What are 2 examples of biometric?

What is biometrics?

Biometrics is all about measuring and analyzing people’s unique physical and behavioral traits. This technology helps identify and control access to people, whether for security purposes or tracking individuals under surveillance. The main idea is that everyone has specific traits that can be used to accurately verify their identity. The word “biometrics” comes from the Greek words “bio” (meaning life) and “metric” (meaning to measure).

How does biometric technology work?

Biometric verification is becoming a common way to authenticate users in corporate systems, public security, and even consumer electronics like smartphones. The convenience factor plays a big role in its growing popularity—no more remembering passwords or carrying around security tokens! In fact, some methods, like tracking a person’s walk (gait), don’t even require direct contact.

Biometric devices have a few key components:

• A reader or scanner to capture the biometric trait (like a fingerprint or face).
• Software that converts the biometric data into a digital format and matches it with stored data.
• A database where biometric data is stored securely for future comparisons.

In modern systems, instead of storing raw biometric data, it’s often converted into cryptographic hashes, which allows for identification without exposing the original data.

Types of biometrics

Biometrics can be split into two main types: physiological and behavioral characteristics.

Physiological identifiers refer to a person’s physical traits, including:

• Facial recognition
• Fingerprints
• Finger geometry (like the size and position of fingers)
• Iris and vein recognition
• Retina scanning
• Voice recognition
• DNA matching
• Digital signatures

Behavioral identifiers are about how people behave, such as their typing speed, mouse movements, and even their walking patterns. Some of these can provide continuous authentication, rather than just a one-time check. While still developing, behavioral biometrics has a lot of potential as the technology improves.

Biometrics in everyday use

Besides unlocking your smartphone, biometrics are used in various fields, such as:

• Law enforcement: For criminal identification, like fingerprint and palm print systems.
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security: For border control, electronic passports with fingerprint data, and facial recognition systems.
• Healthcare: Used in national identity cards or insurance programs that rely on fingerprint data.
• Airport security: With systems like iris recognition for passenger identification.

That said, not all organizations use biometrics. For example, some justice systems avoid it to prevent errors.

Pros and Cons of Biometrics

There are both advantages and disadvantages to using biometrics.

Advantages:

• Harder to fake or steal compared to passwords.
• Convenient—no need to remember or carry anything.
• Your traits don’t change much over time.
• Nontransferable (you can’t give someone else your fingerprint!).
• Efficient—biometric templates take up less storage.

Disadvantages:

• Setting up a biometric system can be expensive.
• If the system doesn’t capture enough data, it may fail to identify someone.
• Biometric databases can still be hacked.
• False positives and false negatives can occur (mistaking an unauthorized person for an authorized one or vice versa).
• Injuries can interfere with authentication—for instance, a burned hand might not be recognized by a fingerprint scanner.

Security and privacy concerns

Biometrics rely on how unique a particular trait is. For example, fingerprints are generally considered highly unique, which is why they’ve been widely adopted in systems like Apple’s Touch ID. Other factors, such as retina or iris recognition, haven’t caught on as much due to concerns about their uniqueness and potential for misuse (e.g., identity theft).

A big privacy issue with biometrics is that, unlike passwords, physical traits can’t be changed. If someone steals your fingerprint or retina scan, there’s no way to replace it like you would a password. A real-world example of this risk was the 2014 U.S. Office of Personnel Management breach, where over 20 million people’s fingerprints were compromised.

As technology like high-quality cameras and microphones becomes more common in everyday devices, biometrics are likely to become even more widespread. But this also raises security risks, as attackers could potentially capture biometric data without the person’s knowledge.

Are biometrics secure?

While biometric sensors are getting better, there are still vulnerabilities. People don’t typically hide their fingerprints, faces, or voices, making it easier for attackers to collect biometric data. For instance, in 2002, a hack known as the gummy bear attack showed that you could trick fingerprint scanners by using a gelatin copy of someone’s fingerprint. Similar hacks have targeted facial recognition and iris scanners using high-resolution images or 3D-printed masks.

In fact, when Apple launched Face ID on the iPhone X, it only took researchers two weeks to bypass it with a 3D-printed mask. Plus, facial recognition systems can sometimes be fooled by relatives, such as siblings or children.