Biometric Authentication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biometric Authentication - Essay Example The desirable processes of biometric authentication methods that make it reliable include verification, screening and identification. This process makes use of a watch list or a database, containing data of people to be excluded. It has records containing only the biometric information for specific individual (Ratha, Connell & Bolle 2001, p. 610). Every individual provides biometric samples to be checked to confirm if it matches the watch-list. This process is used in the discovery of an individual without the user’s prior claim of identity. It checks the bio information against the contents of a central database without which it cannot operate. This is the attack where a person pretends to be a genuine person or individual service provider and prompts a user to provide personal bio data. Once the data is available and has passed through verification, the perpetrator of the attack performs unauthorized transactions. The phishing attack is equally harmful and takes place with or without the knowledge of the owner of the bio data. For example, an individual gets into a banking hall, gets into a dust bin and collects half-filled customer vouchers containing handwritten signature or fingerprint. He or she scans the signatures and finger prints which are then used electronically for valid online transactions. Biometric methods are more secure in the performance of online transactions. The owner provides Unique biometric information only when required electronically, unlike in the use of ordinary identification numbers. A biometric method provides a high degree of privacy to users and minimizes the exposure of information to unauthorized parties (Weaver 2006, p. 99). For example, for an iris scan to be done, a person must be physically available. It is possible to fraudulently reproduce biometric data depending on the resources, modality, the