Gone are the days when imposters could hope to pass security checks by using artificial hair color, wearing face-obscuring sunglasses and hats, or by imitating someone’s dressing style. Thanks to advances in technology, we now have biometric data, to scientifically verify a person’s identity. But what is biometric authentication?
Biometrics can be divided into two types or systems. One is physiological biometrics, a system that uses a person’s unique physical characteristics to authenticate identification, such as their fingerprints or facial structure. This data is stored on a computer and used, depending on recognition, to identify or grant or deny access to an individual. Another system is behavioral biometrics. This uses a person’s behavioral characteristics, such as their voice, the way they walk, or even how they strike a keyboard, to verify their identity.
What are the Four Main types of Biometrics?
Several types of biometric data are widely used for the authentic verification of identity. Among these, four, in particular, are most widely used. They are as follows:
- Fingerprint Recognition: Belonging to the physiological group of biometric identifiers, fingerprints are probably the most commonly used identifiers. From smartphone access to law enforcement identification, they are the most accessible and easiest identifier. Almost anyone can easily place their fingertip in a designated place for identification. Fingerprint recognition technology is probably one of the most cost-effective methods of biometric identification. It involves storing a person’s unique fingerprint pattern on a computer system so it can be recognized when they apply for access to a system or admission to enter somewhere. Or even just to confirm their identity.
- Facial Recognition: Another form of physiological biometric recognition, this technology involves noting the shape of the nose, the cheekbones, and the depth as well as the shape of eye sockets. Rapidly becoming more common, a mere glance should be enough to unlock a phone or register recognition for entry to an authorized area. If there is a disadvantage, it might be that the shape of a face changes with age. So the image needs to be updated every so often.
- Iris Recognition: This also belongs to the group of physiological biometric identifiers. This is one of the biometric technologies which is long established and it is a very secure type of identifier. Every human being has a unique iris pattern. The iris doesn’t change with age, which makes it a particularly suitable identifier for high-security situations.
- Voice Recognition: Belonging to the group of behavioral as
well as physiological biometric identifiers, voice recognition is very secure as it is extremely difficult to replicate a particular voice human. It analyses speech patterns, nasal tone, and voice inflection, among other factors. It also requires an almost effortless input from the individual being analysed. Speaking into a phone is as natural as breathing in today’s world.
An additional source of biometric data is handwriting. This has been a traditional method of personal identification and has been used for decades. However, it’s not as reliable as some of the more scientific methods. The reason for this is that a person’s signature tends to evolve and change over time. Also, injuries to the hand or arm can cause a person’s signature to change beyond recognition. However, biometric systems of handwriting recognition are far more accurate than earlier manual methods. Handwriting recognition belongs to the group of behavioral biometric identifiers. The identifiers mentioned are just a few of the more common ones. Many more are being developed.
Benefits Of Biometrics In Security
It’s not as easy to deceive a computerized security system powered by scientific data as it was in the case of photo identification documentation. In the past, documentation could be forged and some forgeries could look surprisingly authentic, But with a person’s data securely stored on a computerized identification system, the likelihood of fooling the system is much less likely. This means greater security for everyone. Authentic verification of identity, both for personal identification and access control, is essential in these increasingly dangerous and violent times.
