March 12, 2023
Anonybit Team
What Is Biometric Identity Management? Balancing Security and UX
Biometric authentication techniques have changed how businesses manage identity and access control. Imagine identifying employees, customers, or citizens with minimal effort, ensuring security and convenience. Understanding biometric identity management and its benefits can be transformative for any organization. We will explore how adopting biometric identity management can streamline operations, enhance security, and improve user experience.
Anonybit’s identity management platform is a valuable tool for achieving your goals, such as understanding biometric identity management and its potential benefits for your organization.
What Is Biometrics Identity Management
Biometric identity management refers to various techniques, devices, and systems that leverage individuals’ unique physiological or behavioral characteristics to recognize or authenticate their identities. These highly distinctive characteristics can serve as the foundation for robust and reliable identification systems, including but not limited to:
- Face
- Fingerprint
- Palm
- Voice
- Iris
Enhancing Security with Biometric Identity Management
Biometric identity management is a powerful tool in enhancing security. It collects biometric data at account origination, which can then be used to establish or authenticate identities when a person is trying to gain access to a user network or application. The biometric authentication process is highly effective in preventing fraud and assisting with compliance with AML regulations, providing a strong sense of security.
Biometric Identity Management and AML Efforts
Biometric identity management, with its potential to deliver secure, convenient, and efficient identity verification, is poised to play an increasingly important role in AML efforts. By understanding how this technology works and addressing associated privacy concerns, organizations can harness its full potential to secure the future.
How Does Biometric Identification Work?
Biometric verification is a process that relies on unique physical, physiological, or behavioral characteristics to confirm an individual’s identity.
- The system captures the biometric data, such as fingerprint patterns, facial features, voice samples, or iris scans, and converts it into a digital format known as a template or vector.
- The vector is generally stored in a database for future comparisons. (The latest biometric security techniques shard the vector so it is not stored in one place.)
- When a person wants to be verified using biometrics, their biometric data is captured again and compared against the existing stored data.
- The system analyzes the captured biometric traits and utilizes sophisticated algorithms to determine if there is a match or similarity with the stored data.
The level of similarity is measured using mathematical models and algorithms specific to each type of biometric trait and company.
The verification process is structured into two main steps:
- Enrollment
- Matching
During enrollment, the system captures an individual’s biometric traits for the first time, creating a unique identifier or template. When a verification request is made in the matching phase, the system compares the newly captured data with the stored template to confirm the individual’s identity.
Anonybit’s Decentralized Biometric Technology
At Anonybit, our decentralized biometrics system design helps companies prevent data breaches and account takeover fraud. With a decentralized biometrics solution, companies can enable passwordless login, wire verification, step-up authentication, and help desk authentication. We aim to protect companies from data breaches, account takeovers, and synthetic identity fraud.
To achieve this goal, we offer security solutions such as:
- Secure storage of biometrics and PII data
- Support for the entire user lifecycle
- 1:1 biometric authentication and 1:N biometric matching to prevent duplicates, synthetics and blocklisted identities
Anonybit eliminates the tradeoffs between privacy and security. Prevent data breaches, enable strong authentication to eliminate account takeovers, and enhance the user experience across the enterprise using Anonybit.
Book a free demo today to learn more about our integrated identity management platform.
Related Reading
- Biometric Identity Theft
- Biometric Data Security
- Can Biometrics Be Hacked
- Privacy Issues With Biometrics
- Advantages Of Biometrics
- Biometric Privacy Laws
- Biometric Authentication Advantages And Disadvantages
- Biometric Authentication
- Privacy by Design
- Multi Factor Authentication Using Biometrics
Types of Biometrics Used In Identity Management
Facial Recognition
Facial recognition is a biometric authentication method that relies on convolutional neural networks (CNN). This method creates a template of the user’s facial features, such as the nose, eyes, and mouth. During each authentication attempt, the system compares the new facial data to the stored template and grants access if a match exists.
Fingerprint/Palm Scans
Fingerprint or palm scans are based on the unique ridge patterns on an individual’s fingers. The system first records this data as a template; users must only place their finger on the scanner for authentication. It is essential to use the finger initially used to create the fingerprint template.
Iris Scans
Iris scans involve capturing detailed images of the user’s iris. While this method is highly precise, it requires scanning from a very close distance, which may be inconvenient for some users. Nevertheless, advancements in technology are making iris scanning more user-friendly.
Voice Recognition
Voice recognition captures various aspects of an individual’s speech and voice, including pitch, accent, and speed. This biometric technique is used for security, voice commands, and even smart device interactions.
Traditional Identity Management (IAM) Methods and Their Challenges In Organizations
Password Verification
Passwords have long been the primary line of defense against unauthorized access. They are secret character combinations used for various purposes. Passwords authenticate individuals, granting them access to resources like:
- Computers
- Email accounts
- Databases
Specific files, such as critical financial data, can be password-protected for an added layer of security. Passwords control administrative access to servers and databases to ensure only authorized personnel can manage company data.
While passwords are a fundamental security measure, they have serious vulnerabilities. It’s common for staff members to share passwords, either out of convenience or necessity. This can lead to unauthorized access and potential misuse of data. There is also the problem of weak passwords. Given the number of passwords people have to remember, they tend to opt for, users might opt for easily guessed passwords or variations of the same password. The most popular password is “password”. Beyond this, criminals are hacking password systems regularly and can also phish passwords out of people by tricking them into believing they are help desk personnel, etc.
Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)
MFA enhances security by requiring users to provide multiple forms of identification before granting access. For instance, users might receive a one-time password (OTP) on their mobile phone after entering a password. This two-step process, known as 2FA (2 Factor Authentication), is a subset of MFA. MFA, despite its enhanced security, isn’t without issues.
OTPs, a common secondary verification method, rely on mobile networks. Network delays or outages can hinder the authentication process. Some users find MFA procedures cumbersome. The added steps, especially if they face network issues, can lead to resistance, with users opting out of MFA altogether. There is also the risk of exploitation with OTP, making MFA not entirely secure. SIM swaps are also increasingly making MFA processes vulnerable.
Related Reading
- Biometric Authentication Methods
- Biometric Data Privacy
- Biometric Data Breach
- Biometric Spoofing
- Device Based Verification
- How Is Biometric Data Stored
- Biometrics In Healthcare
- Biometric Authentication Banking
- Biometric Data GDPR
How Biometrics Address Traditional IAM Challenges
Biometrics, given its uniqueness, can effectively curb password sharing. For instance, fingerprint authentication ensures that only the authorized individual gains access. Biometrics eliminates the need for users to remember complex passwords, reducing the likelihood of weak password usage. It’s a win-win:
- Users enjoy a seamless login experience, and organizations benefit from enhanced security.
- You also eliminate the cost involved with password resets. In fact, it’s estimated that the average firm spends $5.2 million a year on setting and resetting passwords.
In fact, according to the Service Desk Institute, Gartner found that 40% of all help desk calls are related to password resets, while Forrester reports that each password reset call costs a business around $70. A biometric authentication platform frees your IT team from the overhead of password management and saves money year in and year out.
Enhancing Physical ID Card Systems
Biometrics can address these challenges head-on. Incorporating biometrics can prevent misrepresentation and counterfeiting. For instance, a biometric verification step ensures that even if someone possesses an ID card or a hardware token, they can’t access restricted areas without the corresponding biometric data.
Biometric data is incredibly challenging to replicate. Even if someone manages to forge an ID card, they can’t forge fingerprints or palm patterns. This added layer of security ensures that only authorized individuals gain access.
Improving Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) with Biometrics
While MFA is effective, it isn’t prone to hackers. Biometrics can boost its efficiency. Biometrics can replace unreliable MFA steps like OTPs with quick and reliable fingerprint or facial scans. This process simplifies verification, making it more secure and effective. Organizations can offer a more user-friendly authentication process by replacing cumbersome MFA steps with biometric checks, reducing user resistance.
Identity and access management is critical to any organization’s security framework. With the challenges posed by traditional IAM methods, biometrics emerges as a promising solution. Biometrics is set to redefine the future of IAM by offering a unique blend of security and convenience.
Balancing Security And User Experience With Biometric Identity Management
The security and accuracy of a biometric authentication solution are significantly influenced by the thresholds set by administrators. Stricter thresholds enhance security but may lead to a higher false rejection rate, while more lenient thresholds might decrease security but improve user experience.
Professionals working with biometric compliance solutions should know the nuances of setting these thresholds. They must strike a balance that prevents unauthorized access and fraud while ensuring that genuine users are not inconvenienced by high false rejection rates.
The Risk of False Rejection
While biometric verification technologies offer superior security, there’s a risk of false rejections. This occurs when a genuine user is incorrectly denied access due to a mismatch between their current biometric sample and the one stored during enrollment. False rejections can frustrate users and lead to a poor user experience.
To minimize this risk, calibrate and test biometric systems regularly. Multi-modal biometric systems can help reduce false rejection rates by providing multiple ways of verifying a user’s identity.
Improving User Experience
Biometric authentication is not only secure but also convenient and fast for users. Placing a finger on a scanner and unlocking an account is faster than typing a long password. Users are also less likely to forget their own biometrics compared to passwords. Biometric data is also non-transferable, requiring the physical presence of the user’s biometric input for authorization. This enhances the inherent security of these systems while also making the user experience smooth and intuitive.
Book A Free Demo To Learn More About Our Integrated Identity Management Platform
At Anonybit, we help companies prevent data breaches and account takeover fraud with our decentralized biometrics technology. With our decentralized biometrics framework, companies can enable passwordless login, wire verification, step-up authentication, help desk authentication, and more.
Comprehensive Security Solutions for Companies
We aim to protect companies from data breaches, account takeovers, synthetic identity on the rise, privacy regulations, and digital transformation. To achieve this goal, we offer security solutions such as:
- Secure storage of biometrics and PII data
- Support for the entire user lifecycle
- 1:1 authentication and 1:N matching for lookups and deduplication
Balancing Privacy and Security with Anonybit’s Integrated Platform
Anonybit eliminates the tradeoffs between privacy and security. Prevent data breaches, reduce account takeover fraud, and enhance the user experience across the enterprise using Anonybit. Book a free demo today to learn more about our integrated identity management platform.