In an increasingly digitized world, where the security and protection of data and information are of vital importance, Biometrics has become a key tool to verify the identity of people more precisely.
Imagine a world where you no longer need to remember passwords or carry ID cards with you. Biometrics offers an innovative solution to all of this, making use of those individual characteristics that distinguish you and make you unique.
Biometrics have not only transformed the way you identify yourself, but have also generated great advances in security in various areas, from access to companies and computer systems to the prevention of fraud and cybercrime.
Through the use of advanced technologies and sophisticated algorithms, biometrics have surpassed traditional authentication methods and have proven to be highly reliable and effective.
For all this, it is time to know what exactly biometrics is, how it works and analyze if it really is as safe as it is proposed.
What is biometrics?
biometrics is the statistical and mathematical measurement of unique physical or biological characteristics for identification purposes. In cybersecurity, the definition of biometrics refers to the use of unique biological characteristics for digital authentication and access control.
A common example of biometrics is facial recognition. Using advanced cameras and algorithms, a person’s facial features such as eye position, nose shape, and face structure can be analyzed to verify their identity.
This is used in applications such as smartphone unlocking or building access control systems where the person simply needs to show their face to be identified.
Another example is fingerprint recognition.. Each person has unique patterns in their fingerprints and this is used to confirm a person’s identity.
Devices such as fingerprint scanners can capture the pattern and details of fingerprint ridges and grooves and then compare them with previously stored data to see if they match. This is widely applied in security applications such as mobile access, access control systems, and forensic identification.
How do these biometric systems work?
These systems are based on the acquisition and analysis of biometric data to perform a comparison between the collected data and those stored in a previous database. The typical biometric recognition process includes the following steps:
- Biometric data acquisition: Physical or behavioral characteristics of a person, such as their fingerprint or facial pattern, are collected using specific devices, such as fingerprint scanners, cameras, or iris readers.
- Feature Extraction: The acquired biometric data is analyzed to extract the unique and relevant features of each individual. These features are converted into a digital representation, also known as a biometric template.
- Compare and Match: The generated biometric template is compared to templates stored in a previous database to find a possible match.
- Verification or Identification: Depending on the specific application, biometrics can be used to verify an individual’s identity, i.e. to confirm if it matches previously stored data, or to perform identification, i.e. to search for a match in the database to determine the identity of an unknown person.
Some common examples of biometric security
facial recognition
A facial recognition scanner captures an image of your face and compares it with your biometric information that has already been authenticated. ANDThe width of the eyes, the bone structure, the length of the nose and all the other details add up to a face scan unique to modern biometric technology.
fingerprint scanning
Biometric fingerprint scanners measure the unique pattern of friction ridges on the fingertips. Optical scanners do this by capturing a visual image, but other types of scanners use electrical currents, ultrasound, or thermal imaging to map your fingerprints.
Iris or retina recognition
Scanning of the retina is slow but extremely accurate and can only be done up close. Biometric iris scans, on the other hand, are faster and can be taken from further away, although they are less accurate. The latest smartphones are beginning to implement retinal and iris scanning biometric security features.
Speech recognition
Speech recognition technology measures frequency, pitch, and accent which are converted into an electrical signal and then cleaned up into different units of speech to help the software recognition to identify people.
Apple and Android digital assistants use voice recognition to learn your pronunciation patterns, allowing them to work faster and more accurately.
Recognition of hand and finger veins
Finger and hand vein scanners use near-infrared light to capture images of blood vessel patterns near the surface of your finger or handprint. Blood flow also helps detect false data entries unlike a fingerprint scanner which can be falsified by a copied fingerprint.
Is it really a step forward in terms of security?
While biometrics are more secure than passwords, This security measure also entails privacy concerns:
1. Hackers could access any data collection, including biometrics and high-profile biometrics they can be an especially attractive target for hackers. Fortunately, these tend to be protected at a stronger level.
However, as biometrics become more common, it is likely that your biometric information will be available in more places that do not rely on the same level of secure storage.
2. Biometrics could become so common that people become complacent. They may not use the kind of common sense security measures they use today because they believe that biometrics will solve all their security problems.
3. Data stored in a biometric database may be more vulnerable than any other type. You can change passwords but you can’t change your fingerprint or iris scan. This means that once your biometric data has been compromised, it may no longer be under your control.
4. Some parts of your physical identity can be duplicated. For example, a cybercriminal can take a high-resolution photo of your ear from afar or copy your fingerprints from a glass you leave in a cafe.
5. The laws governing biometrics are still a work in progress, which means that your rights may be different from one country to another. However, lawmakers could eventually create a common law to address biometric privacy.
In 2019, cybercriminals accessed a biometric database, exposing 28 million records, including the fingerprints of more than a million people. Other information exposed included fingerprint data, users’ facial photos, and usernames and passwords.
On the other hand, in 2021, hackers exposed a company’s biometric data, credit card information, driver’s license numbers, health insurance information, and other customer data.
Samsung in 2022 confirmed that it suffered a security breach in which hackers stole and exposed 200 gigabytes of sensitive data. TechCrunch reported that the leak included algorithms for biometric unlock operations for their devices.
As you have already seen in summary, although biometrics provide a higher level of security compared to traditional authentication methods, it is not completely foolproof and presents new challenges to solve in terms of accuracy and data protection.
It’s clearer than ever that it’s really important to implement proper security measures and for businesses to keep up with advances in biometric technology to maximize everyone’s safety.
