Modern Technology and Fingerprint Authentication.
Is it really safe anymore?
“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.”
— Albert Einstein
Evolution of modern technology has allowed mankind to accomplish mammoth tasks. Biometric Authentication, such accomplishment of cutting edge technology, is a type of protection that checks and matches a user’s biometrics to ensure that a person attempting to gain entry to a specific system, is permitted to do so. Biometrics are physical and biological characteristics specific to a person and can easily be matched with accepted features stored in a database. Where a user’s biometric features attempting to access a computer satisfy an authorized user’s features, access to the system is authorized. Face recognition, iris recognition, fingerprint scanning, voice recognition, hand geometry, and behavioral characteristics are some common forms of Biometric Authentication.
Thus, every time you unlock your smartphone screen by placing your fingerprint, open a mobile app by facial recognition or ask your intelligent assistant for a weather forecast, you are using the technology of Biometric Authentication.
This technology adds great convenience by replacing the commonly used password authentication. Without any doubt, we all have seen biometric identification being used in spy movies for decades, but it has become a credible security tool for all organizations to use in the modern world over the past few years.
What is Fingerprint Authentication?
While there are a variety of different forms of Biometric Authentication already in use or development, fingerprint scanning is the most common and the most widespread method of Biometric Authentication.
Why are fingerprints being used for authentication?
The fingerprints we have are like special keys that we carry around. The purpose of these grooves on the ends of our fingers is not to aid in identification, but to give us a stronger grasp on items we grab. Fingerprints are known to be such a brilliant means of setting individuals apart. They’re practically unique as fingerprints evolve according to the DNA of each individual. Although two individuals who possess similar fingerprints can be identified, the odds of that occurring are so slim that they are almost negligible. Fingerprints are widely used to monitor access to smartphones or other devices as the odds of a random user having just the perfect fingerprint to obtain access are often too remote to bother about — and far less the likelihood of someone guessing the right code or breaking through a lock.
The Science behind Fingerprint Authentication
Before being able to use a fingerprint scanner for authentication, the user’s fingerprint should be “enrolled” to the device. During this “enrollment” process, the print is examined for very unique characteristics which are called minutiae. The device then calculates the distances and angles between these features and uses an algorithm to transform this data into a special numerical code. This code is then saved in the device. During Fingerprint Authentication, the numeric code generated from the user’s fingerprint is automatically matched to the saved code, to verify the user’s identification. If the codes match, it means that the fingerprints match, and the individual is granted entry.
Three types of fingerprint scanners have been produced; optical, capacitive, and ultrasonic. Optical fingerprint scanners, which are the oldest, focus on obtaining an optical image, basically a snapshot, and using algorithms to identify distinctive patterns on the surface, such as ridges or distinct lines, by studying the image’s lightest and darkest regions. In other words, optical scanners basically create a photocopy of a finger. This technology is used widely in PC-related Fingerprint Authentication.
Capacitive scanners are the ones that we find in most of our smartphones. They are more secure and reliable. These scanners analyze fingerprints electrically, using arrays of tiny capacitor circuits to gather details of the fingerprint. The scanner tests the charge when a finger sits on the touch-capacitive surface; ridges show a shift in capacitance, while valleys generate essentially no difference at all. Then the sensor analyses the fingerprints using the obtained data.
The latest technology of fingerprint scanning to enter the world of smartphones involves the use of ultrasonic sensors. They consist of an ultrasonic transmitter and as well as a receiver to capture the intrinsic details of a fingerprint. Ultrasonic scanners can produce a precise 3D map of fingerprint patterns as the ridges and valleys reflect sound differently. Ultrasonic sensors are in the process of being prototyped and inspected to be used in the latest mobile devices.
Fingerprint scanners are not only becoming more popular in the latest mobile devices, but they are also beginning to take strides into people’s day-to-day lives. Fingerprint scanning is the most widespread and the most prominent form of biometric technology, used in more than half of all biometric security systems.
Is Fingerprint Authentication safe anymore?
It is a known fact that fingerprint authentication has arisen as an alternative to passwords with mobile use plummeting globally and more and more users becoming aware of the security threats and user hassles involved with password authentication. Technological innovation has spread fingerprint authentication to all sorts of devices, from laptops and smartphones to padlocks and secured USB drives. Many mobile devices now feature a mobile fingerprint reader and fingerprint authentication is seen as smarter and more efficient than password authentication. The latest models of fingerprint authentication reach past fingerprint ridges and under the skin to analyze the vascular structures in people’s fingertips, which could prove to be more accurate.
People have conveniently started to rely on fingerprint authentication because it allows fast and convenient access to unlock devices, allows individuals to be uniquely identified and it is impossible to forget your own fingerprint!
However, the topic of using Fingerprint Authentication is heavily debated as people begin to argue about its serious consequences.
Fingerprints are important biometrics and unique to each individual. Therefore, it is believed that fingerprint scans are an intrinsic component, and define “what you are’’. One major reason why Fingerprint Authentication was rapidly embraced, is the notion that fingerprints are impossible and difficult to be manipulated or faked. This has made people complacent that they might not use even the most common-sense preventative steps, believing that Fingerprint Authentication can fix all of their security and safety issues. But the real question is: Are fingerprints really secure from identity theft?
The truth is that biometric data such as our fingerprints are too convenient to manipulate for someone with the ability and means. When we look at fingerprints, in particular, we touch everything and leave fingerprints everywhere that can be extracted with relative ease. When somebody has your fingerprint details, a duplicate can be reproduced using conductive ink which can be used to trick biometric scanners. Once someone has a duplicate of your fingerprints, there’s no way you can change it. It is not like a password that could be changed.
In the past years, researchers have been able to fool fingerprint scanners with fake fingerprints. In the year 2002, a research team led by a Japanese cryptographer named Tsutomu Matsumoto, used clear gelatin, the same substance that is used to produce gummy bears, to create artificial fingers which were then used to trick fingerprint scanners. So, no matter how secure we think our fingerprints are, they still could be stolen and used by potential criminals or hackers to hack into our devices or accounts.
The Future of Fingerprint Authentication
Seeing that data leaks have become an imminent feature of our increasingly digital culture, will that mean that biometric technologies such as Fingerprint Authentication will not have a long-term future?
Although biometrics’ usability and accuracy still outweigh other protection and privacy concerns, the use of biometric technologies like Fingerprint Authentication will continue to expand — bringing complex threats to human identification. In the forthcoming future, sophisticated computers will be able to replicate any functionality to trick Fingerprint Authentication systems into letting any deceiver in. Furthermore, what happens if the human fingerprint data is incorporated into life-like automatons?
Although biometric technologies such as Fingerprint Authentication seem to be reliable on the surface, security tends to be an illusion because once biometric data has been stolen, repeated, or superimposed; there is no way to reverse the impact caused to humans or human identity.
References
[1]”What is Biometric Authentication? Use Cases, Pros & Cons | OneSpan”, Onespan.com, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.onespan.com/topics/biometric-authentication
[2]”Norton Security Center”, Us.norton.com. [Online]. Available: https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity
