Page 100 - Cyber Defense eMagazine for September 2020

Weaknesses of Biometric Authentication

By Mark Perkins, MS, CISSP, IT Manager

In today’s digital world, knowing who is on the other end of the wire is more important than ever.

Democratization of digital technology and proliferation of Internet access, in addition to the transformation
from physical to virtual has created a new era of criminal activity. Currency, for example, can be simply
transferred from one account to another. Digital documents requiring multiple signatures can be

completed simultaneously on different continents. These conveniences come with a risk. Without
physical verification, how do you know who is on the other end?

IAAA, or Identification, Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting, is an essential function in
cybersecurity. To identify and verify who a person is, what they have access to, and logging what was

done is extremely important. With quantum computing, passwords—even complex passwords—are too
easily cracked. Multi-factor authentication can be implemented to mitigate this risk. One of the strongest
methods of multifactor authentication is biometric authentication.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2020 Edition 100
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