Biometric authentication - more convenience, same level of security
Biometric authentication is one of the buzzwords in the last several years. As the iPhone X is available for purchase from Friday the buzz is now even increasing.
The main topic of the discussions is whether the touch ID (fingerprint) authentication or the new face ID authentication is more secure. I read a very interesting article about the topic in Forbes (link).
My opinion is that at current state biometric authentication is more a convenience function then a security solution.
The reason behind is that small button what you can see when your fingerprint authentication fails: Cancel.
With the help of this button the user is always navigated to the passcode/pin input screen. This is because iOS and Android always provide an authentication solution even if the fingerprint scanner or the camera of the phone don't operate properly.
However, this has a very serious consequence: every biometric authentication method can be circumvented with the passcode!
Since many of the smartphone users use the same passcode/pin for unlock the device and login to mobile banking applications, a fraudulent person with the knowledge of that 6 (sometimes just 4 ) digits can have direct access to the financial data of the users. This is a risk which can be mitigated only with using another device (hardware token) even for login to the banking application. On the other hand this would kill the user experience and the biggest advantage of the banking applications: easy access to the financial data.
On one side of the coin is security, on the other is the user experience. Which one is more important for you?
FinTech | Ecosystem | Corebanking & Payments | Sales Manager
7yIt's a matter of mindset. The question is how safe is safe enough for the user? Security and convenience are expectations from the end user & the goal for companies.