Introduction
The fact that we live in a digitally connected world is a pointer that cybersecurity needs to be prioritized. There are cybercriminals and hackers everywhere, discovering new strategies to boycott security measures, and then obtain vital data. This makes it hard for conventional security measures to compete with these constantly revolving dangers. Thankfully, there’s a formidable new contender in town, and that’s biometrics cybersecurity.
The wonders of biometric technology, through biometric systems, have transformed digital assets. This technology engages distinct biological traits like voice, fingerprint, retina, and facial features to identify a user. Biometric authentication systems securely retain the data of the user for identity verification, each time the user accesses their account. This type of authentication is safer than conventional multi-factor authentication (MFA). Why are companies and individuals adopting these innovative security measures and what makes biometrics unique? Read on to learn more.
Understanding Biometrics
Authentication and identification
Biometrics is formed from two terms “bio” and “metric” meaning “human” and “measurements” respectively. To make it easier to understand, biometrics is what distinguishes humans from one another. You get to know who the other person is from other people you’ve been meeting. It includes quantifiable physical attributes and distinctive behavioral features that are employed to identify or confirm your self-stated identity. Fingerprints, iris scans, and face images are a few examples of these features.
Though you may find yourself thinking that biometric authentication is the same as identification, they’re somewhat different. While biometric identification verifies who you are based on your body measurements, biometric authentication goes further to use that information to compare you against a database and enter your information in service. It suffices to say that identification asks who you are, while authentication asks if you are who you claim to be.
Types of biometric identifiers and authentication methods
Different popular biometric identifiers and authentication methods have been engaged in network security to defend against threat actors. Here are some prevalent biometric technologies that have become accessible to users:
- Eye Recognition Scanner. This uses the distinctive pattern of your iris or retina for your identification. To get an accurate iris identification when using the scanner, you’ll need an interference of natural light, infrared-sensitive camera, and infrared light source. With a retina scanner, a bright light is projected into your eyes to highlight blood vessel patterns that the scanner can recognize. This method is often used in high-security settings like vaults, nuclear research labs and other confidential locations. The reason this method is not that popular is because of its complex setup. However, if you’re able to satisfy the necessary requirements, this method gives the highest level of accuracy.
- Fingerprint Recognition Scanner. This is the most used biometrics method. Your distinct fingerprint is required to verify your identity. Fingerprint recognition secures several applications like buildings, cars, and mobile devices. With recent technological developments, you can now scan vascular patterns together with common fingerprint ridges. This improvement has significantly decreased the frequency of false positives, which is a problem sometimes linked to consumer-grade biometric systems like those found in smartphones.
- Voice Recognition Scanner. This technology involves creating a distinct voiceprint by recording your voice and storing it in a database with many data points. This technology doesn’t just focus only on voice analysis, it goes firther to account for the development of the mouth, throat structure, and the characteristics of the voice. This method lowers the possibility of attempts at voice mimicry being misinterpreted.
- Facial Recognition Scanner. This technology identifies you through your distinct facial features. You can use facial recognition technology in many applications like credit card payments, cellphones, and police enforcement. Just like the fingerprint technology, facial recognition examines your facial traits using recorded parameters and measurements know as faceprints. This is different from the conventional approach, where you take out distinguishing elements, like your nose, eyes, and the space between your lips and nose, from your image and then match the features to other images.
- Others. Some other biometrics methods are keystroke dynamics, hand geometry, palm print analysis, signature recognition, and gait analysis. Your biometrics feature in any system or application must take behavioral and biological factors into account to provide reliable authentication.
Biometrics security: Unique or replicable?
When you have finally decided to use this technology, ensure it meets some necessary qualities for prolonged identity encryption. The qualities are its dependability, originality, collectibility, ease of use, universality, acceptance, and long-term viability. You should also understand that no two people have been found to have the same fingerprints, not even identical twins. Each of your fingers has a fingerprint different from the rest. The National Forensic Science Technology Center highlights the extraordinary uniqueness of biometric characteristics to further prove that it is not replicable.
However, you must ensure you use more than one credential for your security. While you can enter and confirm your security with one unique attribute, like your face or retina is good, using more than one unique attribute for your security is better. This is because it’s likely for spoofing to occur with a single credential setup, popularly known as unimodal biometric authentication. But with multimodal biometric authentication, where identity verification involves checking several biometric credentials, it’d be impossible for threat actors to spoof you. When you have more than one credential on your security, the entire authentication process is secured because if one method is compromised, the other methods will still be intact to secure you.
Benefits and application of biometric authentication for enterprise security
Biometrics applications provide many benefits in different sectors. Below are some sectors where biometrics can be used successfully and the unique benefits they offer:
1. Banking and financial sectors
Enhanced security: Financial organizations can enhance security protocols by providing an additional layer of protection to their customers’ security.
Quick customer identification: Banks can expedite procedures that involve identifying customers with biometrics.
Mobile banking applications: Banks now employ biometric authentication in their mobile banking app.
2. Travel and hospitality sectors
Effortless check-ins: Executive travel agencies and lodging establishments provide biometric authentication for self-check-in.
Simplified processes: Biometrics simplify passenger and guest identification.
3. Law enforcement
Expedited identification: Law enforcement can now obtain confidential information or data quickly with biometrics authentication.
Enhanced security: There is now enhanced security and streamlined operations with the use of biometrics authentication.
4. Healthcare sector
Patient verification: Biometrics verify patient identities and ensure accurate healthcare delivery.
Rapid access: You can now access medical records swiftly. This promotes efficient care and prevents errors.
Closing thoughts
Compared to traditional cybersecurity methods, biometrics cybersecurity, a game-changing technology, gives you the ability to expedite authentication procedures by using your distinct physical characteristics to provide increased security, access control, and management.
Though biometrics has several benefits for a variety of businesses, there are some issues with its use. One worry is that bad actors may intercept your biometric data while it is being transmitted to central databases, giving them the opportunity to duplicate the data fraudulently for unlawful transactions. Another issue is “function creep,” which is the tendency for businesses to use biometric security systems for purposes other than those for which they were originally intended.
However, to be on the safer side, you should consider some essential components in your biometrics methods, like the degree of accuracy, strong anti-spoofing capabilities, acceptance of modalities, economy of scale, and compliance with good cyber hygiene procedures. These essential components support the safe and efficient use of biometric technology across a range of applications.
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