Incode Acquires Identiq to Establish Privacy-First Fraud Prevention Network

In this article, Biometric Update reports on Incode's acquisition of Tel Aviv-based startup Identiq, whose cryptographic technology enables peer-to-peer sharing of fraud signals while protecting customer privacy. Incode is using the deal to stand up a privacy-preserving fraud signals-sharing network, and frames it as part of a $100 million commitment to privacy-preserving identity infrastructure. The investment will support on-device processing, global expansion, engineering resources, and R&D in privacy-enhancing technologies.

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Incode acquires Identiq to establish privacy-first fraud prevention network

By Chris Burt

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Incode is standing up a privacy-preserving fraud signals-sharing network after acquiring Tel Aviv-based startup Identiq.

Identiq has developed proprietary cryptographic technology to enable peer-to-peer sharing of fraud signals while protecting customer privacy. The company had raised more than $50 million to invest in its patented technology. Incode states that integrating that technology enhances its privacy-first architecture.

“We have always believed that privacy and fraud prevention are not a trade-off, but part of the same problem, solved together or not at all,” says Ricardo Amper, founder and CEO of Incode, in the company announcement. “Identiq is the piece that enhances our Privacy by Design architecture, the natural culmination of the decisions we made on day one.”

Three architectural decisions made by Incode at its inception form the foundation of the company’s privacy commitment, according to the company announcement. They include AI-first identity verification that limits human access to biometrics, ID documents and liveness detection data to optional situations in which human oversight is needed, on-device processing of its facial age estimation and IDV software, and now realizable with the acquisition of Identiq, collaboration without the risk of exposing or centralizing customer data to create a huge attack surface.

Incode frames the acquisition as part of a $100 million commitment to privacy-preserving identity infrastructure. Portions of that investment will go towards enhancing Incode’s on-device processing capabilities, global footprint and engineering resources, and R&D in privacy-enhancing technologies.

A new approach for an altered threat landscape

Data from Incode’s work shows that fraud attempts by AI agents has leaped from only 3 percent of the total in 2024 to 40 percent in the first quarter of this year. The company sees that number rising beyond 90 percent in the next 18 months.

This threat can be mitigated by pooling data across institutions, but the traditional way of doing so substitutes the problem of data exposure and proliferation, Incode argues.  This is where Identiq’s technology comes in.

“Every institution shared the same concern with us: how do we fight fraud together without giving up control of our customers’ data,” says Itay Levy, CEO and co-founder of Identiq. “Identiq built the answer to that very question. As part of Incode, that answer is now available to every organization that deals with massive amounts of user data.”

Incode emphasizes the privacy bona fides the Identiq acquisition adds to, including compliance with SOC 2 Type 2, ISO/IEC 27001, FedRAMP Ready and the Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS), and completion of HIPAA Attestation of Compliance and Kantara IAL2 Component Services Trust Mark processes.

The company also completed an independent adversarial penetration test that demonstrated the effectiveness of its biometric injection attack detection (IAD) earlier this year.

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