Biometric security, potential threats to it and their solutions

biometrics refers to a process of identifying the physical characteristics of an individual such as fingerprints, retinal patterns, etc. Technology has developed faster to replace document-based identifiers. A large majority of corporate houses now use Biometric security as their most reliable method for authentication and background checks.

Biometric security threats and countermeasures

Although everything looks good on paper, things are not funny as they appear. So, is the biometric security method foolproof and completely reliable? We are trying to find answers in our article today by exploring

1. Threats to biometric security
2. Solutions to biometric threats

Advanced technology provides great convenience by replacing the archaic method of entering PINs and passwords. However, each new method presents inherent challenges.

1) Threats to biometric security

A biometric system mainly consists of three different components:

The threat occurs at every stage. Consider the following,

Sensor: An electrical device that records your information and reads it when your biometric information needs to be recognized. Certain parts of your physical identity may be duplicated. For example, a cybercriminal can access your fingerprints from a cup of coffee that you may have left on your desk. This information could be used to hack into your devices or accounts.

Computer: There must be a storage device such as a computer to store the information for comparison purposes. Data stored in a biometric database (a structured set of data stored in a computer) is sometimes more vulnerable than any other type of data. How? 'Or' What? You can change your passwords, but not fingerprints or iris scanning. So once your biometric data has been compromised, you cannot go back.

Software: The software is basically what connects the hardware to the sensor. More advanced hackers can provide a fake biometric sample to a sensor via biometric processing attacks. It is a technique in which understanding the biometric algorithm is used to cause incorrect processing and decisions via software.

Other potential threats to biometric security can be classified

• Presentation attacks (identity theft), in which the appearance of the biometric sample is physically altered or replaced by a spoofed biometric sample that is attempted for authentication. There are different types of AP for faces, including print attack, replay attack, and 3D masks.
• Software and network vulnerabilities – This mainly includes attacks on the computer and the networks on which biometric systems operate.
• Social and Presentation Attacks – Authorities who rely on biometric security are tricked into leaking and stealing a user's biometric identification.

2) Solutions for biometric security threats

Security experts have long emphasized the fallibility of biometric systems. They also highlighted the risks of hacking biometric data and therefore called for robust solutions.

• Biometric security measure – It is a system designed to protect a biometric system from an active attack via monitoring and supervision of sensors. Although good, it has a defect, the method is not designed to defend itself from impostors without effort.
• Switch to behavioral biometrics – Verification methods employed by behavioral biometrics include keystroke dynamics, gait analysis, voice identification, mouse usage characteristics, signature analysis and cognitive biometrics. A combination of several identifying factors makes the solution the preferred choice.
• Use a multifactorial biometric solution – This system which registers more than one type of biometric factors, such as a one-two combo of retinal patterns, fingerprints and facial recognition. If the fingerprints match the retinal motif and the retinal motifs match the documents, you manage to create a multifactorial identity, a biometric security system extremely difficult to hack.
• Sign up for high fidelity – From the different cases, it is obvious that low-fidelity biometric analyzes are unable to offer the desired level of protection. So for maximum security, it is crucial to register multiple fingerprints via a high fidelity mechanism like those used by FBI certified channelers. These provide protection against DeepMasterPrint hacking. The more data points the system uses to identify an individual, the less likely they are to be hacked and overwritten by exploits like false faces.

Finally, humans are the ultimate machine system. So having someone to verify identity in real time can increase the level of security and increase accountability. After all, someone could fool a facial scanner while wearing a mask, but surely is not able to pass a human at a security checkpoint.