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London, Thursday January 4th 2024
In a groundbreaking move to tackle the rampant surge in financial fraud, Thingthing Ltd., the company behind Fleksy, the market leader in virtual keyboard development kits, announces a prestigious grant from Innovate UK. This grant empowers the leading company to elevate its Fleksy keyboard into a cutting-edge “Know Your Customer” (KYC) security tool, presenting an unparalleled solution to combat financial fraud in the UK and beyond.
The Financial Fraud Landscape
Recent reports reveal that Britons lost a staggering £1.2 billion to financial fraud in 2022. With the majority or 93% of the population embracing online banking, the need for robust cybersecurity measures has never been more urgent.
Banks invest significant resources, allocating an average of 10% of their budgets to cybersecurity, to safeguard customers from threats like password breaches and identity theft. The rise of mobile banking fraud, accounting for approximately £30 million in losses in 2022, highlights the vulnerabilities in existing security measures.
The Innovate UK Grant: Fueling Innovation for Cybersecurity
The Fleksy iOS and Android software keyboards, already a popular choice ranking fifth in Europe and the USA, has received a prestigious grant from Innovate UK. Innovate UK, a catalyst for economic growth and innovation, recognizes the potential of Fleksy to revolutionise KYC verification and bolster online banking security.
Keystroke Tracking: A Novel KYC Avenue
While existing methods rely on passwords, Face ID, and fingerprint ID, Fleksy’s innovative approach builds individual keystroke patterns for users. Any deviation triggers automatic flags, enabling immediate action to prevent unauthorized access.
This disruptive cybersecurity opportunity has no close competitors in the market. Major players like Microsoft, Apple, and Google offer keyboards without the added layer of security provided by keystroke tracking. This is why the company aims to pioneer the integration of keystroke tracking as a KYC tool — and then enable the broader market of applications handling sensitive data to benefit from it.
Collaboration with Banking Partners
To implement keystroke tracking and KYC verification, Thingthing Ltd. will collaborate closely with its banking clients, including a major European Bank it can’t disclose at this time. This collaborative effort will identify the most effective routes for creating individual typing signatures, with machine-learning algorithms capturing, extracting, and analyzing typing data.
Unique Market Position and Immediate Impact
With its Fleksy keyboard already widely adopted, the innovative company is uniquely positioned to deliver this novel KYC security tool. The grant from Innovate UK serves as a catalyst to accelerate development and deployment, addressing the urgent need for enhanced cybersecurity measures in the face of relentless financial fraud.
This initiative aligns with Innovate UK’s mission to drive economic growth and productivity by supporting businesses with groundbreaking ideas.
About Fleksy
Fleksy is an award-winning virtual keyboard technology provider. The Fleksy Software Development Kits (SDKs) enable developers and companies to overcome the challenge of building a top-notch typing experience across various platforms. Its clientele can then focus on their area of expertise & value-add for a monthly licensing fee. For more information, visit www.fleksy.com. For media inquiries, please contact: business [at] fleksy [dot] com
About Innovate UK
Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. We connect businesses to the partners, customers and investors that can help them turn ideas into commercially successful products and services and business growth. We fund business and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business investment into R&D. Our support is available to businesses across all economic sectors, value chains and UK regions. Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation. For more information visit www.innovateuk.ukri.org
