Feb 12, 2019
How secure is biometric authentication data?
The security of the biometric authentication data is vitally important, even more than the security of passwords, since passwords can be easily changed if they are exposed. A fingerprint or retinal scan, however, is immutable. The release of this or other biometric information could put users at permanent risk and create significant legal exposure for the company that loses the data.
“In the event of a breach, it creates a Herculean challenge because physical attributions such as fingerprints cannot be replaced,” says data security expert Kon Leong, CEO and co-founder at San Jose-based ZL Technologies. “Biometric data in the hands of a corrupt entity, perhaps a government, carries very frightening but real implications as well. “
At the end of the day, every company is responsible for its own security decisions. You can’t outsource compliance, but you can reduce the cost of compliance, and the possible repercussions of a leak, by picking the right vendor. If a small or mid-sized company uses, say, Google’s or Apple’s authentication technology and there’s a security breach with Google or Apple, it’s likely Google or Apple will get the blame.
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