Things to Consider When Using Biometric Technology
[img src=”/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/12/biometrics-iphone5s.jpg” class=”aligncenter”]
I was recently reading the article, “Why fingerprints, other biometrics don’t work” and a thought occurred to me. As we evolve every day so does the complexity of passwords. Today many people are trying to jump on the biometrics band wagon by implementing this in laptops and now smart phones. Yes, this new technology is exciting but, this poses a threat that could lead into our biometrics, such as our fingerprints, landing in a database. What happens if the database become compromised and now thieves start using your fingerprint to commit crimes? Passwords are the safer choice if you’re willing to take the time and teach your employees the value of a strong password.
While the potential threat of biometric misuse is scary there are some benefits to opting towards this new technology. For example biometrics can be used to log in employees at work. This prevents employees from cheating on their time sheets. This use of biometrics also stops other employees from clocking in for you if you’re late to work. By using biometrics in this way confidential data is not floating around on the World Wide Web.
It is crucial that people become educated about this technology because biometrics are becoming accessible to everyone. Cell phones like the iPhone 5S offer biometrics. People need to ask themselves do we know where the confidential information resides or does it end up in Apple’s database? The biometric security on the iPhone 5S has already been hacked in less than a month. This shows that this technology is not up to standard yet. One group was able to take the fingerprint from a piece of tape to get into the iPhone 5S.
An alternative to prematurely jumping on the biometric bandwagon is sticking with complex passwords with a 12 character minimum requirement. It’s simpler to take the time and educate the users on complex passwords. GURUs suggest rotating passwords as a best practice for your business.
