Biometric Authentication: Overview of the Advantages and Benefits

Author: huifan Time: 2021-01-25

Biometric authentication: an overview of the advantages and benefits

Biometric authentication solutions use the same forensic standards to manage access control (physical or digital) to sensitive areas or information systems. In the past two decades, technology has developed, and now a variety of biometric systems are available.

1. What is biometric authentication?

Data protection laws, changes in company policies, and greater risks to information systems caused by cybercriminals have led to the rapid development and implementation of technologies for various access control situations. With biometric solutions, governments, businesses, and online services can securely provide access to systems with multi-factor authentication.

Some types of biometric authentication tools available are:

Fingerprint scanner
Face and voice recognition
Iris scanner
Hand geometry

Using the above techniques, you can use passwordless authentication to deploy a secure access model to enhance security.

How does biometric authentication work?

Today's biometric authentication systems use the same forensic method to compare and match two sets of biometrics. First, you register information in the system and connect it to your profile. How the system matches your information with stored records depends on the type of biometrics involved. In order to make the system work properly, three types of technologies are involved:

Scanner or sensor-a high-precision scanning or sensing device used to capture biometric information.
Computer or system – an information system in which biometric information is stored so that you can retrieve it in the future for comparison with real-time data.

Software or application-a program that manages the interface between the sensor and the computer system when making comparisons.

The most common type of biometric authentication today is a fingerprint scanner. Scanners and software are becoming more and more common in laptops, mobile devices, or as connected peripherals to improve device security. Despite the existence of voice and facial recognition solutions, the price of the technology is still prohibitively high, and in some cases it is difficult to guarantee accuracy. Due to years of research and the accuracy of comparison methods, fingerprint scanners have become the preferred biometric authentication method for computer systems today.

Older fingerprint scanners use host matching technology, and Kensington developed our solution in cooperation with the leader of biometric systems. Synaptics uses sensor matching technology instead of host matching technology to build a fully hardware-packaged fingerprint scanner. With its system-on-chip architecture, it can perform all authentication on a single chip without having to send information to and from the host system. This is called enhanced authentication, and it makes the fingerprint scanner more secure.

Advantages of biometric authentication

Information security poses problems for all individuals and organizations. In order to improve system security, developers and manufacturers have tried many different methods. The password system is still standard, but it is vulnerable to hacker attacks. The more secure the system you use, the more passwords you must remember or store in a secure location. Even single sign-on (SSO) systems are still vulnerable when they create a single point of failure.

For biometrics, the advantages of fingerprint scanners include:

Enhanced security-Provides a safe and comfortable access control solution that will not expose your information to cyber criminals.
Higher accuracy-As one of the most complex biometric identification methods, fingerprint scanners provide almost 100% accuracy during identity verification.
Faster access-Compared with entering a password, a fingerprint scanner can quickly lock and unlock a workstation or device. In addition, you will no longer need to remember complex passwords.
Greater convenience-forgetting a password is also frustrating, and you should never use the same password on different systems. Fingerprint scanners can improve device and application level security without adding too much credential burden to users.
Higher affordability-Although devices and software systems provide free password management, fingerprint authentication is an affordable solution that can provide greater security for any type of secure access control.

The fingerprint scanner adopts a flexible design, is easy to register and deploy, and requires almost no maintenance except for updating the software. The solution complies with the latest security authentication standards, such as FIDO and FIDO2 (or WebAuthn). These standards use biometric authentication to provide a secure online access system for sites and services.

HFSecurity HF4000 Optical Fingerprint Scanner

Industries that apply biometric authentication to improve security

Automobile industry

Due to its versatility, accuracy and convenience, biometric authentication is finding applications in many different industries. Automobile companies are using iris and fingerprint scanners to lock, unlock and start vehicles. By 2024, the automotive biometric authentication industry will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17%.

Banking and medical

In the financial sector, biometric methods have become critical to preventing customer fraud. For medical care, it provides greater convenience, reduces human error and protects personal information. Consumers also prefer to use this authentication method. According to a survey conducted by MasterCard, 93% of customers want biometric authentication when using financial services.

Corporate offices and buildings

More and more employers are beginning to use biometric authentication to achieve automated and integrated access and security control. You can control all security information from a centralized encrypted location, while effectively restricting access to physical space and network locations. According to a Spiceworks survey, by 2018, 57% of organizations use fingerprint scanners as part of their identity verification systems.

Retail

Whether it is online retail or physical retail, customer experience is one of the most important considerations for a company. When retailers scramble to improve the user journey and provide value-added services, information security may be affected. Fingerprint biometric technology uniquely and effectively overcomes these challenges.

Government agency

Biometric authentication can help government agencies strengthen internal security and public-facing operations. Portable digital fingerprint scanners can help law enforcement agencies quickly retrieve personal records. Biometrics can also help improve school safety while improving the integrity of academic records.

education

Now, access control and data protection are crucial in schools and academic institutions. Biometric authentication can help ensure the academic record of the school, increase integrity by ensuring that valid students enter the examination room, and restrict access to the entire institution. The agency can also simplify operations through time and attendance management, library checkout, and identification of attendees during lockout or emergency procedures.

Improve your information security with biometric authentication solutions

With a portable biometric fingerprint scanner, you can ensure that your device is always provided with the best security. You can use a compact, multi-functional fingerprint scanning solution to improve the security of all systems and devices. If you often work outside the company network, you must perform a second authentication when accessing business information. With the fingerprint key, you can get enhanced security while working at home, office or anywhere else.