In a world where almost every business is on the internet and has data that is valuable to them, it becomes necessary that the said data remains secure and private. Biometric security has emerged as one of the most promising ways to keep your data secure.
In this blog, we will discuss, what is biometric security and how it helps organisations around the world to keep their data secure. But before starting our blog we first have to know what exactly biometrics are and what is biometric security.
Table of Contents
What Are Biometrics?
Biometrics are nothing but biological identification markers that are unique to different people. Some examples of biometrics are fingerprint, DNA, face recognition, voice recognition and a few others. In the field of data security or cybersecurity, biometrics refers to unique biological features for digital authentication.
The good thing about biometrics is that it takes data security to the next level by making it super difficult for anyone to hack you. On the other hand, the problem with biometric security is that if your biometric details get exposed there is an increased risk of identity theft.
Role of Biometric Security in Business
Biometric security is the incorporation of a biometric access control system, identification system and authentication system in an organisation. Components like cameras and fingerprint readers collect data and then compare it with the data present in the database to authenticate. If both the sets of data match, the identification and authentication are successfully processed, if it doesn’t match, the authentication fails.
In today’s world where the internet has become a vital part of everybody’s life and India is expected to have a $1 trillion internet economy by 2030, it’s important to have some security system that is good and reliable. Biometric security is far more accurate and robust as compared to other methods of authentication like pins and passcodes. The only problem is that if the identification information leaks then so does your biometric information, which can lead to identification theft.
Different Types Of Biometric Security
As we mentioned above, there are several biometric security methods. In this section, we will explain those methods.
Fingerprints
The most prominent type of biometric security is through fingerprint. The fingerprint scanners take an image of the ridges on your fingers and overlap them with the image in the existing data. If the image match, the authentication is successful, but if it doesn’t matches, the authentication is failed.
Retina Scan
The retina is the nerve tissue at the back of your eyeball, and it is one of the most accurate ways to authenticate someone’s identity through biometrics. The only caveat is that this biometric security system is very slow and isn’t easily available.
Facial Scans
Another biometric security method is a facial scan. A facial recognition system makes a 3D image of your face with the help of a camera and then later uses that image to authenticate a person’s identity.
How Does Biometric Security Secure Your Business?
A business has a lot of data that needs to be kept secure. Biometric security is very useful for this facet of business. These systems not only protect a company’s personal data but also protects the data of that company’s customer which help the company to build trust between them and their customers.
Many companies have data servers that hold their precious data and the only way to access these data servers is through biometric markers. This makes sure that only a few people are able to access the data server. If further tells the system who accessed the files so that in case of any malpractice the perpetrator can be apprehended.
The main benefit for a company to implement a biometric security system is to keep their data safe. However, there are a few other applications of this but it only helps depending on the type of organisation.
How Safe Is A Biometric Security System?
As we mentioned above a biometric security system is one of the most secure and reliable sources of verification and authentication. That being said, there are some vulnerabilities in biometric security systems that can be easily exploited.
Here are some of the leading safety concerns with biometric security:
Hacking
One of the main concerns with biometric security is that it can be a very motivating or lucrative target for any hacker. If a hacker manages to get your biometrics, it’s just a matter of time before they hack into your systems. The more a person scans their biometrics at different locations, the more likely it is that the biometrics identity can be hacked.
Risk Of Stolen Identity
Another caveat with biometric security is that if your biometric information is stolen, it is gone forever. You yourself can never trust your own biometrics ever again. It isn’t like an ID password that you can change if it’s leaked. If biometric information is stolen, it can never be changed.
Forgery
In a way, biometrics, fingerprint in particular is not a very safe way of securing your data. We leave our fingerprints almost everywhere we go. A con artist who has knowledge of biometrics can easily replicate your fingerprint with the help of things you touched. Other methods of authentication seem more likely to be unhackable than your fingerprints.
Our Take On The Matter
Biometric security is one of the best ways to secure your organisation’s or business’ private data. But no means of security is 100% secure and biometric security is no exception. A biometric security system is just as safe as the person using it. Make sure you don’t go around spreading your fingerprint.
