At times when Smartphones have become the
parliamentary law of the day, here is some other technology that seamlessly
integrates Smartphones in our web experiences. SlickLogin, an Israeli start-up,
presented their ‘slick’ idea of sound-based system for logging into websites at
the Tech Crunch Disrupt conference in September last year. The three founders,
Or Zelig, Eran Galili and Ori Kabeli, started the company officially only in
December, 2013 and were taken (acquired) by Google in February, 2014. Trade
pundits are calling this as aqui-hire wherein the Israeli team consisting of
only its founders moved to Google’s office in Israel along with their product
after the acquisition was completed.
SlickLogin’s
technology can be applied as the secondary verification layer in a two-factor
authentication process or can completely replace passwords, depending on the
discreetness of the website using the applied science. All it involves is an
addition of a few communication channels of code in the already existing codes
to accommodate this characteristic. As a user, if you belong to any SlickLogin
enabled website you want to log in to, you would just need to tap the login
button and hold your Smartphone close to the data processor. The computer will
send a high-frequency (inaudible to the human ear) sound signal, which is a
uniquely generated key for that particular transaction, to your Smartphone. On
finding the signal, your phone will respond with your account confirmation
details and voila, you have been logged in to the site.
Built
up by graduates of the Israel Defense Force's cyber security unit, this
technology offers highly dependable, seamless, sophisticated and cost-effective
option to traditional passwords and SMS or token generated secondary
verification. Since the key (encoded in the sound signal) is generated uniquely
every time it cannot be recorded and played once more for subsequent logins. Besides,
if someone tries to tap this signal using their phone, in an attempt to login
to your account before you do, they would end up giving you access to their account
history instead of having yours. SlickLogin makes use of either mobile data,
Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, or WI-fi for the handshake. Presently the technology
requires internet, but the founders have applied for a patent for the
non-internet based handshake technology. The only major worry with this
engineering science is its complete dependence on the gimmick which makes login
impossible if you have run out of your mobile battery or if the phone is
stolen.
The
message on the SlickLogin website announcing this acquisition read as follows:
Other Israeli acquisitions made by Google since 2010 are
LabPixies, Quiksee and Waze.
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