So – Barclays are now introducing finger readers for Bank customer’s wanting to logon to their Accounts. Good news of course, particularly in the wake of reported issues with Apple iCloud’s two factor security (Something you know such as PIN, Password plus something you have such as Bank Card or Mobile Phone). Introducing this 3rd Biometrics factor (something you are) authentication should help their customers sleep a little easier and perhaps they can arrange for Barclays to store their naked photos as well as their money.
Biometric authentication is of course not that new, it has been around for some time and used in a variety of business systems. Its introduction more broadly is a reflection of the improvement in the technology and the reduction in cost so I am sure we will see much more announcements like this from other service providers.
The introduction may of course not be to everyone’s liking nor might it be suitable for every environment. Some time ago I worked in a manufacturing company where we installed Time and Attendance systems that included fingerprint authentication. While the technology worked reasonably well there were significant issues with it working in dirty environments and there were workforce issues. It seemed that some workers strangely did not like the fact that they were no longer able to clock their mates in and out of work and, rather than seeking to build finger print models or cutting off their friend’s fingers, they took the easier route of breaking the readers.
No doubt the Biometric readers for the Barclays solution have been well tested and not many of their customers will be logging on from offices covered in cement dust. However, some may not like the idea that they could no longer give their Bank card and PIN code to their daughters to do some online shopping and will prefer to stick with the 2 factor approach.
As with any IT Solution it is important to understand early how, where, when and for who it will work to ensure successful adoption and the expected return in investment.
