Authentication using passwords and PINs is no longer considered to be safe. We have seen a couple of recent incidences of data breaches where user data is compromised and exploited for even further attacks. Two-factor authentication is one option for addressing the problem. But, that also cannot be considered to be secure enough. A two-factor authentication system also can be compromised. We need some authentication mechanism in which the authentication data can be provided by the individual only and cannot be tampered with. And, that is the primary motivation behind using the biometric system.

What is Biometric Authentication?

The word “biometrics” is derived from the Greek word “bio,” which means life, and “metric,” which means to measure. Biometrics refers to the automatic identification of a person based on his or her unique physiological or behavioral characteristics, such as fingerprints, voice patterns, iris, keystroke rhythm, etc. These characteristics are unique to every individual and cannot be tampered with easily. And, in a biometric authentication system, these characteristics are widely used for authentication purposes.

History of Biometrics

The history of biometrics dates back to 1870, with Alphonse Bertillon’s measurement system. In this system, human body measurements such as skull diameter, arm and foot length, etc., were used to uniquely identify a person. Until the 1920s, this system was used for identifying prisoners.

Later in the 1960s, identification through fingerprints and facial measurements was proposed. In the 1960s, digital signal processing techniques were developed, which enabled convenient processing and storage of biometric data and led to the automated identification of individuals.

Voice and fingerprint recognition systems were later developed, and their applications have included high-security access control, personal locks, and the authentication of financial transactions since the 1960s.

Later, the biometric systems based on face recognition and iris recognition were developed. And, today biometric systems based on fingerprints and face recognition, iris pattern recognition, or keystroke rhythm and voice recognition are widely used.

Why do we use Biometric Authentication?

There are several reasons for which biometrics are supposed to be reliable enough for …