How Biometric Authentication Enhances Security

Keeping online information secure is an imperative everyone understands. The consequences of stolen data are well-known. Everyone, from individuals to large companies, must protect their private information, yet legacy security models including passwords and PINs are being easily defeated by cybercriminals. Biometrics offer a far more sophisticated and secure way to keep data safe.

Biometrics are the unique features of your body that only you possess and help prove who you are. Different kinds of biometric identifiers can be used to secure data, including fingerprints, facial recognition, voice patterns, and others. Solutions like the biometric authentication ring are far safer than traditional password-based systems because they cannot be attacked with social engineering or with a brute force method.

In addition to security, biometrics also facilitate a wealth of other functions – from accessing personal and work accounts faster, and easier unlocking of our cars. In this post, we’ll take a deep dive into recent developments and trends in biometric technology, including innovations like the FIDO2 ring, and explore the possibilities for the future.  

What is Biometrics

Biometrics is a method of identifying people according to their unique physical features and/or the way they behave. Consider the ancient Babylonians, who used to press their fingerprints into clay to sign off on deals. In modern times, of course, biometric identification has become much more advanced. Today, using high-tech methods to confirm someone’s identity is both safe and fast.

Biometrics systems check your identity by analyzing things that are unique to you—the patterns on your fingertips, the characteristics of your face, the lines in your eyes' irises or how your voice sounds. These bits of information are digitized and stored in a secure manner. Then, when there's a need to check whether you are who you claim to be, this can be validated using these stored details to make sure there is a match.

Biometrics Market Size and Growth 2024 to 2033

The global biometrics market is on a significant upward trajectory. Its value was USD 41.58 billion in 2023 and expected to soar to USD 267.05 billion by 2033, achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.44%. In the United States, the market size is projected to increase from USD 9.98 billion in 2023 to USD 64.09 billion by 2033. This remarkable growth reflects the expanding adoption of biometric technologies across a variety of sectors, driven by the increasing need for secure authentication methods.

The biometrics industry is booming thanks to new tech developments, a growing need for better security, and efforts to stop identity theft and fraud. Key sectors like banking, healthcare, government, and consumer electronics are leading the way in using biometric authentication. One of the main uses is to make sure people can access services safely and smoothly.

What is Biometric Data?

Biometric data is comprised of digitized representations of the unique physical characteristics and habits that allow us to recognize and verify a person's identity. This includes things like fingerprints, facial features, and even the way you walk or talk – anything that distinguishes you from another person. These identifiers are reliable because they rarely change over time and can be quickly gathered and stored for future use.

Examples of Biometric Data:

• Fingerprints: The unique arrangement of ridges and valleys on fingers.
• Facial Recognition: The specific features of a person's face, such as the spacing between the eyes and the contour of the nose.
• Iris Patterns:The detailed structures within the colored part of the eye.
• Voice Recognition: The distinct qualities of a person's voice and speech patterns.
• Other Biometrics: Includes traits such as hand geometry, gait, and even DNA.

Biometric data is typically stored in a secure database and retrieved during the authentication process to verify an individual's identity. The collection and storage of biometric data must comply with stringent privacy and security regulations to prevent misuse and unauthorized access.

What is Biometric Authentication?

Biometric authentication is the process that uses biometric data to verify an individual's identity. Unlike traditional methods that depend on something a person knows (like a password) or has (like an ID card), biometric authentication is based on who a person is. The process generally involves capturing a biometric sample, extracting relevant features, and comparing them with stored data to confirm the individual's identity.

This approach offers several advantages over traditional methods of identity authentication. Notably, biometrics eliminates the need for passwords, reduces the risk of credential theft and offers a smoother user experience. However, it also presents challenges related to privacy and the potential misuse of sensitive information.

What are Examples of Biometric Authentication Methods?

Fingerprint Recognition: Popular owing to its simplicity and accuracy, fingerprint recognition is used in smartphones and other physical and digital security systems. It scans fingerprints to verify identity, taking advantage of the uniqueness of the tiny lines and shapes on a person's fingertips, then checks them against stored data to verify identity.

Facial Recognition: Increasingly common in smartphones and other portable devices, this technology identifies facial traits using complex math to outline facial features and match them with stored images.

Iris and Retina Scans: These techniques identify you by the distinct patterns in your eye, offering pinpoint accuracy for high-security areas. Iris scans examine the colorful part of your eye, while retina scans look at the pattern of blood vessels inside your eye.

Voice Recognition: This tech recognizes you by listening to your voice. It is notably useful for customer service calls or voice-activated devices such as Amazon Echo, Google Home, Siri and Google Assistant. Voice recognition systems recognize the unique patterns in your voice (pitch, tone and cadence) to recognize and confirm your identity. 

Other Biometrics: There are other new biometric authentication methods in use and under development, including measuring hand shape, analyzing how someone walks, or using DNA. Hand geometrics examines the unique size and structure of an individual’s hand; gait analysis studies walking stance and DNA identification checks a person’s genetic blueprint to verify identity.

What Types of Biometrics Authentication Are There? 

There are 3 main categories of biometric authentication:

1. Physical Biometrics: This type of biometrics relies on physical characteristics like fingerprints, facial shapes, and the unique patterns in your iris. It is popular because of its reliability and ease of use.
2. Behavioral Biometrics: This type of biometrics examines how you behave. For example, the way you type on your computer or phone, or the rhythm of your voice. It's often used alongside physical biometrics to tighten security. By observing how someone uses a device or system, behavioral biometrics can add an extra level of protection.
3. Multimodal Biometrics: This approach combines different types of biometric authentication methods – such as fingerprint scanners and facial recognition technology – to boost both accuracy and trustworthiness. Systems that use multimodal biometrics check identity through various pieces of biometric information, which makes mistakes less likely.

Why is Biometrics Used for Security?

Using biometrics for security delivers many benefits, including:

• Better Protection: Biometrics helps ensure that only authorized users can access protected areas or view private information. It's harder to copy or steal someone's biometric details like fingerprints or facial features than it is to crack a simple password.

• Ease of Use: With biometrics, there’s no need to remember tricky passwords or use password managers. You can simply use your fingerprint or face, which is both quicker and simpler.

The Risks and Considerations of Biometrics

Using fingerprints, facial recognition or other biometric authentication techniques can significantly enhance security. However, biometrics is not without risks. It's crucial to have advanced security systems that store sensitive personal data that, if leaked, could allow impersonation or identity theft. Ensuring the robustness of biometric data systems and encrypting biometric data is essential to prevent access by unauthorized individuals.

Multimodal Biometric Authentication: Enhancing Security

Multimodal biometrics, alongside advanced solutions like the MFA ring, is a method of enhancing security using a combination of more than one kind of biometric data – for example, fingerprints together with facial scans. This method is more powerful and more reliable than using just one type of authentication. Combining different biometric details is a safer and more accurate way to verify someone’s identity, providing a more secure and reliable authentication process.

The Future of Biometric Authentication

The future of using unique physical traits to verify identity is dependent on the speed of technological advancement powering it. As biometric systems get smarter, they'll provide even stronger protection. Keeping up with these technological improvements will ensure that security measures remain strong and work efficiently.

Let's look at what else is new in using body features to confirm our identity:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI): We're starting to see an increasing use of AI to make biometrics systems more accurate and less prone to mistakes. AI can sift through the data faster and efficiently, lowering response times and raising accuracy.
• No-touch Systems: New developments in technology for biometrics methods like facial recognition and eye scans remove the necessity to make any physical contact. This is not only more hygienic and reduces the spread of germs, but it also makes it easier for everyone to use, even those who are less technically inclined.

Along with all these new developments, the ring authentication solution provided by the Token Smart Ring is being increasingly adopted to secure businesses. It's a fresh take on keeping an organization secure using fingerprint biometric data. Unlike older methods where data is stored on an existing device like a laptop or mobile phone, the Token Ring keeps biometric data right on the smart ring itself. This means that private details cannot be hacked or accessed by anyone but you, as they are stored on your Token Ring itself.

Biometrics in Various Industries

Biometrics is set to change a lot of different fields, like banking and medicine, by introducing new ways to keep transactions safe, protect personal info, and simply make things more efficient. In banks and similar industries, biometric authentication helps keep money safe from fraudsters and at the same time, simplify safety for customers. These systems enable customers to access their accounts and manage their banking easily and securely.

In healthcare such as hospitals and clinics, biometric authentication helps keep patient details private and secure. Biometrics are used to verify the identity of patients and medical staff in order to secure sensitive health information.

Governments are also using biometrics to control access to sensitive areas, border control, national ID programs, law enforcement and voter verification.

Biometric Authentication is the Future of Security

As the threats to digital identity grow more severe, organizations and individuals will continue to adopt improved methods and technology to both validate identity and secure data. Legacy authentication methods like simple fingerprint readers or early facial recognition tech is no considered sufficient since these older systems can be spoofed – leaving sensitive information at risk. Today's security needs are different and more complex.

The Token Smart Ring uses next-generation, phishing-resistant multifactor authentication and was developed for organizations looking to combat the daily threat of phishing and ransomware attacks.

One of the Token Smart Ring’s main benefits is that the biometrics data remains on the ring, which eliminates unauthorized access.

For organizations looking to improve their security, moving away from legacy security methods is critical. Antiquated authentication methods leave organizations at risk. Shifting to Token’s Next-Generation Multifactor Authentication offers organizations stronger protection together with compliance with modern privacy and safety standards.

Request a demo today and see how Token’s Next-Generation MFA can secure your organization from phishing and ransomware attacks with ease and simplicity.

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