Where security remains a concern, passwords are not enough. Biometrics web and mobile security are here to stay, and we will discuss the topic in-depth.

How to verify someone on the other side of the screen? If credentials get compromised, biometric services can stop it right there.

Simple online services that only use password encryption can feel a bit dull. Today, we have multi-factor authentication (MFA), two-factor authentication (2FA), physical device authentication, location authentication, facial recognition, token-based authentication, certificate authentication, private key authentication, and most importantly, biometric authentication.

This article will serve as a one-stop guide for all your biometrics web and mobile security data needs. We will cover the basis of biometrics, how it works, the upside and downsides, how we can leverage its full potential, and many more.

So, grab a cup of hot or cold drink to ease your mind and go through it. By the end, you’ll have a complete ideology on biometrics web and mobile security.

What is biometrics web and mobile security authentication?

Many implications remain if someone pretends to be a customer, government agent, businessman, or other individual online. Unique identifiers help to track those threats. Those identifiers will only belong to the original person.

The responding server will know as par database that it is the real person. Simple biometrics such as fingerprint, retina scan, the facial scan is the soul of current generation biometric authentication.

Let’s go into the technical terms to detect fakes among millions of individuals. It is essential to find something unique. The logging process enables the website or mobile app to figure out the person. We wouldn’t need such complicated mechanisms if everyone were honest.

But guess what? People like breaking into other people’s accounts to dismantle their privacy, steal data or other sensitive credentials. Or it can be a small part of something big.

How secure are biometrics web and mobile security?

Out of several methods used for logging a user to a service, biometrics are the most secure ones to date. Biometrics such as fingerprint, retina, facial ID are some of the highly effective detectors we have today. Research, data collection, and usability of years have proven the accuracy for even the most demanding use cases.

Biometrics serves us well to prevent the wrong person from entering the system, give proper access, and defend information from prying eyes. From banking to healthcare to government, detection and preventing unwanted risk have increased since biometrics implementation.

Businesses or services have the option to allow single or multiple levels of biometric security. One of the great things about biometrics is that it needs the lowest effort, even being the tightest possible security feature.

Types used in biometrics web and mobile security authentication:

Biometrics human identity verification has many options. Over the knowledge or possession factors, biometrics offers a ton of advantages. Just like our DNA, biometrics are also unique from person to person.

The good thing is, we all carry these features with us at all times. Among various types of biometrics, let us go through some of the important ones.

1. Facial

Facial authentication uses pattern-based data to match biometric options. Smartphone cameras can store selfie photos and later reuse them as base data and compare them with current ones.

Over other biometric options, facial recognition has many advantages. It is the same reason a government identity card, driver’s license, or passport contains a photo of yourself.

It is easy for the computer to match a picture to the real person quickly. Updated devices scan the facial changes in real-time. Similar to Apple Face ID, it adapts to changes in appearance. Face ID uses infrared light to scan the whole face. Even if masks or cosmetics are there, they can accurately detect the owner.

The current claim of Apple in Face ID is a random person can unlock your Apple device 1 in 1,000,000 chances with a single enrolled appearance.

But people often misunderstand between facial authentication versus facial recognition. Facial authentication confirms a person’s identity, whereas facial recognition identifies a person.

2. Fingerprint

Among the biometric authentication methods, fingerprint authentication remains the oldest. Fingerprint data stored as templates validate the recent one.

But specific hardware is required for fingerprint authentication. Even though the system is now near perfect, the downside remains.

It is also easy to duplicate a fingerprint using silicon rubber to forge an identity. Not everyone has readable fingerprints, which becomes challenging at times.

3. Voice

The fingerprint is not the only physically unique feature of humans; the eye’s iris is also unique. Even though they can be of the same color and shape, such a small body part is unique.

Voice data stored as a template matches current input similar to fingerprint authentication in this regard. The Voice recognition feature is becoming a viral feature in the biometric authentication era. Spoofed recording or Deepfake can break the rules of voice authentication.

A noisy area gives voice authentications a tough time. It is not easy to pick up accuracy in certain situations.

4. Retina

Retina scan works similar to iris scan but uses different credentials. In some cases, the prerequisite may seem potentially harmful even though there is no authenticity. Infrared guarantees only high-quality data is being used for authenticity.

Nevertheless, advanced authentication options require multiple options to be present, so use one that best fits your need. Retina scan uses infrared light instead of standard camera modules.

End-user benefit

Along with the unique features biometric authentication system goes through. How easy it is to authenticate, there are more benefits. Users do not need to remember anything when biometrics is in use. Device camera, microphone, infrared system, movement are enough to get the job done for giving an easy pass to secure systems.

Biometric systems are also simpler, faster, and more secure than traditional passwords, which need their storing system. Even if a third party has the passwords, biometric credentials stay the same; security remains intact. Proper biometric authentication methods prevent financial systems, SIM swaps, identity thefts.

According to the Android developer forum, biometric credentials must meet Android compatibility Definition Document (CDD). The most used smartphone OS uses two security protocols to maintain its CDD. One of them is architectural security, and the other is spoofability.

Suppose the device is compromised or lost in architectural security. In that case, the biometric pipeline is attacked first as the compromised device needs kernel replaced.

If the kernel is replaced, the device takes in the protocol of platform compromise, and it needs a fresh installation. Biometric or synthetic data injection gets compromised; hence data is erased at an architectural level.

Spoof Acceptance Rate (SAR) and False Acceptance Rate (FAR) are applied to spoofability protocol. Imposter Acceptance Rate (IAR) defines the biometric and other protocols in the process.

The process may seem complicated, but modern components calculating millions of tasks at any given time can perform these in real-time.

Biometrics mobile and web security

If we take social networking as an example, it is easy to find ways to pose as someone else. Signatures are a thing of the past. Today it is just a term of the agreement.

We can copy signs, but it is not possible for biometrics. If you find a post on social which gained attention, how could you be sure it is the person you’re thinking of is the real one?

That other person can be a 60-year-old man or a hacker from overseas who is just tipping you with fake information. The end goal is hijacking your account and disclosing further.

At those times, biometrics comes in handy. Websites now take in government-authorized ID cards, passports, and biometrics to give safe access. For financial, traveling, and healthcare infrastructure, these are much crucial.

Digital identity is a valuable part of us, and biometric systems are the best way to go in that route.

What did we learn so far?

Even though the target was to familiarize biometrics mobile and web security, its benefits, downside, protocols are also covered. To stay away from identity theft, spoofing, and social networking, among many others, it is essential to utilize every biometric authentication available to you.

If you’re a developer and looking for ways to implement biometric classes in your application or website, do send us a message. If we have enough responses on the Hackingloops contact section, a later part may appear with more profound information.