Using your Fingerprints, Face, Retina for locking your Phones and Computers might sound cool but by doing that you are not as safe as you would think.
Tech companies like Microsoft, Apple are now doing away with the traditional form of passwords and are adding their own Fingerprints, Faces and eyes as digital keys. These “Biometrics scanners” are built into Smartphones and other devices that can verify your identity and sign-into web accounts and authorize electronic payments.
Don’t get excited yet, there are drawbacks: Hackers can still steal your fingerprint or digital representation. Police could make you unlock your phone. And the so-called “biometric” systems are so convenient that we start to expect much and they fool users into a false sense of security.
Biometric security appears like a strong answer for often arising issues with passwords. Unknowingly, many people pick weak and easily speculated passwords like “123456” or “secret word.” Many other users reuse the same password over online records, all of which could be hacked if the password is compromised. As electronic sensors and microprocessors have become cheaper and more powerful over time, gadget makers have started adding biometric sensors to familiar products. All those systems are based on the notion that each user’s fingerprint — or face, or iris — is unique. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be reproduced.
Experts believe any biometric system can be cracked with enough determination. All it takes are simulated images of a person’s fingerprint, face or even iris pattern. And if someone manages that, you can’t exactly change your fingerprint or facial features as you would a stolen password. To make such theft more difficult, biometric-equipped phones and computers typically encrypt fingerprints and similar data and store them locally, not in the “cloud” where hackers might lift them from company servers. But many biometrics can be found elsewhere, you might easily leave your fingerprint on a drinking glass.
Even with vulnerabilities, some analysts say the convenience of biometric locks is a plus, It’s bringing secure authentication to the masses. “It’s good to see biometrics being used more because it adds another reason for security, But using multiple security measures is the best defence.
