The technology industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by the need for stronger and more comprehensive cybersecurity measures to protect against cyber threats and attacks, as well as growing importance of technologies such as one-time passwords (OTP), public key cryptography, biometrics, and smart cards. These technologies can be combined or used independently to implement challenge-response authentication systems, providing an additional layer of security by verifying the user’s ability to respond accurately to a given challenge. In the last three years alone, there have been over 3.6 million patents filed and granted in the technology industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in Cybersecurity: Challenge-response authentication. Buy the report here.
Smarter leaders trust GlobalData
However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity.
Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.
300+ innovations will shape the technology industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the technology industry using innovation intensity models built on over 2.5 million patents, there are 300+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, byzantine fault tolerant blockchain, secure multi-party computing, and decentralised identity framework are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Secure hash algorithms (SHA), zero knowledge proof, and private blockchains are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are, firmware security, multimedia signal encryption, and biometric authentication, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for cybersecurity in the technology industry
Challenge-response authentication is a key innovation area in cybersecurity
Challenge-response authentication refers to an authentication protocol where one system (referred to as the server) initiates a challenge, and another system (known as the client) must furnish a valid response to establish authentication. Typically, the challenge comprises a random sequence of characters, although it can also take the form of a question that only the client possesses the answer to.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 320+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established technology companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of challenge-response authentication.
Key players in challenge-response authentication – a disruptive innovation in the technology industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to challenge-response authentication
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Samsung Group is one of the leading patent filers in challenge-response authentication. The company’s patents are aimed at a method for receiving profile information by a terminal in a communication system that involves transmitting, to a predetermined server, a first request message including an identifier related to the terminal and information related to a standby server; transmitting, to the standby server, a second request message including identifier information related to the terminal; and receiving, from the standby server, a first response message including server information for profile reception.
According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible to effectively carry out an opening of an eUICC terminal and a device change, and flexibly manage a transfer server for profile download. In addition, it is possible to flexibly install and manage a communication provider's remote installation of a profile in the eUICC terminal.
Other prominent patent filers in the space include Microsoft and Sony Group.
In terms of geographic reach Mastercard Technologies Canada leads the pack, followed by Authentify and YouView TV. In terms of application diversity Dover holds the top position, followed by DiUS Computing and Makita.
Challenge-response authentication offers enhanced security, protection against replay attacks, flexibility in challenge types, two-way verification, and adaptability to different authentication technologies. Its significance lies in mitigating vulnerabilities associated with traditional password-based authentication and providing a more robust and reliable authentication mechanism.
To further understand how cybersecurity is disrupting the technology industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Cybersecurity – Thematic Research.
Data Insights
From
The gold standard of business intelligence.
Blending expert knowledge with cutting-edge technology, GlobalData’s unrivalled proprietary data will enable you to decode what’s happening in your market. You can make better informed decisions and gain a future-proof advantage over your competitors.
GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
