Biometrics are technically safer than passwords because they’re harder for cybercriminals to compromise or steal. Besides being more secure, biometrics are also phishing-resistant and more convenient to use than passwords.
Read on to learn more about biometrics and why they’re considered to be more secure than passwords.
What Are Biometrics?
Biometrics are a person’s unique physical and behavioral characteristics. For example, they can be a person’s fingerprint, voice pattern, unique typing pattern or any other physical and behavioral characteristic unique to a person. Biometrics are oftentimes used as an authentication method when using Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to ensure that a person is who they say they are. MFA makes accounts more secure by verifying the identity of a person before they’re able to successfully log in to one of their accounts.
Why are Biometrics More Secure Than Passwords?
Biometrics can be more secure than passwords because they’re harder to steal, but this is dependent on the password it’s being compared to. A password that follows password best practices would also be very difficult for a cybercriminal to compromise. When using passwords to sign in to your online accounts, it’s better and safer to use a combination of a strong password and a biometric authentication method so that there is more than one layer of security protecting your account.
However, even when using passwords, password-related cyber attacks are prevalent. The only way to remove the risk of password attacks is with passwordless authentication. Passwordless authentication is a way to verify your identity so you can log in to your account without needing to enter a password. Passwordless authentication leverages other verification methods such as biometrics and Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) codes.
Advantages Of Using Biometrics
Here are some of the advantages of using biometric authentication.
Biometrics are phishing-resistant
Unlike passwords, biometrics are actually phishing-resistant. Phishing is a common cyber attack that aims to get victims to hand over their sensitive information to cybercriminals. When carrying out phishing attacks, cybercriminals use social engineering techniques to convince victims that they’re someone they know such as a family member, friend or a company they have an account with. One of the many types of sensitive information that cybercriminals attempt to steal is user’s credentials so they can compromise their online accounts. With biometrics, cybercriminals won’t be able to phish them out of users because users can’t just hand over their biometric information like they can with their passwords.
Biometric authentication is quicker
Using biometric authentication is also a lot quicker than using passwords and other methods of authentication. With biometrics, all users need to do is scan their face, fingerprint or retina and they’re logged in. With biometric authentication, there’s no need for users to type in a password, making the login experience a lot quicker and more convenient.
Take passkeys as an example. Passkeys are a new authentication technology that allows users to sign into their online accounts without having to enter a password. All users need to do is have a passkey generated for that account, which is then stored locally on their device or password manager. When a user wants to log into their account using their passkey, all they have to do is verify their identity using what they use to unlock their devices, which can be Face ID or their PIN. Using passkeys is not only easier but also safer to use than traditional passwords.
Biometrics are unique to each person. For biometric authentication to work, the person whose biometrics are needed to gain access to a device, system or account has to be physically present to authenticate their identity. There’s no way for anyone to share their biometrics because they are physical identifiers. With passwords, it’s a common practice to share them with friends and family, but oftentimes users choose to share them through insecure methods like text messages. This often places these shared accounts at risk of compromise.
Disadvantages Of Using Biometrics
One disadvantage to using biometrics is they can fail. As an example of this, let’s say you usually use your fingerprint as a form of authentication. If you were to accidentally cut your finger and develop a scar, you wouldn’t be able to use that finger to verify your identity. However, most accounts have backup methods you can enable so you can regain access to your account in case this were to happen.
While there are some downfalls to using only biometrics as your form of authentication, the same goes for passwords. Only using a password to secure your accounts isn’t as secure as also having MFA enabled. To ensure that your accounts are secure, you should use a combination of strong, unique passwords and MFA. Your biometrics can be used as an MFA method to log into your account. If your biometrics don’t work, additional authentication methods can be used to verify who you are, so there’s no need to worry about only relying on your biometrics to verify your identity.
Biometrics Provide Both Convenience and Security
Biometrics are considered to be safer than passwords because they’re harder to steal. While biometrics can be used as an MFA method when signing in with your username and password, they can also be used when signing into accounts using passwordless authentication like passkeys.
If you need a place to securely store your passwords or passkeys, a password manager like Keeper® can help. Keeper aids users in creating strong, unique passwords for each of their online accounts, managing and securely sharing passwords and passkeys all while making your login experience a breeze with autofill. While users will need to create a master password for their Keeper Vault, Keeper enables users to sign in to their vault using biometrics – providing you with convenient access to your sensitive information.
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