
It said unless "there is a deep connection between the persons perpetuating the fraud and the beneficiaries" with persons involved in the decision-making process, such action to create supernumerary posts to protect illegal appointments is "inconceivable".
The division bench had also rejected a prayer by some appellants, including the SSC, for a stay on the order and asked the commission to initiate a fresh appointment process within a fortnight from the date of the results of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
The bench, constituted by the high court chief justice on a direction of the Supreme Court, had heard 350 petitions and appeals relating to the selection of candidates for appointment by the SSC in the categories of teachers of classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 and group-C and D staffers through the SLST-2016.
In its 282-page judgment, the high court had said retaining appointees selected through "such a dubious process" would be contrary to public interest.
