What was the Horizon Seamless Authentication for All Prize?
The European Commission launched the Horizon Prize: 'Seamless Authentication for All' in September 2017, with support on the design from Challenge Works. This EIC (European Innovation Council) Horizon Prize rewarded the best and most innovative user authentication solutions.
What was the Prize looking for?
The prize sought an innovative authentication solution that enables citizens and their smart objects to seamlessly authenticate themselves across a wide range of applications and devices in IoT and cloud ecosystems. The solution should also overcome the shortfalls of existing authentication technologies including challenges of group authentication (multiple users authenticating e.g. to the same smart objects). This prize will lead to a potentially significant breakthrough in the field of group authentication which would ultimately find their way into human-centric IoT and cloud ecosystems.
Why this Prize?
Traditional user authentication methods (e.g. password, PKI – Public Key Infrastructure certificates, biometrics) need to be replaced or strengthened when strong protection of data is needed. Multi-factor authentication responds to this need. But the increased security of multi-factor authentication has come at the price of even more complication and frustration for individuals, exposing them to various privacy and security risks.
In the IoT era, smart objects (e.g. smart mobile devices and household appliances, wearable gadgets, smart cars) get connected, operate in the Internet and interact with each other via sensors and/or Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFIDs) and they are usually authenticated based upon software and hardware approaches that utilise device-specific information.
The contest aimed to stimulate further research and innovation within the European Union in authentication appropriate for IoT and cloud ecosystems where all people and their smart objects become trust domestic circles that authenticate and interact securely. The contest has the ultimate goal of fostering the widespread adoption and access of services and products provided within the Digital Single Market where cyber security, privacy and liability are the priorities. No winners were selected for this Prize, however, you can find out more about the other Horizon Prizes here.