Konica Minolta Investing in Biometric User-Authentication Solution for Business
On June 7th, Konica Minolta of Tokyo, Japan, announced that it’s taken a stake in Nymi Inc., a venture company that’s based in Toronto, Canada, and which develops biometric user-authentication solutions for business.
The firm notes that Information security in today’s workplaces is increasingly crucial, requiring a reliable and easy-to-use personal-authentication identification system.
While security cards are a solution, they risk being stolen and/or counterfeited. Instead, it states, the wearable security device developed by Nymi ensures that such risk can be contained down to a minimum level, as a wrist-worn device doesn’t get activated on its own, but instead is activated by biometrically verifying the user – making it inoperable if lost or stolen.
The solution is said to be part of Konica Minolta’s strategy to strengthen its security portfolio for its copier/MFPs and related services.
The firm says it’s investing in Nymi to develop the “Nymi Band,” a wearable and biometric authentication device.
Nymi Enterprise Edition
Nymi currently markets the Nymi Enterprise Edition, which is worn on the wrist, is said to only work with an approved user, and is currently for use in manufacturing applications. It’s designed so that only the right user performs the right tasks at the right times, wirelessly communicating the user’s authenticated status to all endpoints that require verification of credentials. It integrates with an organization’s existing single-sign on (SSO), Manufacturing Execution System (MES), and Physical Access Control System (PACS). A Nymi Band remains authenticated until the approved user removes the band, and it can’t be transferred to anyone else.
Konica Minolta has a number of security solutions for its copier/MFPs, with perhaps the most well-known being its unique biometric user-authentication option. This small device, which is installed on or near an MFP, scans users’ finger-vein patterns, and then matches them with known users’ records before a user can use the MFP.