Fingerprint biometrics combine security, convenience and reliability to deliver long-term value, writes Paul Ramsay, General Manager, CDVI Ltd.
The earliest recorded use of fingerprints for identifying individuals is from 1858 in India.
But there is evidence that they’ve been valued for their uniqueness as much as 4,000 years ago in ancient Babylon.
Today, fingerprint recognition technology is the best way organisations can future-proof their access control.
The big advantage of fingerprint-driven access control is the uniqueness of the credentials.
How often do users lose or damage swipe cards or forget PIN codes?
What do you do when someone leaves their fob in a different handbag at home?
What about the risks of buddy-punching?
Fingerprints eliminate all those challenges.
You can’t fake a fingerprint and you can’t leave home without them.
It’s exceptionally unlikely that they’ll be stolen or cloned.
And you can’t lend them to someone else who’ll forget to give them back.
Fingerprints are astonishingly unique to individual human beings.
The chances of someone else having identical fingerprints is estimated at less than 1 in 64 trillion (The Chance of Identical Fingerprints: 1 in 64 trillion, Scientific American).
And, with today’s tech, we can capitalise on that biological phenomenon to ensure that only an authorised person can gain access to secure locations.
You must be physically present to use a fingerprint reader.
And to answer the question that someone always asks – no, if a villain chops your finger off, they will not be able to use it to fool a good fingerprint reader.
Liveness detection sees to that, checking for live blood flow beneath the surface of the skin.
Concerns about data security in biometric technology are common.
Users can be reticent to hand over their fingerprints because they’re not confident that they’ll be stored safely.
And let’s be honest – that’s sensible.
The uniqueness of fingerprints is fantastic for identification purposes, but it also means that if your prints are compromised, they’re compromised permanently and irreversibly.
However, today, biometric access control solutions are worth their salt store and protect data robustly.
They use proprietary algorithms to encode and encrypt fingerprint patterns into formats that can’t be reverse-engineered to recreate scanned fingers.
They permanently delete original scanned images of fingerprints.
And just for good measure, they store the data on separate devices, away from the reader head and hidden on the secure side of the door.
Like all technologies, the early days of digital fingerprint recognition were a little rickety.
Older models would deliver both false negatives and false positives, even after taking what felt like forever to complete a scan.
And, if your finger was wet from the rain, or slightly dusty on a building site, you’d have no chance.
An outdoor fingerprint reader in bright sunlight? Forget it.
These are first impressions that have stuck around, rather than evolving along with the technology.
Today, the hardware is miles away from those hesitant first steps.
Multi-spectral sensors have changed the game in both accuracy and reliability.
These components scan far deeper into the surface of a fingerprint than older sensors.
So, a little bit of moisture, dust, debris or damage won’t stop an accurate scan.
Heated sensors and tough housings mean better adaptation to changing weather conditions.
And faster processors scan, analyse and authorise fingerprints in fractions of seconds.
Quality readers work reliably: Touch your finger and the door opens.
That builds trust, driving user adoption and improving overall security.
Biometric access control is already making a big difference across sectors.
The innately higher level of security of fingerprint readers lends itself to data centres, banks, government buildings and military applications.
Any site where security is non-negotiable has something to gain from biometrics.
Whether it’s robust storage of data, resilience to vandalism or the uniqueness of fingerprint credentials, biometrics deliver powerful solutions. Every entry is tied to a specific person.
With clear logs that show precisely who accessed what and when, organisations can meet compliance needs and discourage inappropriate access.
Beyond security, biometrics represent convenience for users.
People generally don’t care about access control systems, but I still hear plenty of positive feedback.
People appreciate ditching swipe cards and PINs. Biometrics feels fast and modern. It enforces punctuality without creating friction.
With mechanical keys, swipe cards and keyring fobs, users must physically carry the credential with them – and it’s all too easy to leave it in the wrong coat pocket or put it down somewhere so safe that it’s forgotten entirely.
Plus, there’s the security risk posed by a lost or stolen card or fob. Keypads avoid some of those issues, but it’s just something else to memorise – or forget.
With biometrics, people just need to turn up. No remembering, no bringing, no carrying. Just show up and scan your finger.
It’s a fast, frictionless user experience with the added benefit of keeping admin overheads to a minimum.
When organisations replace or upgrade systems, they want to extract as long a life as possible from the technology.
It’s an expensive and time-consuming thing to invest in building systems and it’s imperative that those systems provide ROI.
With fingerprint access, there is a higher upfront cost compared to simpler card/keypad-based systems.
But that’s paid off with the tangible benefits:
Fingerprint readers have come a long way in recent years.
Today, they’re delivering operational, cultural and security improvements beyond the capacity of basic access control systems.
Biometric technology is reliable, immensely accurate and more durable than it’s ever been.
Our message for organisations looking to protect assets, improve efficiency, simplify processes and increase visibility is simple: Go for it. Fingerprint readers are a step into the future.
The permanent and personal authentication offered by biometric access control is unrivalled in its security and convenience. A card can be copied. Your fingerprint is uniquely yours.
Making the switch now ensures your organisation is ahead of the curve as growing momentum pulls every industry towards a new biometric-based standard.
This article was originally published in the January edition of Security Journal UK. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.
