Types of Biometrics
Every industry across the world has adopted biometrics as a critical technological approach to dealing with security issues affecting companies and organizations, which opt for different types of biometrics. The most common types of biometrics used today include eye-iris or retina, face, fingerprint, signature, voice, and hand geometry recognition. Companies often consider the value that biometrics may provide for them in terms of improving security, advancing identification, and preventing unauthorized access. When comparing each of the biometrics indicated, it can be argued that they are each accurate in achieving their intended purpose, which is the identification of a user. Gavrilova, Ahmed, Azam, Paul, Rahman, Sultana, and Zohra (2017) indicate that continued use of biometrics serves as a guarantee of system security, as it helps avoid unauthorized access to systems for persons with biometrics that do not match those stored in the system. From this perspective, it can be argued that none of the biometrics is better or realistic compared to others.
Characteristics of Biometric Identification
Biometric identification involves capturing an item of biometric data to ensure that an individual is identified with ease. Biometrics are unique physical characteristics that help in verification of an identity claim (Haas, 2019). Continued use of biometrics is seen as effective in preventing any underlying security concerns, as biometrics are unique to every individual. For example, a system that uses fingerprints as part of advancing an identity cannot identify two individuals using the same identity. The system takes into account the fingerprint patterns because every individual has a unique pattern that cannot be replicated. Therefore, this shows the extent to which biometric systems can improve on matters of security in claiming an identity. Another essential characteristic of biometric identification is that it establishes a front for identification, as individuals can be identified digitally. An individual's biometric information is stored in digital systems, which are then used for the sole purpose of identification.
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Advantages of Biometrics Identification
The first advantage of biometrics identification is that it creates a much more advanced platform for security. Biometrics offer unique individual identification with 100% accuracy making it nearly impossible for any individual intending to gain unauthorized access. From this perspective, it is clear that biometrics identification has been of great importance to improving security. The second advantage of using biometrics identification is that it offers convenience for users. Biometrics are easy to install and play a critical role in reducing paperwork considering that one is only expected to use his/her biometrics for identification (Kashyap, 2019). When compared to other types of security, biometrics identification is considered as one of the most effective security systems. Lastly, biometrics identification establishes accountability for every individual because one is always expected to make use of his/her biometrics when intending to gain access. That reduces the possibility of fraud, considering that every person will be accountable for his/her biometrics.
Privacy and Security Concerns
The rapid evolution of fraud capabilities introduces privacy and security concerns when using biometrics identification. The most significant concern raised about biometrics identification is data security. Data networks and databases are prone to hacking, which may result in data losses. Similarly, biometrics data systems also face a high likelihood of hacking, which may result in loss of biometric data. Once an individual has enrolled his/her biometrics, they are stored in a database, which increases the vulnerability to possible external attacks likely to result in third-party access to these security systems. Security experts have been at the forefront in highlighting the vulnerability of biometric identification systems, with the view being that most of these systems face higher risks of unauthorized access resulting from hacking (Yang, Wang, Hu, Zheng, & Valli, 2019). Therefore, hackers with the capability of hacking into these security systems are in a much better position to access the systems using stolen biometrics.
References
Gavrilova, M. L., Ahmed, F., Azam, S., Paul, P. P., Rahman, W., Sultana, M., & Zohra, F. T. (2017). Emerging trends in security system design using the concept of social behavioural biometrics. In Information Fusion for Cyber-Security Analytics (pp. 229-251). Springer, Cham.
Haas, E. P. (2019). Back to the Future: The Use of Biometrics, Its Impact on Airport Security, and How This Technology Should Be Governed. J. Air L. & Com. , 84 , 459.
Kashyap, R. (2019). Security, Reliability, and Performance Assessment for Healthcare Biometrics. In Design and Implementation of Healthcare Biometric Systems (pp. 29-54). IGI Global.
Yang, W., Wang, S., Hu, J., Zheng, G., & Valli, C. (2019). Security and accuracy of fingerprint-based biometrics: A review. Symmetry , 11 (2), 141.
