Smart phones have become very necessary device for many people these days. They do their business, banking and communication with smart phones which makes these devices vulnerable to get attacked by hackers (Camenisch 130). The protection of the information on cell phones as well as on the personal computers has come along the way since the introduction and implementation of the internet. To prevent forged access of mobile phones, some traditional methods has used such as passwords. However, these traditional methods are not enough to secure important information on mobile phones consequently there is a need of new technology which is biometrics. Biometrics technology confirms the identity from unique characteristics of any person such as voice, fingerprint and face. Biometric characteristics can be classified as physical, behavioural and chemical.
These days heaps of business related data files and emails have been shared on the internet using mobile phones, this information is very sensitive and at risk to get attacked by hackers. Biometrics is a new technique to protect unauthorized access of this information as well as the mobile phones. Smartphone protection is a rising fear of both clients and organizations. Many mobile phone users use easy to find passwords and set no passwords for their mobile phones. As a result, very important data on their phones has exposed to hackers. Most people think they don’t have anything important in their smart phone focusing on their camera roll and contact details of their friends. However, they are not aware they could have their transaction details when they download apps to the phone. These transactions include credit cards, account numbers, expiration dates, and validation codes. Transactions from mobile devices have been increasing, but the security to defend important information is still an issue (Lockbridge).
As research shows that fingerprint scanning is a great security and authentication solution in smart phones but there were some barriers to get it implemented on wide scale these issues includes cost, size, performance and reliability. Now the iPhone 5S using fingerprint sensors and Apple has defeated all the challenges which leads many other mobile phone manufacturers to enter the market with similar systems (Donovan).Instead of using passwords, now people can use their unique characteristics such as fingerprint, voice and face to unlock their phones with the help of biometrics. Biometrics technology will possibly make the attack on mobile devices difficult which can considerably reduces the shock of lost or stolen mobiles.
Traditional methods like passwords and will never be eliminated totally; however additional security for authorization access is necessary. However, the use of biometrics on smart phones has mixed reception because we leave fingerprints everywhere and everyday (“Mixed reception for iPhone 5S” 1).
Benefits and Barriers of biometrics on smart phones
According to Lockbridge last year more than 7 million smart phones were smashed away from repair, lost or stolen and never to be seen again. Due to extensive mobile phones usage, hackers and thieves are interested in obtaining electronic devices. The introduction of biometrics in smart phones can limit this damage. There are numerous benefits of implementation of biometrics technology in mobile phones. On the other hand, biometrics has several dominant factors that can hinder the implementation of biometrics systems on a wide scale.
Potential Benefits of biometrics on smart phones
More Secure
Biometrics technology is more secure due to identification of distinct characteristics for each person and these biometric characteristics are unforgettable unlike passwords that need to be kept in mind (Pocovnicu 60).
Non sharable
Because of the nature biometric features they cannot be shared between users. This quality of biometrics added a new benefit because only authorized person can use the phone (Pocovnicu 60).
Cost efficient
It is very certain that there will be a big investment initially to get it installed on the smart phones, however, biometrics technology will be cost effective afterwards due to unchangeable and unforgettable nature of biometrics characteristics. As a result, the costs of reissuing new passwords or identification token will decrease and it will save the technical support time (Shaikh, and Dimitriadis).
Ease of use
Many people find biometric technology on smart phones is interesting because of the ease of use and exciting how they can lock or unlock their phone just with their finger. There is no technical expertise will be required to do accurate authentication (Pocovnicu 60). Barriers to the Implementation of Biometrics System on smart phones
Biometrics technology has many advantages still there are some issues which need to be addressed before the use of this technique in smart phones on large scale.
People Issues
The serious challenge in implementing biometrics technology is to achieve the confidence of people in new technology .It is important to consider the resistance of user to the unfamiliar technology. The perception for biometrics among people is that the technology is complicated or inconvenient. But the use of biometrics fingerprint technology in iPhone 5S could change this perception (Rashid).
Privacy issue
Biometrics qualities cannot be replaced or modified so the security of biometrics database is very important (Chandra, and Calderon 104). Biometrics database can’t be used beyond their original purpose. Otherwise it creates user distrust on technology.
Physical safety Issue
This issue is raised only by Shaikh and Dimitriadis (4).However, physical safety is major concern often ignored by many authors so far. Biometrics technology requires the presence of a person at the time of verification process. Unauthorized access control can put the actual user at the physical danger.
Performance Issues
The important factor for all the technologies is their performance. Several authors draw attention to the performance of biometrics technology. Biometrics technology performs differently in different conditions and with different set of data. There is an example of performance of a facial recognition device which performed badly at in a U.S army test (Chandra, and Calderon 104).
Social issue
The bigger challenge in implementing biometrics technology is to achieve the confidence of people in new technology. It is very important to consider the resistance of user to the technology. Increased confidence and trust in biometrics among users could help the technology to the implementation of this technology in many other areas such as online banking, mobile payments and e-commerce services. On other the hand, if consumers give the negative impression of Apple’s TouchID, they will take this technology off from smart phones consequently it impacts negatively on the evolution of wider adoption of biometrics (Rashid).
How it works
Main components of biometrics technology include Sensor unit, Processing unit, Database unit and Matching unit (Pocovnicu 57).
Sensor unit
A sensor unit signifies the edge between the user and the machine (phone). This is the unit where the biometric Characteristics are acquired (Pocovnicu 57).
Processing unit
In processing unit the biometrics characteristics are collected, subdivided and extracted. This unit also ensures the quality of traits taken and decide whether the quality of the biometric is fine enough to be used further in the process or not. Poor quality traits need to obtain again (Pocovnicu 57).
database unit
This unit stored all the registered biometric patterns and the all the patterns are retrieved from this unit to do further authentication process (Pocovnicu 58)
matching Unit
In the matching unit the match is performed between the newly obtained biometric patterns and the patterns already stored in the database. There are some decision rules which determine the identification either true or fake (Pocovnicu 58).
Mixed reception of biometrics technology on smart phones
The implementation of fingerprint biometrics technology in Apple’s iPhone has mixed views from security experts .Some says that Apple’s extremely secure implementation possibly not secure enough because people leave their fingerprints everywhere and attackers can take advantage of it. However, this technology can be considered as secure if there is a fingerprint reader which able to differentiate between actual fingerprint and a fake fingerprints (“Mixed reception for iPhone 5S” 1).
Works Cited
Camenisch, Jan. Privacy and Identity Management for Life: 7th Ifip Wg 9.2, 9.6/11.7, 11.4, 11.6/primelife International Summer School, Trento, Italy, September 5-9, 2011, Revised Selected Papers. Berlin: Springer, 2012. Print.
Chandra, Akhilesh, and Thomas Calderon. "Challenges and constraints to the diffusion of biometrics in information systems." Communications of The ACM (2005): n. pag. Print.
Donovan, Fred. "Smartphone security concerns prompt makers to turn to biometrics." FierceITSecurity. N.p., 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Lockbridge, Calvin. "Smartphones Increasingly Vulnerable, Biometrics Offer Next-Level Protection." News channel daily [Troy] 14 Aug. 2013: n. pag. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.
POCOVNICU, Adrian. "Biometric Security for Cell Phones." Informatica Economic? 13.1 (2009): 57-63. Print.
Rashid, Fahmida Y. "iPhone 5S: A Biometrics Turning Point? - BankInfoSecurity." Bank information security news, training, education - BankInfoSecurity. N.p., 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
Shaikh, Siraj A., and Christos K. Dimitriadis. "My fingers are all mine: Five reasons why using biometrics may not be a good idea." (2008): Web.
