Biometric multi-factor authentication is easy to understand as it works similarly to traditional multi-factor authentication, the only difference is that one of the authentication methods is a biometric scan instead of a secret code. When employees attempt to access an enterprise application, they enter their usernames, and a notification is pushed to their registered mobile device. Device possession is the first test, and the second challenge is having the user complete a biometric sample capture (i.e., fingerprint, facial, or voice recognition) to prove that they are the person authorized to use the device for login at the time of the login attempt.
Streamlining biometrics into current password security practices can be beneficial for businesses and employees because it provides:
1) Secure authentication:
Biometric technology is among the strongest authentication methods because it cannot be duplicated. Even amongst identical twins, no set of people can have the same identifying features. As a result, biometrics have been used by law enforcement officials and the government sector for decades to identify and verify individuals are who they claim to be.
Additionally, biometric technology also commonly features liveness detection to determine whether a user is a living, breathing person, and not a presentation or “spoof” attack using a photo, video, or mask. With biometrics streamlined into current authentication practices, employers and IT professionals can be sure that company data is secure and not susceptible to fraud-prone passwords.
2) Reduction of successful cybersecurity threats to businesses:
Cybersecurity threats to businesses remains a constant: phishing, malware, ransomware, and data breaches. However, the increased dependency on digital solutions and remote work has caused a heightened rate of these threats, leading to businesses suffering great financial losses. At the end of 2021, aggregate global data breach costs totaled $4.24 million—the highest in the past 17 years. In fact, IBM estimates that there was a $1.07 million increase to the average cost associated with a data breach occurrence. This can be attributed to the increase in remote work. The most recent projected figures by the Ponemon Institute report that a company’s average loss to a phishing attack in 2021 was $14.8 million. That is more than triple what it was in 2015. Moreover, the latest forecast for aggregate global ransomware damage costs in 2021 were an estimated $20 billion, and Cybersecurity Venture predicts that there was a ransomware attack on businesses globally every 11 seconds in 2021. These rates are alarming but comes down to the mere fact that cybercriminals are constantly evolving and looking for weaknesses in your cybersecurity infrastructure. Often, this weakness can be attributed to human error. According to Verizon’s Data Breach Report, 95% of cybersecurity breaches result from human error and 85% involved vulnerability exploitation. 61% of these data breaches were the result of weak or stolen passwords. Passwords continue to be a costly security issue for many businesses. However, with biometric multi-factor authentication, human error is eliminated and if a threat occurs, the attack is squelched with the biometric capture.
Lessens password fatigue:
Password fatigue is becoming quite common in today’s workplace. The average employee must keep track of an average of 191 passwords! Because of this burden, many individuals rotate the same five passwords across their work and professional accounts. For most people, the fear of forgetting a password outweighs the risk of hacking. Recent stats show that 91% of employees understand the risk of reusing passwords but 61% still do it anyway. Solving the issue of password fatigue and password management should be top priority for IT professionals and business leaders. Research indicates that current password management conducted in the workplace is only leading to more problems and costing businesses millions of dollars a year. With biometric multi-factor authentication, employees will no longer have to worry about constantly changing their passwords. Additionally, IT professionals will have peace of mind due to the security benefits associated with biometric technology.
Knomi® for multi-factor authentication
For employers and IT professionals implementing biometric multi-factor authentication with Knomi® from Aware is an important opportunity to add security to the workforce. Knomi mobile biometric authentication framework enables companies to conduct document verification, liveness detection, and biometric facial matching to ID remotely. The framework is secure, flexible, and easy-to-use.
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