Nok Nok gets $15M to use your device’s hardware to identify you

Nok Nok, a company that wants to help organizations get rid of the traditional login and password, raised $15 million in its first round of funding today from DCM and Onset Ventures.

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The company created a Unified Authentication Infrastructure that lets companies keep their systems safe by using the existing security products in different computers — such as desktops, servers, and mobile phones — to identify a user. For instance, you may have to swipe a finger or user your voice to prove you are you.

Logins and passwords are one of the most insecure parts of a company’s system. You need a login and password to prove that you are who you say you are. But with mobile technologies entering the workplace, as well as other Internet connected devices, employees are having to authenticate from many different access points. These add more attack vectors for someone trying to get into the system, so new forms of authentication, such as Nok Nok, are being introduced to the market.

But we haven’t yet gotten rid of the password because there simply hasn’t been something good enough to replace it. Nok Nok is working with a number of well-known organizations to put smart thinkers together to come up with the best ways to deal with this problem. Those organizations include PayPal’s electronic payment division, Lenovo, and Infineon Technologies AG.

Nok Nok was founded in November 2011 and is based in Palo Alto, Calif.

hat tip Reuters; Nok Nok image via Nok Nok