Items tagged with biometric security
Passwords as a form of computer security have been around for more than half a century, dating all the way back to the early 1960s. Yet we still use them, but should we? Not according to Microsoft. Too many flaws make traditional passwords too risky in today's era, and as far as Microsoft is concerned, password-free security solutions are the way to go. A big reason why is because too many people continue to use terrible passwords, like "picture1" and "1-2-3-4-5," and not just on their luggage. We always cringe when security firms post a list of the worst passwords still in use. Granted, a large portion of those lists is probably comprised of people using weak passwords on throwaway accounts,...
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Google is bringing a biometric security mechanism to its Chrome browser on Android, after rolling it out to Windows Hello earlier this year. Once in place, users with Android phone will be able to authenticate web purchases using biometric inputs supported by their handsets, such as fingerprint scanning and facial recognition capabilities. This will make confirming credit card details quicker, easier, and overall more convenient. That is assuming you choose to save your credit card information to your Google Account. If so, rather than having to punch in the CVC number on the back of your card before having Chrome autofill the credit card details in a web form, biometric authentication will serve...
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Unfortunately, we have another security breach to report on today, and this one involves biometric data on over million people that improperly secured. The system in question is the Suprema Biostar 2 platform, which is used to secure commercial and government building around the globe. Vpnmentor security researchers Noam Rotem and Ran Locar discovered the exploit, which made fingerprint/facial recognition data along with unhashed passwords and usernames available through a publicly accessible database. In total, nearly 28 million records were accessible, weighing in at 23 gigabytes. “We were able to find plain-text passwords of administrator accounts,” Rotem explained. “Millions...
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In the early days of automobiles, we'd jam a key into the lock to unlock the door, and use that same key to turn on the ignition. Nowadays, most people press a button on a key fob or punch in a PIN combination. In some cases, a proximity sensor automatically unlocks the door. So what will tomorrow bring? Perhaps facial recognition technology, if an Apple patent is any indication. Maybe one day Apple will build its own self-driving automobile, as has been rumored for a long time now, and debut a bunch of fancy new technologies. Or maybe not. Either way, there is a patent that Apple filed a little over two years ago and was just recently published that describes unlocking a vehicle through a mobile...
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Traditional passwords have started to yield ground to biometric security options, like fingerprint scanning and even retina scans. Going even deeper (literally), there's yet another method that involves authenticating a person's identity by scanning his or her veins. It sounds secure, except that researchers have already found a way to thwart it using wax. The process of authenticating a user's veins involves scanning the shape, size, and position of veins that are underneath a person's hand, and then comparing the scan with a record that is already on file. It's believed that German's Federal Intelligence Agency (Bundesnachrichtendienst, or BND) employs this type of security. In theory, it should...
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How good are you at remembering passwords? If you're like most computer users, probably not very good at all. Given the dozens (or more) websites that we interact with on a daily basis, remembering long and complicated passwords can be a chore. Some users take advantage of browser autofill technology to help take the sting out of remembering tedious passwords, while others simply use the same basic, insecure password for every secure site that they visit. Those in the latter category are prone to being compromised, as we've recently reported. Given how insecure passwords have become these days, Microsoft is trying to push us towards what it thinks is a viable alternative. The answer, of course,...
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Fingerprint analyzing software used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and more than 18,000 other law enforcement agencies in the United States might contain Russian code. The apparent finding comes at a time of heightened security concerns over international spying efforts—just three months ago, the Department of Homeland Security banned all federal agencies from using Kaspersky's security products due to reports of Russian hacking. Image Source: Flickr via Alan Levine Regarding the fingerprint analysis software, a French company injected the Russian code into the program, according to a couple of former employees of that firm. At the time, the firm was a subsidiary of Safran, a French...
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Are you still unlocking your smartphone with a PIN or some other scheme that requires tapping or swiping the display? Maybe you've moved on to a fingerprint scanner. Either way, how primitive! Well, not really, but there does seem to be a hard push towards facial recognition. Apparently enough OnePlus 5 owners have been clamoring to unlock their devices by staring at it, just as their OnePlus 5T brethren can do, so the OnePlus team is going to make it happen. The OnePlus 5 is not a very old device—it came just a few months before the OnePlus 5T made its resale debut. So the fact that the OnePlus 5T could be unlocked just by staring into its digital soul is understandably something that...
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Rumors and speculation are swirling over what features will make their way into the iPhone 8, the next flagship from Apple and the one that will represent a decade of iPhone design evolution. Much of the chatter has been focused on login security—following a note from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that Apple may ditch plans to integrate a Touch ID sensor beneath the display, word on the web is that Apple is working on a 3D face scanning feature that will allow you to unlock the iPhone 8 with your mug.Citing people who are supposedly familiar with the iPhone 8's design, Bloomberg says Apple is currently testing the improved security system. Much the way Touch ID works now, users would be...
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