The more you hear about technological advancements, the more it seems you’re walking into a science fiction film. We already have people talking to their watches as though they are Thunderbirds, and using augmented reality like in iRobot.
Now, like something out of Mission Impossible, the key to unlocking our technology lies in our fingerprints, or our face shape. How long before we have Minority Report style retina scanners everywhere?
The funny thing is this is a good thing.
Passwordless Authentification
It means less and less passwords
Passwords a legacy solution going back to pre-internet days and in our modern online lives are a solution that is struggling to keep up. Secure passwords aren’t usually memorable, so they are stored in databases. Those who do remember their password don’t realise that FluffyBunny@123 isn’t actually a safe password.
Not only that, but you also then see them using the same password, or variations of it, across all of their platforms.
No matter how secure, passwords are easier to crack than somebody’s biometric data. Therefore combining the two or dropping them completely makes things much more secure.
It’s not just phones that are mobile
Phones have made good use of biometrics over the last few years. Unless someone cuts my head off, getting into my phone will prove difficult. And that’s obviously a good thing. We should be doing this for all other technology.
Think about the guy on the train tapping away on his laptop, finishing off that presentation at the last minute. He’s stuck with using a password, or a pin to get into his laptop. This is far easier to hack than having something that reads his biometric data.
There is an answer, however. Yubico have developed something that helps us use our biometric data to lock important technology and deny hackers access.
Introducing Yubikey Bio Series
Yubico have developed the Yubikey Bio Series which allows you to store your fingerprint as a common password-less authentication.
For all intents and purposes, it is a USB key that you can only operate if it recognises your biometric fingerprint. So, even if you manage to lose the key, opportunists, hackers, or general ne’er-do-wells will not be able to access your computer.
You can understand the appeal to someone who travels a lot on business, or commuters that work on a hybrid contract. You can keep your business data safe in transit.
If you use your laptop on the road or whilst visiting clients and using various wi-fi connections, it is always good to make sure that your browsers do not remember your passwords for you. In fact, if you can keep the passwords on a separate device entirely, then your data will be more secure.
If you haven’t yet thought about YubiKey, or invested in the Bio Series, we can provide you with additional information. Please drop us a message, or call us on 01327 300 311 and we will discuss it with you.
Share this post: