With an increase in cybercrime, data security is paramount. Organizations and people must use techniques to ensure their crucial data are not interfered with or breached. Passwords and pins are some of the methods that are used in protecting data and authentication. But, sometimes, it’s possible to forget passwords and pins, or someone can guess and access your confidential data. This means they are effective and can be compromised at some point. But there are always an array of alternatives, and one of them is biometric authentication.
Have you ever considered using somebody’s parts’ features to secure your data? The following article examines in detail what biometric authentication is.
What Does Biometric Identity Authentication Involve?
Authentication identifies and verifies if a person or user is the legal owner or authorized to access specific data. Biometric authentication, thus, is a security feature that identifies and verifies the biometric features of a person trying to access a given system or device. It grants the access only if the features match those stored in the system.
Biometric features include biological and physical ones which are unique to everyone. These features are stored in the system. If anyone tries to access the device or data, the system will compare it to the user’s data. We can use biometric characteristics to authenticate identity because they are unique to every person. Hence there is no chance of similarities.
Biometric authentication can be used in sensitive areas with crucial data. It can be server rooms, bank doors, military bases, and airports. Besides, people use biometric authentication to secure their phones, laptops, and computers.
How Does Biometric Authentication Work?
Biometric authentication technology is complex. Identifying, verifying, and authenticating is simple and quick. The process takes three quick steps:
1. Capturing Data
When creating an account, you will be needed to key in or scan data that will be used for identification. For example, you must record or scan your image, fingerprint, or other physical features. The recorded data is then coupled with personal information. It may be an identification number, name, or location. All this necessary information is captured and used in the authentication process.
2. Storing the Captured Information
Once the system has captured the necessary data, it examines certain biological traits and transforms them into codes. This means all your captured data are stored in code rather than the images in raw format.
3. Verification
After capturing and saving all your identification details and data in the system, it will use them to grant or deny access to you use device. The system compares the stored information with what you present the next time you try to access the system. If they match, it accepts the access and vice versa.
Also Check: OCR Technology: A Standout Performer In Character Recognition
4 Forms Of Biometric Authentication
Fingerprint Scanner
This is the most popular form of biometric authentication. Since fingerprints are unique no matter the relationship, the system scans the ridges and swirls on your fingers. Then it uses them to authenticate your identity. Moreover, fingerprint scanner technology has progressed. It can now allow the scanning of vascular patterns. This has helped to make better fingerprint authentication. Also, it can avoid the possibility of different swirls giving similar results.
Facial Recognition
Facial recognition technology applies a similar principle to fingerprint scanners. But, facial recognition scans the face based on the outlined measurements and parameters. It is known as faceprints, and access to the system is granted when faceprints match those stored in the system.
Voice Recognition
Voice recognition applies vocal characteristics to authenticate identity. A clear voice is captured and stored in the system. It’s good to note that vocal recognition technology doesn’t focus on listening to your voice. But puts more focus on through and mouth shape and the quality of sound produced. This helps to reduce possible voice imitation.
Eye scanners
An eye scanner is a more developed technology that uses the iris and retina to authenticate identity. A retina scanner produces a bright light and scans the eye highlighting the blood vessel patterns, reading them, and storing them in the database. But, the iris scanner identifies and reads the unique patterns in your iris. The captured information it uses then to authenticate identity whenever you want to access the device or system. This method may not be perfect for people who use spectacles.
Also Check: 6 Steps Of User Verification Through KYC: It’s Not as Difficult as You Think
Benefits of Biometric Authentication
The use of biometric features to authenticate identity has many advantages. Some of them include the following:
- Biometrics authentication helps to authenticate identity and allow access to the system only to the owner. It’s impossible to copy or guess biometric features.
- The biometric authentication process is quick and easy to use. Once you have captured the necessary data, you don’t have to remember them. Since the system identifies you once the data matches.
- Biometric technology can easily detect fraud. Once the provided data fails to match the saved ones, the system denies access. Some go to the extent of blocking the feature after several failed trials, ensuring it can’t be used for some time.
- The use of biometric authentication minimizes the possibility of human error. Other forms of authentication, like passwords, depend on human memory, which is susceptible to human errors.
Final Thoughts
Identity authentication is vital in protecting crucial data. We can use biometric authentication in different fields and areas that store sensitive data. These may be military camps, healthcare banks, or web servers. Also, biometric authentications can be used in personal devices like phones, computers, and laptops to protect private data. What Does Biometric Identity Authentication Involve?
Also Check: Know Your Patient (KYP) Service For Patient Identification – Next Big Trend In The Healthcare Sector
Image by Pete Linforth, OpenClipart-Vectors, teguhjati pras, mohamed_hassan, OpenClipart-Vectors and Pete Linforth
