Five Ways to Make the Most of Mobile Biometrics

No longer the stuff of science fiction, or restricted to highly sensitive or military-grade applications, biometric authentication has become the de facto standard for mobile users—from unlocking your smartphone to making payments on the go. Enterprises have been slower than individual users to adopt biometrics, but that seems to be changing. According to a recent Spiceworks survey of 500 companies in North America and Europe, 62 percent report using some form of biometrics today while 86 percent expect to be doing so by 2020.

Many organizations are now evaluating the use of biometric authentication methods, such as fingerprint scanning and facial recognition, to reduce end-user friction, make collaboration easier, share information more effectively and, as a result, promote higher workforce productivity. Careful planning and a few simple best practices can help achieve these goals while maintaining a secure and cost-effective solution.  

1.      Take Advantage of the Biometric Capabilities that Users Already Own

If cost has been holding you back from adopting or expanding biometrics, you’re not alone. In a recent Spiceworks survey, 67 percent of companies cited cost as the biggest barrier to adoption. But biometric authentication no longer requires expensive or proprietary hardware to implement. Today, all major smartphone and laptop platforms include some form of device-native biometrics. And these platforms are continually improving: high-definition cameras, infrared sensors and augmented reality have expanded the possibilities to include retina scanning, 3-D facial recognition and improved liveness detection. According to Apple, the advanced technologies used by Face ID (Read more...)