Could Biometrics Stop Hackers?

Facial biometrics could see a faster acceptance rate from the public
By Edward Hardy ,

The massive breach of the records of 143 million consumers from Equifax (EFX) - Get Report put the spotlight on how vulnerable consumers are in relying on companies to safeguard their information and how other biometric solutions must be sought.

Apple's  undefined release of their latest iPhone today will feature a new "Face ID" which will replace their current fingerprint reader and demonstrates how some companies are addressing cybersecurity issues by adopting biometrics. Samsung's (SSNLF) latest phone offers three options, including an iris and fingerprint scanner and facial biometrics.

Hackers obtained the personal and financial data of nearly half of Americans, including Social Security numbers, birth dates, driver's license numbers and also the credit card numbers for 209,000 consumers from Equifax, increasing the odds for identity theft to occur.

Cyber criminals are becoming more relentless and steadfast in their pursuits since the black market for data is growing exponentially. Smartphone makers have already adopted the use of fingerprint biometrics and the banking industry has utilized voice biometrics where voice and speech patterns are used.

Facial biometrics could see a faster acceptance rate from the public because iris and vein scans can appear to be intrusive to consumers and cannot be used in all situations.

"Biometrics are a complementary security control to make it easier for a human to interact with technology and should always be combined with an additional security control such as a passphrase or multi-factor authentication," said Joram Borenstein, a vice president of marketing of NICE Actimize

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