A biometric is a type of physical characteristic used to identify individuals or verify their identity or identity documents.
Biometrics, such as fingerprints and iris scans, are rapidly growing in popularity as they are considered one of the best ways to eliminate identity theft.
In fact, more than half of all American adults are now using biometric software, such as BindID, as a part of their daily lives.
But concerns have arisen over the safety of biometrics in recent months.
As a result, are phone biometrics safe?
In this guide, you’ll understand why biometrics isn’t the safest way of securing your device and what you can do to protect yourself better.
The Safety of Biometrics
All mobile devices like laptops, tablets and smartphones have a password option that’s needed to log into the device. They also have biometric authentication options like fingerprint and facial recognition. The manufacturers present these options as high-tech, but they are not secure and reliable.
Biometric Authentication Offers Poor Security
The bitter truth that most consumers don’t know is that most biometric options have flaws. People shouldn’t rely on any biometric method for their mobile security.
Traditional PINs and passwords are much more secure than the latest forms of authentication. There are so many reasons why the newer methods aren’t safe. For starters, someone can easily force you to unlock your device using your fingerprint or face. As for passwords and pins, forcing someone to give up such information is difficult.
People get tricked into unlocking their devices with facial recognition and fingerprint sensors. At times someone might even place the device in front of you while you’re sleeping, and it will be unlocked in seconds.
Patterns Aren’t Secure
As a matter of fact, patterns are the least secure for mobile device protection. There is something known as selection bias. For instance, research was done, and the observations were that most users start their patterns from the top left corner. Therefore, attackers can easily guess the pattern by starting on the top left corner. Many people will choose a pattern that’s easy to remember, which is why attackers have an easy time bypassing a device’s pattern lock.
Can Biometric Data be Hacked?
Remember, any form of data is vulnerable to hacking if someone is motivated enough. Although hacking biometric data is difficult, it has happened in the past, and it’s possible.
Taking any data on your phone takes a few seconds, but a lot of data is taken. The hacker makes several scans of your fingerprints, face or voice to access your mobile device. This process might take time and lots of effort, but still, some hackers will not be put off.
Out of all the mobile device brands, iPhone and Xiaomi have the hardest biometric authentication to hack. The reason is that they have added infrared facial scanning. This means that even if a hacker has a clear photo of your image, they can’t get past the infrared technology.
How to Protect Yourself
Now that you’ve learnt how unsafe biometric options are, you must safeguard your smartphone. The first step should be changing your password if you think you’re already compromised. Other protection measures you could take include:
Add the Two-step Authentication Feature
For more protection you could enable the two-factor authentication feature. Although biometrics are difficult to hack, you shouldn’t rely on them for your device’s protection. By enabling two-factor authentication, you’ll have added an extra layer of protection. This option asks for a second form of verification after the first login.
For example, if you want to log into a banking app, you can unlock it using the Face ID, but you’ll be asked to provide your temporary ID code. In most cases, this will be emailed or texted to your device. The good thing is that you have a few minutes to enter the ID to gain access.
Update Your Device’s Software
The purpose of new software is to add more functionality to your device. Most phone companies ensure all devices are protected from malware and viruses. Therefore, keeping your phone’s software up-to-date will help ensure every system, including biometric security, is protected against any form of threat.
Use Strong Passwords
Lastly, you can protect yourself better by using strong passwords. Cracking strong passwords is more difficult, and hackers will probably not guess your password. Moreover, password information is stored temporarily, so hackers cannot retrieve it easily from the cloud.
Biometric authentication is viewed as the safest and most secure authentication method, but it has many flaws which make people vulnerable to hacking and theft. Ensure you follow the guidelines in this article to protect your device and data more.
