The author of this article is Bahaa Abdul Hadi. As an Identity Management expert, Bahaa Abdul Hadi always shares his experience on various platforms.

Authentication can be challenging for organizations, as it involves using personal data. Balancing convenience and security is vital for running a business efficiently. Furthermore, all firms have different authentication requirements. Banks have to authenticate expensive transactions throughout several workstations.

While medical institutions keep their stockpile of antibiotics secured using biometric technologies. Safe storage of data or material requires a foolproof and flexible framework. Different multi-factor authentication (MFA) techniques have their pros and cons. However, Identity-bound Biometric (IBB) firms are coming up with flexible and safe authentication methods, that have practical applications across businesses.

Problems with older MFA techniques

Many traditional MFA processes are not cost-efficient and are hard to use. Many of them rely on One Time Passwords (OTPs) which are sent to the user’s phone.

In many situations carrying a smartphone is not possible and carrying one can even be life-threatening. To combat this issue, hardware tokens are effective and involve a user carrying a physical key to grant authentication.

However, the token can get lost, stolen, or even forgotten. In such cases, it becomes very difficult to fix the issue. In many cases, the token can end up becoming a liability for businesses.

On the other hand, biometric authentication bypasses this problem entirely as the user himself becomes the key. Additionally, it provides more security and ease of use.

It should be noted that not all biometric techniques are the same. For example, the Apple Touch ID makes a user’s phone the primary authentication device as it stores the user’s fingerprint data.

If a different user enrolls his fingerprint data onto the phone, an organization would face a major security problem.

IBB techniques bypass this issue by centrally storing biometric information in a non-reversible way. Stealing or reusing the data does not work. Let’s review some case studies to understand the concept better.

On-field investment consultancy

Investment consultants who keep traveling from one place to another, need to ‘log in’ to new systems constantly. By using an IBB method with iris scanners at workstations, this can be done easily and effectively.

Locking medical cabinets securely

Traditionally, doctors, nurses, and medical staff used to carry keys to lock and unlock medical cabinets. However, perpetrators can easily take advantage of this method and gain wrongful access to drugs.

By using IBB, hospital staff does not need to have keys, badges, or tokens with them at all times. Just by using their fingerprint, face, or iris data they can lock or unlock storage cabinets without running the usual risks.

More incentive to hit the gym

Membership cards issued by large-scale gyms can be lost, stolen, or forgotten by users. By taking their customer’s fingerprint data onto their central server, fitness centers can make the authentication process more convenient and secure.

Conclusion

IBB offers huge benefits to businesses, customers, and employees alike and can also mitigate the risks of identity theft significantly.

It can be a major asset to businesses and should always be present in every Multi-Factor Authentication framework.

The article has been published by the editorial board of the Identity Herald and authored by Bahaa Abdul Hadi. For more information please visit www.identityherald.com