Fingerprint ID Rules Authentication | Face Recognition Surging

Friday, January 24th, 2020

With fraud gaining prevalence every year, in the form of document fraud, threats of terrorism and cybercrime, as well as changes in international regulations, markets worldwide are compelled to take up more advanced technology to verify the identity of mobile users.

Biometrics is the means of identifying and authenticating individuals in a quick and dependable way by using unique biological characteristics.

What the Experts are saying

According to Global Markets Insights, the global biometric market is expected to reach $50 million by the year 2024.

The most recognized biometric techniques include fingerprints, face recognition, iris, palm, and DNA-based recognition. Research reveals that another type of biometrics is in the works and that is both ear shape and facial thermography.

The most popular and effective technique is fingerprint recognition. It is the most effective because, according to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), there are no two individuals who possess more than eight minutiae (specific points) in common. There are about 30 minutiae in a fingerprint scan that can be accessed by a live fingerprint reader.

According to UK-based Juniper Research, fingerprint readers will be installed in as much as 4.6 billion smartphones around the world by 2024. It is reported that consumers are comfortable making fingerprint-based biometric payments for remote and contactless payments.

Biometric identification

Facial recognition is considered the most “natural” method of biometric identification. The face recognition system itself does not require any contact with the person. According to a National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST) study in 2018, system developers have made considerable gains in facial recognition accuracy in the last five years (2013-2018).

With the use of Artificial Intelligence, the algorithms are becoming extremely accurate. Apple Inc’s FaceID, a facial recognition software, is growing at a rapid rate. Such is the explosive growth that it will be installed in 800,000 devices by the year 2024. This is an increase above the estimated 96 million currently on the market.

The Juniper report also states that the advances in Artificial Intelligence, software-based facial recognition will take on a bigger market. The estimation is 1.4 billion devices in the next five years.

When it comes to using software-based facial recognition, the app on the smartphone generates a routine that enables the app to make a positive identification of a user. One good example of this technology is a product from a London-based startup called iProov Ltd. Its app, Face Verifier, is a one-time face biometric verification tool that uses “controlled illumination” to detect replicas and replays. It works on iOS, Android, and any device with a front-facing camera.

Biometric technology is not without controversy. There are issues of privacy and the everyday citizen’s control of information about themselves. There are regulations set forth by the General Data Protection Regulation where biometric data is protected in 27 member states of the European Union and the UK as of May 2018. For the rest of the world, it is yet to be seen how any mode of authentication data will be used and protected.