Say Hello to Voiceprinting. Voice biometrics is poised to add more security to phone-based transactions in Europe.

Speech-recognition software is used today by banks and other institutions to conduct customer transactions over the phone without the need for a live customer-service representative. But such systems recognize mainly numbers and words, not individual voices. If you utter the right PIN and account number, you get through.

Now a system being readied for commercialization in Europe treats an individual’s voice as the gate-opener. That capability would add another security layer: while your PIN can be compromised, your voice is not so easily stolen. It could also eliminate the need to remember and recite account numbers and PINs.

By Duncan Graham-Rowe

Full Story: http://www.technologyreview.com/BizTech/wtr_16684,295,p1.html