January 7, 2025
The fields of biometrics, identity verification, and cybersecurity experienced significant transformation throughout 2024. Advancements in generative AI, biometric technology, and passwordless solutions are fundamentally reshaping how we understand and establish online security and digital identity.
As we enter 2025, we’ve identified the top five analyst reports of the last year. Whether you’re a CISO, identity verification expert, or cybersecurity strategist, this guide distills hundreds of pages of complex research into key insights. Consider this your executive briefing: information that cuts through the noise, giving you a clear view of the technologies, tactics, and solutions.
#1 Gartner: The Impact of AI and Deepfakes on Identity Verification
Generative AI has propelled deepfake creation to unprecedented levels of sophistication, with synthetic identities now mimicking facial expressions, blinking patterns, and minute movements with extraordinary precision. We feel this Gartner report explores the implications of this technological leap and outlines strategies to combat these threats.
Our Key Insights:
- Growing Deepfake Threats: The ability to generate hyper-realistic deepfakes has moved from theoretical risk to practical threat, challenging traditional identity verification methods and compromising identity integrity.
- Liveness Detection as a Critical Defense: High-quality liveness detection has become essential for distinguishing genuine users from AI-generated fakes. Advanced detection capabilities are needed to counter presentation and digital injection attacks, with only select vendors meeting these stringent requirements.
- Dedicated Threat Intelligence Teams: Gartner underscores the importance of dedicated teams to monitor and respond to evolving deepfake tactics, ensuring organizations stay ahead of adversarial techniques.
For decision-makers, we believe this report underscores the need for comprehensive, high-assurance biometric systems that go beyond basic certification. It provides a clear overview of the remote identity verification landscape and recommendations to help keep processes secure.
“Liveness detection technologies are becoming critical for defending against deepfakes and verifying the genuine presence of an individual user” – Akif Khan, Gartner
Read the full Gartner report here.
#2 Gartner: Buyer’s Guide for Identity Verification
Gartner secures both the first and second spot on our 2024 list. Whereas the first report focuses on AI and deepfake’s impact on identity verification, this report zeroes in on how you can select an identity verification vendor.
Many organizations find it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of identity verification solutions due to a lack of standardized metrics and benchmarks. This absence of clear criteria for testing or accreditation, such as globally recognized standards for Digital Injection Attack Detection, complicates vendor comparisons and decision-making.
The Gartner Buyer’s Guide helps professionals navigate this complexity with a framework for comparing vendors across essential verification stages.
Our Key Insights:
- Five-Stage Vendor Assessment Framework: Gartner advises evaluating vendors by breaking down the identity verification process into five steps: document capture, document assessment, data extraction, liveness detection, and face comparison.
- Minimum Baseline vs. Real Security: While many vendors have iBeta certification for Presentation Attack Detection (PAD), Gartner advises viewing this as a baseline rather than a high standard. About 75% of vendors briefing Gartner meet iBeta’s requirements, but its relatively generous false non-match rate (FNMR) underscores the need for advanced capabilities – particularly for addressing injection attacks and other sophisticated fraud techniques.
- Drive the Conversation on Injection Attack Detection: Organizations should challenge vendors to go beyond basic security certifications and demonstrate capabilities that surpass minimum requirements. Since no global standards currently exist for evaluating injection attack detection, thorough and targeted questioning is essential to assess a vendor’s readiness to address this growing threat.
This report is ideal for organizations looking to choose a vendor that can meet today’s multifaceted, evolving security needs.
Read the full Gartner report here.
#3 Acuity: Biometric Digital Identity Prism for Financial Services
Acuity’s Biometric Digital Identity Prism focuses on the intersection of biometric technology and financial services, highlighting how industry leaders work to balance security, privacy, and user experience.
Key Insights:
- Rapid Market Expansion: Biometric-enabled digital identity in financial services is forecasted to achieve a 41.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2028, reflecting the rising demand for secure and user-friendly solutions.
- Characteristics of Leading Vendors: The report spotlights “Luminary” vendors that prioritize privacy, ethics, and seamless user interactions while fostering strategic partnerships to enhance secure user journeys.
- iProov Recognized as a Luminary For Biometric Technology: iProov is classified specifically in the report as a Luminary” – defined as a company that “shows the highest level of proficiency in their beam and are often responsible for setting trends in their field”.
Maxine Most, Principal at Acuity Market Intelligence, commented: “Not only is digital transformation driving the adoption of biometrics but there is growing awareness that the emerging identity infrastructure must have biometrics at the core. The Prism is a model for understanding how industry leaders like iProov fit into this biometric-centric vision of the evolution of the digital identity market landscape”
Read the full Acuity report here
#4 Goode Intelligence: Seamless Travel Powered by Digital Identity
Digital identity in the travel sector is undergoing rapid transformation, with biometrics enabling smoother and more secure journeys. Goode Intelligence’s report looks at the key technologies and standards driving this change, including insights into global adoption.
Key Insights:
- Biometric Integration: Digital identity technologies streamline travel processes such as pre-flight registration, expedited border control, and self-bag drops, reducing reliance on physical documents.
- Global Standards Driving Adoption: Initiatives like ICAO’s Digital Travel Credential (DTC) and IATA’s One ID are central to standardizing digital identity in travel, enhancing cross-border compatibility and security.
- Market Growth Projections: The report predicts that government and commercial digital travel identity markets will exceed $4.6 billion in revenue by 2029, with a 22% CAGR. Revenue from digital identity for air travel alone is projected to grow fivefold during this period.
This report is particularly valuable for understanding the role of global standards and partnerships in driving biometric solutions within the travel industry.
Read the full Good Intelligence Report Here
#5 Liminal: Customer Authentication Market and Buyer’s Guide
Liminal’s guide addresses customer authentication trends, focusing on the gradual shift toward passwordless solutions and the rise of biometrics.
Key Insights:
- The Path to Passwordless: While 87% of organizations have not fully transitioned to passwordless authentication, 97% express readiness to do so. Education remains a significant barrier to widespread adoption.
- Biometrics Leading the Charge: Nearly half of the companies planning passwordless options prioritize biometric authentication. FIDO2 passkeys remain underutilized due to limited consumer awareness.
- OTP Dependence Persists: Despite acknowledging the vulnerabilities of one-time passwords (OTPs) to phishing attacks, 74% of organizations plan to continue using them, highlighting the slow pace of change.
This report is a must-read for professionals strategizing the future of customer authentication in a competitive digital landscape.
Liminal’s report sheds light on the roadblocks and realities of passwordless adoption, making it a key read for professionals planning future authentication strategies in a highly competitive market.
Read the full Liminal report here
Top 5 Identity Verification/Cybersecurity Reports: Conclusion
From the complexities of deepfake detection to the opportunities presented by biometric integration in finance and travel, these reports offer essential insights for identity verification and cybersecurity experts.
By synthesizing these takeaways, professionals can navigate challenges, adopt forward-thinking solutions, and build trust in an increasingly digital world. Staying informed with these analyses will empower organizations to remain at the forefront of security and innovation.
