Advantages & Use Cases of Biometric Authentication
Biometric authentication is the process that uses the unique biological features of a person to verify their identity. Unique features include fingerprints, face, voice patterns, iris of the eye etc. verify the identity of the person and allow them access to a personal account. Biometric authentication includes other less popular traits like palm veins, DNA, odour, palm print, etc., but it is harder to obtain them alone using them for verification purposes. However, research is growing in the field of biometric verification to use more unique biological traits that can be used for biometric verification.
Biometric is becoming increasingly popular in the identity verification and cybersecurity industry. It is now considered the most authentic method for identity verification and fighting the various types of fraud. The whole process of biometric is automated and can accurately verify someone and ensure that they really are who they claim to be.
Liveness detection and face verification is the latest trend in the biometric industry as it can ensure the live presence of the person. This is replacing the usual means of biometric authentication. Face verification has various applications and is adopted by many industries. According to the Gartner report, the traditional authentication processes will be replaced by identity verification technologies by more than half of all global entities by the year 2023.
In this blog, we will discuss in detail the advantages of biometric authentication and how different industries are benefiting from it.
The most commonly used biometric authentication technology
- Face recognition
- Fingerprint
- Iris scanning
- Voice recognition
- Behavioural characteristics
The Benefits of Biometric Authentication
Many businesses are benefiting from biometric authentication for their verification needs. Online businesses especially are using the technology to authenticate the users and ensure that no fraudster is trying to gain illegal access to the accounts or financial transactions.
Let’s talk about some advantages in detail.
Ease of Use and Accuracy
Convenience is the number one advantage of the biometric authentication system. It is literally a one-step process and does not require any lengthy details. The users just have to get their physical features scanned and do not have to go through the lengthy process of password and credentials to log in to the account.
Lengthy passwords can be hard to remember and are easily hackable. If a criminal can steal the password, they cannot steal the physical traits of the person. The convenience leads to robust security systems to authenticate people.
Safety and Privacy
With the advent of digitisation, companies are more prone to social engineering attacks and phishing scams. As a need of the hour, businesses need to develop systems that can better manage identities of their customers, keeping intact the compliance regulations and privacy standards defined in their own jurisdiction. In this regard, making safe online transactions, emails, and secure website visits are of great significance.
Identity theft and account take over are becoming a big challenge for or almost all the business entities. As a solution, authenticating users through biometric measurements can reduce this risk since biological unique characteristics are very difficult to forge and manipulate. Fraudsters find it hard to deceive face biometric systems since they are now backed up with artificial intelligence models.
Managing User Identities
Conventional and old-school manual identity screening solutions have become rather a ‘cold product’. They lack accuracy, and eventually reliability. Just the login details such as name and password, address information are not enough to confirm if a person is actually who they are said to be. This is the reason digital identity theft is on the rise and cyber breaches have become much more common since personal information can be easily stolen.
To address this problem, biometric authentication is coming up with new and improved methods to prevent bad actors from succeeding. Not only that, biometric authentication can act as an additional layer of security or a secondary verification mechanism that can make traditional methods much more stronger. For online purchases, bill payments, and other high-risk transactions, businesses are moving towards biometric systems to make sure only authorised users avail services.
Wrapping it up
To sum things up, biometric authentication can be done in many ways either by using facial recognition systems, fingerprint scanners, DNA, or iris and retina identification. These systems are particularly helpful in managing online user identities, preventing digital fraud, and assisting law enforcement in taking down criminals to make the digital space a safer place.
