Account recovery has long been a pain point for both businesses and users. With over 30% of contact center calls tied to recovery processes, the operational and fraud-related costs can add up quickly. I recently posted an article on LinkedIn, “Using a Passport Chip for Account Recovery“, which outlines a forward-looking approach to tackling this issue: leveraging the cryptographic security of passport chips.
While this idea may still be in the realm of innovation rather than standard practice, it introduces a pattern worth exploring for organizations looking to strengthen their account recovery processes.
Why Explore NFC Chips?
Modern passports and ID cards often include NFC chips containing cryptographically verifiable data. These chips offer significant security benefits, such as:
- Resistance to attacks: NFC chips in government-issued identity artifacts use cryptographic protections that are not vulnerable to phishing, deepfakes, or social engineering.
- Privacy-first design: Businesses can rely on secure data matching without needing to store sensitive personal information.
- Global availability: With billions of chipped IDs in circulation, the infrastructure for this approach already exists.
Using NFC-enabled phones, individuals can verify their identities securely, replacing traditional recovery methods like knowledge-based authentication or telephone-based verification, both of which have become increasingly vulnerable.
A Potential New Path for Account Recovery
For organizations grappling with the growing complexity of identity verification, this model introduces a forward-thinking possibility:
- Improved Security Posture: By leveraging cryptographically verifiable identity documents, recovery processes can be made stronger than the authentication methods they support—a critical principle in identity management.
- Cost Reduction: Eliminating labor-intensive telephone-based identity verification could yield significant savings, especially for larger organizations.
- Value Protection: Customer Lifetime Value is at risk if organizations lack account takeover prevention measures—would account takeover victims remain loyal?
- Enhanced User Experience: Self-service recovery options leveraging widely available technology could reduce frustration for legitimate users while thwarting fraud attempts.
Recognizing the Challenges
This is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Organizations must weigh several factors, such as:
- The availability of NFC-enabled identity documents among their user base.
- Educating users on how to utilize chipped IDs effectively.
- Addressing edge cases where users lack compatible IDs or devices.
Additionally, as the article acknowledges, this approach requires collaboration across industries and careful consideration of privacy and compliance requirements.
An Idea to Explore
As an IDPro member, I appreciate the value of discussing emerging ideas like this with the community—not as definitive solutions but as possibilities to explore as the identity landscape evolves. For some organizations, NFC-based account recovery may represent a promising opportunity to address vulnerabilities in their processes. For others, it may serve as inspiration for thinking creatively about strengthening identity recovery.
Learn More
To explore the technical and operational considerations of using NFC-enabled passport chips in account recovery, check out the full article on LinkedIn: Using a Passport Chip for Account Recovery.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the content are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDPro organization.
Author Bio
Rob Brown has had chips with everything throughout his career:
From RFID tag start-ups to the NFC Forum, growing market demand for smart card processors, and Trusted Execution Environments for mobile payments and biometrics.
He consulted on IAM of Things, supply chain transparency, went through blockchain, and is now at @Inverid, where NFC chips, IDV, Mobiles, and biometrics converge in an app that scans your document chip to prove it is you.
As a mountain bike coach, he sees every crash teaches a lesson. A smashed phone and a world of digital pain in account recovery inspired him to look for something better for the next time.
