Humaniq Review- Brilliant idea, poor execution
What is Humaniq
Humaniq is an attempt to give the 2 billion people on the planet without access to banking. Banking is especially important in developing countries, as it allows people to buy crucial items such as seeds, stoves, solar panels and even food. Currently, the reason why 2 billion people don't have access to banking is due to a lack of a way to identify the candidates. Without proper identification, the system is prone to scams. Humaniq tries to solve this problem using blockchain (bitcoin) technology in combination with a biometric ID system.
Humaniq Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
Currently, Humaniq is attempting to raise money for their project in the form of an initial coin offering (ICO). This is a crowdsourcing strategy where the public is asked to contribute Bitcoin or Ethereum to the project in return for Humaniq currency (HMQ).
Why is the concept of Humaniq Amazing
Humaniq solves a few crucial problems that are facing financial systems.
- Easy of Account Creation - Currently to create bank accounts, banks require passports and other official documentation which might not be available everyone. Humaniq requires biometric ID and can bypass this issue.
- Accountability - Blockchain technology allows us to track where the currency is being transferred with absolute transparency. This is a great for preventing scams - eg, users can verify if money load is indeed going for the purchase of seeds and not weapons.
- Free international transfers - Anyone can instantly transfer currency - without fees or delay.
Major problems for Humaniq
There is one major kink in Humaniq's plan - the technology required achieve accurate biometric ID using smartphones don't exist yet. The current Humaniq app uses Photo ID which is vulnerable to hacks using photos of the account owner.We tried the Humaniq app and managed to access other user's accounts accidentally when login in via facial recognition.An argument could be made that the Humaniq white paper details a much better method for Biometric ID, using a combination of voice and facial movement to add layers of security. Whilst this sounds good, such a system has never been successfully built.
Companies such as Intel, Microsoft, Samsung, and Apple have all thrown millions at solving the identity verification system with no perfect solution. This problem is beyond the scope of a small team of engineers with small amounts of funding from an ICO.
Conclusion
Whilst the concept behind Humaniq is amazing, without proof that they can solve the biometric ID problem the project cannot work. Biometric ID a primary pillar of the project and without a 100% accurate system, users' accounts can be hacked and their currency stolen. Humaniq must establish a perfect Biometric ID system as part of a minimum viable model and before releasing the idea to the public.
Review Rating
Rating - 2/5 - Amazing concept, poor execution.
Resources
Icorating review of Humaniq
Article Also Posted on http://boxmining.com/humaniq-review/
Thank you!! I offered a reward for someone to comment about this. https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@darkflame/humaniq-banking-for-the-unbanked-ethereum-based-proof-of-face
Humaniq is a technology providers and that uses only innovative solutions. Modern bio-authentication technologies allow to identify users with 99.9% probability. Having said that, it would be foolish to say that something cannot be hacked. Humaniq is taking very strong precautions, and security is part of the development model, not an afterthought. In the event that some vulnerability is found, Humaniq does what every other fintech company does, which is to patch it and prevent it from happening again. Also, just because something can be hacked does not mean it will. Most of Humaniq users will have the equivalent of $50 or less in their accounts, which does not make them high-value targets for hackers. It’s not worth exposing yourself to investigation and discovery to steal $50, and they’d need to hack each user individually, because the actual database of user verification info is stored in the Ethereum blockchain, which is considerably more difficult to hack than spoofing facial recognition software for one person.
Modern bio-authentication technologies allow to identify users with 99.9% : Can this be done with a $20 cell phone?