Definition — What is a Biometric Authentication?

The term “Biometrics” is derived from the Greek words “bio” (life) and “metrics” (to measure). Automated biometric systems have only become available over the last few decades, due to significant advancements in the field of computer processing. Many of these new automated techniques, however, are based on ideas that were originally conceived hundreds, even thousands of years ago. The oldest known use of biometric verification is fingerprinting. Thumbprints made on clay seals were used as a means of unique identification as far back as ancient China. Modern biometric verification is a rapidly evolving technology where authentication takes place almost instantaneously and accurately.

Biometric authentication is a concept in the data security process that relies on the unique biological characteristics of an individual that can be used to digitally identify a person to grant access to systems, devices, or data. It typically requires an initial enrollment phase during which reference biometric data is registered. Once a reference is established, the authentication process involves comparing the presented biometric data to the reference data. If there is a match, then authentication will succeed, else it will fail.

Biometric security can easily enhance a system’s protection by giving it a unique form of credentials that cannot be duplicated and helps your business ensure that only the right people have access to sensitive information. Implementing biometric authentication typically requires additional hardware sensors, the cost of biometric authentication was historically prohibitively expensive for many use-cases. But in recent years those costs have gone down, making biometric authentication possible for many more applications. According to a recent public survey on Biometric Authentication, 92% of enterprises rank biometric authentication as "Effective" or "Very Effective" to secure identity data stored on-premises, and 86% say it is effective for protecting data stored in a public cloud.

Most Common Types of Biometric Authentication Technologies:

• Voice recognition
  
• Iris recognition
  
• Fingerprint recognition
  
• Retina scans
  
• Facial recognition
  
• Signature Recognition
  

Biometric authentication is quickly becoming a popular component of multifactor authentication strategies because it combines a strong authentication challenge with a low-friction user experience with continual improvement, there is no doubt that biometrics have a bright future in the identity space.