Biometric authentication is shaping the future of mobile
The term biometrics has its etymological origin in Greek and means measure and life. Biometric security technology was first commercially released in 1970 and has since then integrated almost all the most advanced security technologies, being used by all types of government, military, private, health, and other organizations.
Biometric technology performs authentication based on individuals' physical characteristics, such as fingerprint, face, DNA, hand geometry, iris identification, or behavioural characteristics such as walking rhythm and voice.
Biometric authentication systems can replace traditional mobile security methods such as passwords, PINs, or unlock patterns. Currently, almost all of the latest smartphones have one or more built-in types of biometric authentication, namely fingerprint recognition, facial recognition, signature recognition, voice recognition, and iris.
With mobile devices playing an increasingly significant role in people's daily lives, the need to create more advanced security methods is growing. Nowadays, it is common for people to use and store sensitive information on phones, such as banking applications, personal and professional emails, and other personal information that wants to be insured. Using biometric authentication methods reduces the likelihood of hackers illegally accessing your accounts using passwords.
That is why biometric authentication is one of the best security solutions for mobile devices, both for unlocking the device and for accessing and authorizing certain operations in mobile applications.
On the other hand, biometric authentication can also bring very practical advantages that go beyond the security aspects. These methods can eliminate the need to record all of your information when shopping online or other online transactions that require sign-in, simplifying the process.
Despite all the advantages, the biometric technology used in most mobile devices today is not as advanced as in state-of-the-art systems, with some weaknesses. Despite their potential, several experiments have shown that it is not as difficult as one would expect the "cloning" of a fingerprint using moulds made from simple materials. There are several cases documented by security experts that demonstrate that all of these methods are flawed and should be complemented by other security methods.
Finally, biometric authentication on mobile devices not only makes phones safer or easier to use, but also more dynamic and interactive.
