A news item published in the several traditional media some time ago stirred up controversy; India approved one of the world’s largest biometric registry, designed to store the biometric data of more than one billion people, violated the right to privacy, according to several specialized sources. To understand this, you need to know what biometric data is, and an explanation can be found in ExpressVPN’s summary on the topic.
Fingerprints, irises, facial features, tone of voice, signature, and DNA are among the most widely used biometric data in use today. Their uniqueness puts the implications of news stories like those from India at the center of the debate, inviting thoughts on how difficult it is to maintain privacy in a world where technology reigns.
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Their widespread use proves how everyday life is becoming interwoven around digital novelties. For example, at the airport to get through huge waiting lines, at the doctor’s office to optimize access to medical reports, and in other sectors, such as banking, retail and mobile commerce; a list that grows every day because of the usefulness of these systems, applicable in almost every aspect of modern life.
These realities demonstrate why the controversies surrounding the use of biometrics continue to grow; many extol their benefits, such as high security and reliability; the practical and fast user experience, and that they are not transferable, due to their unique nature. But detractors cite the costs of biometric authentication as grounds for condemnation, and use the arguments of specialists in these issues, who warn of false positives and inaccuracies, and also about biometric devices, such as facial recognition systems, which can limit users’ privacy.
The biggest warnings are related to data breaches. Questions such as the number of smartphone users who unlock their phones with a fingerprint or facial recognition every day help to understand the dangers of this practice, since in some cases, just one such information could provide access to sensitive information. And as these are not replaceable, they need to be treated with security and caution.
For these reasons, it is essential to decide, in a free and informed manner, the way in which we provide personal data to public and private institutions. Although nowadays this may no longer be an option, since many services are digital and automated ,and this is the only way to have access to them, such is the case of banking services.
Another of the security measures currently being implemented is the combination of two or more biometric data, which means greater protection. And we are not only talking about services, networks such as Facebook are looking to implement facial recognition for profile access in the not too distant future.
This vision of the future illustrates how biometric authentication and verification will continue to be an integral part of the technology landscape, and will encompass many more areas than the current user may realize.
It is already striking how a wide range of biometric data usage is, and not just physical ones – they are becoming more important in the lead up to tomorrow, one example being behavioral. How you have navigated to this web page, how you click on it, whether you are on a smartphone or a laptop, or even which browser you use are among the data, which are already being used by companies and governments to create a biometric profile of users for identification and monitoring purposes.
The truth is that biometric security systems are shaping the future of identity management, as evidenced by the growing interest of organizations and individuals who are increasingly looking for more secure authentication methods for user access, e-commerce and other security applications.
