LexisNexis Risk Solutions announced their acquisition of behavioral biometric provider BehavioSec earlier this month. One of the earliest identity risk vendors, LexisNexis has expanded from traditional identity authentication to also digital identities through acquisitions of device ID provider ThreatMetrix and now a BehavioSec. Closing the gap between traditional and digital identity is indicative of the state and continued direction of identity and risk management in the digital era.
LexisNexis announced their acquisition of BehavioSec in early May. Founded in Sweden in 2008, BehavioSec is a behavioral biometrics provider focusing on passive and continuous authentication that grew a substantial client list spanning North America and EMEA regions.
The acquisition of BehavioSec comes a little more than four years after LexisNexis’ acquisition of ThreatMetrix for $817 million in 2018, and just over two years after acquisitions of ID Analytics and Emailage. The purchase of ThreatMetrix “closed the loop” between the traditional and digital identity worlds and this complete picture of an identity across both realms was further pursued in the Emailage and ID Analytics deals.
The ThreatMetrix, Emailage and ID Analytics acquisitions closed the gap between traditional and digital identities to gain a broader view of a consumer, but still primarily focused on use cases related to transactions and credit granting. The acquisition of BehavioSec is similar in that it is focused on a digital identity, but different in that the focus is more on passive, continuous authentication and is more of an account takeover (ATO) focus rather than the transaction event.
As fraudsters and fraud schemes evolve, we’ve seen startling growth in ATO activity, with 90 percent growth in ATO attacks in 2021. This investment of a well-established identity and fraud prevention vendor moving up the line from transaction to log-in events is indicative of not only the fraud trends of today, but where they are continuing to head.
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