biometricidentification

[biometricidentification]

Why is Biometrics More Secure?

Biometric authentication is a cybersecurity procedure that confirms a user's identification using unique biological characteristics, such as fingerprints, voices, retinas, and facial features. When a user accesses their account, biometric authentication systems record this information to validate their identification. This authentication method is often more secure than traditional multifactor authentication methods.

Biometric multifactor authentication solutions give an extra layer of protection to existing security measures. Modern application of biometrics are often tied to a mobile device or laptop for device-based authentication. Biometric authentication provides robust security because biometric data is complicated to reproduce, unlike passwords.

Passwords can readily be compromised through various means. The most prevalent are phishing attacks, in which hackers pose as customer care representatives or send an email to a user requesting their login credentials. With biometric authentication, it is only possible to communicate an accurate authentication method if the user is physically present and registered with the device.

Biometric authentication is one of the most secure ways to protect accounts since the user's face and fingerprints are unique. It cannot be copied, which makes spoofing attacks less prevalent.

Biometric Authentication Use Cases

Healthcare

Hospitals mainly use biometric authentication to monitor patients correctly and minimize confusion. Clinics and physicians' offices also utilize biometric authentication to safeguard patients' information. With biometric identification, medical facilities can safeguard patients' personal records.

Travel

A microchip in an electronic passport maintains the same biometric details that a traditional and physical passport contains. This includes a digital photograph of the passport bearer, their name, and other identifying information. The e-passport is issued digitally by a country's issuing body. This allows for the validation of the holder's identification using fingerprints or other biometric information. Every verification process also makes a comparison of the data stored in the chip to the information supplied by the passport holder.

Law Enforcement

Different types of biometric data are used by law enforcement for identification purposes. State and federal authorities use fingerprints, face characteristics, iris patterns, voice samples, and genetic material. This expedites and simplifies their access to confidential information. Usually, a professional and authorized examiner of human biometrics or a capable software system is used by law enforcement to match a fingerprint picture to the verified images and data stored on file.  AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) can match a fingerprint to a database containing millions of fingerprints in a few minutes.

Visit authID to learn further about passwordless login.

[biometricidentification]

Four Security Themes to Keep in Mind this Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is Cybersecurity Awareness month, and it is the best time for organizations to assess their current identity, access management, and authentication methods. This celebration emphasizes the importance of a company’s overall protection. And this is achieved by consistently improving cybersecurity strategies.

Through the years, several security themes have emerged that influence how people interact in cyberspace. Organizations should reflect upon these for their advantage. This year’s themes include human vulnerabilities, passwordless logins, ethics in biometric identification, and the expansion of the Zero Trust program.­

Human Vulnerabilities

Human input has often been regarded as a risk for cybersecurity. Cybercriminals use this aspect to penetrate the security of organizations. This can be through appealing to people’s emotions or abusing their lack of awareness. 

Human vulnerabilities can be intentional or unintentional. The former refers to direct action to access, modify, or remove data to steal from or sabotage an organization. It could include installing malicious software that compromises the company’s cybersecurity or stealing valuable information from the company’s database.

Unintentional vulnerabilities are caused by human error. They are often the results of negligence, inattention, or lack of education. Mistakes from operators can quickly become an opportunity for a bad actor to harm the organization.

 

How Cyber Criminals Exploit Human Vulnerabilities

Digital systems still require human intervention. Because of this, systems are susceptible to error. Human vulnerabilities are responsible for about 82% of data breaches in 2022.

Cybercriminals conduct intensive surveillance to uncover vulnerabilities in an organization’s security measures. Human errors or weak systems are examples of qualities that these individuals wish to discover. After thorough research, cyber attackers create plans to exploit the natural tendency of humans to trust. This cyber attack is called social engineering.

Social engineering is centered on manipulating human emotions to breach security. This is done through intense preparation, interaction with vulnerable individuals, exploitation of their information or authority, and exit after committing the attack.

For instance, Uber was recently a victim of a multi-factor authentication (MFA) social engineering attack on and smishing scheme. The hacker was able to acquire the employees’ passwords, giving them access to the company’s systems, including their Duo, AWS, and Google Workspace.

Aside from appealing to human emotion, the following aspects expose an organization’s security to cyber attacks:

Weak passwords

Insecure or outdated operating systems

Lack of maintenance

Inexperienced operators

Visiting or downloading from unsecured sites

Negligence in signs of attacks

Failure to act promptly against malware and viruses

Dishonest or negligent employees

With the rising number of security breaches throughout the years, implementing FIDO authentication can prevent attacks. Passwordless authentication lessens the risk of human vulnerabilities. Companies can make identity verification more seamless and effective by removing the issues that passwords pose, such as recalling and resetting them.

Organizations can strengthen their cyber security efforts by constantly learning to improve their existing identity verification, authentication, and access management methods. Read an in-depth discussion of the four security themes companies should keep in mind this cybersecurity awareness month by checking out this blog post by authID.

[biometricidentification]

Ethical Biometrics High Road Should Be Easy, Yet Many Identity Service Providers Struggle

As the use of biometrics increases and governments look for ways to control the use of this technology, questions of privacy and surveillance surface. The risks are compounded by the lack of standards, adequate policy protections, ecosystem collaboration, and a general lack of awareness and understanding of biometrics. Once the technology leaves the realm of technologists, these questions will become public policy debates and questions of corporate responsibility.

Biometrics are fundamental elements of modern digital identity verification systems. As governments and service providers use biometrics to reduce fraud and other problems, the need for solid data protection is paramount. But this is also a difficult road to travel since biometric data is irreversible and cannot be reset by third parties.

Biometrics offer numerous advantages. Its security is enhanced by combining multiple factors, making it difficult for bad actors to duplicate or hack. It also creates less friction for end users. This makes biometrics a popular choice for companies in a variety of sectors. While biometrics is increasingly popular technology, there are concerns that this new technology has the potential to undermine privacy. Busing biometric data can pose privacy risks, especially when the data is transferred to a central database. Those concerns are heightened because biometrics will soon extend far beyond human health. For instance, security researchers demonstrated that 3D printing could be used to compromise fingerprint scanning technology.

Biometrics has many advantages, but there are also ethical considerations. The first concern is that biometrics are not foolproof. The data may be compromised or misused by service providers or fraudsters. This data could be interconnected with other files or processed in ways not agreed upon by the citizen.

The second concern is the use of biometric data for commercial purposes. These systems would use biometric data to track and profile individuals. However, it is critical to understand such applications' social and cultural contexts before implementing them. Failure to consider these issues can degrade the systems' efficacy and lead to serious unintended consequences.

Biometric identification has many advantages, including increased security and convenience. But it also has several security and privacy risks. In addition to being difficult to hack, biometrics are hard to replicate by bad actors, which means they're not easy targets. Furthermore, they reduce friction for the end user. These are the reasons why companies across various sectors are exploring biometric interfaces as an alternative to traditional authentication methods. You can read this helpful blog if you want to know more why many identity service providers still struggle despite of the fact that ethical biometrics high road should be easy to practice.