Biometric Authentication Offers Convenience but Creates Lasting Security and Privacy Risks

Summary

Biometrics can reduce password-related risks, but compromised fingerprints or facial data cannot be reset. The article discusses past biometric-data exposures and concerns about surveillance, human rights, and expanding data use.

Key points

• Biometric authentication can reduce reliance on passwords and improve convenience, but the article cautions that it is not a risk-free security solution.
• Biometric data remains vulnerable to compromise; unlike passwords or payment cards, fingerprints and facial features cannot simply be replaced.
• The article says more than one million people’s biometric data was exposed in 2019 through poorly secured BioStar 2 systems, including records stored without encryption.
• It reports that a cyberattack on a U.S. Customs and Border Protection subcontractor led to sensitive traveler data being leaked on the dark web.
• The article says a former employee of Australian company Outabox leaked more than one million facial-recognition records from bars and nightclubs.
• Expert commentary raises concerns about surveillance, discriminatory profiling, function creep, and the possible misuse of refugees’ and migrants’ biometric records.

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