Biometrics: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?

3N1 IT Consultants
Feb 22, 2022
3 min read

Updated: Dec 10, 2025

Close-up of an illuminated fingerprint on a scanner, glowing white and blue. Circular pattern background, futuristic technology vibe.

Introduction

As artificial intelligence becomes more commonplace in both cybersecurity and cybercriminal behavior, security experts are developing new and innovative ways to verify user identities. Proving that you’re really the account owner has become more and more necessary as cybercriminals develop practices like deepfaking to disguise people in video or picture and fool AI recognition.

Multi-factor authentication is an increasingly common practice for secure platforms. It essentially requires the user to verify that they are who they say they are, through some external means. Think of Face ID, touch scans, one-time passwords and security questions. These are all ways to prove that you have the right to access your private accounts. In the sense that you use it near-daily, you’re already familiar with biometric authentication.

What is Biometric Authentication?

Biometrics refers to the process of identifying you using recognizable personal data. You can thus authenticate your access to accounts through that same recognition software. No one else has your face so they can’t get into your smartphone, for example.

It doesn’t only refer to face ID. You could also consider your thumbprint in the same class of data. Nowadays, iPhones scan your face as an alternative to entering your passcode, but older smartphones relied on fingerprint recognition. To set this feature up, you’d have to enroll your fingerprint from a few different angles so the device can verify you with a variety of casual taps.

Face ID uses the same concept to store and recognize your face to unlock your smartphone. If you’re a fan of old spy movies or have bought your kids an electronic journal, you’ve probably seen examples of voice identification too. Even the unique way that you talk can be a form of biometric identification!

Obstacles to Biometric Expansion

Despite the uses, there is still hesitation about making this kind of technology more widespread. For starters, many individuals worry about their privacy, given that so much personally identifying information is being stored in places where it could be sold or hacked. It’s also an expensive investment for businesses to make.

What if you get a scar, wear makeup, use glasses, or change your hair? All this also makes it harder for biometric software to operate effectively, a significant downside that does not account for relatively normal human behavior. Face ID is also known to be less accurate among racially diverse groups. All of these disadvantages have prevented biometric identification from being entirely accepted by the public, whose enthusiasm is crucial to industry growth.

Why Companies Use Biometric Authentication

As a form of multi-factor authentication, biometrics are a nearly unmatched way to prove someone’s identity. Of course, you still have to be wary. It’s now a semi-common sitcom joke to have someone’s partner crack into their phone while the person is sleeping, by just holding the phone up to scan their face.

Nevertheless, biometrics are a great way to protect user privacy in the office (and hopefully no one is falling asleep on the job anyway!) and remain a commonly used tool for businesses to secure their and their employees’ confidential information. It reduces identity theft and fraud, particularly when authentication software uses multiple factors in its assessment, such as verifying both retina and face scans. All of these are difficult to duplicate and easy to authenticate, making them preferable for busy office workers who might need to log in and out of multiple secure accounts throughout the day.

Conclusion

The field of biometric identification will likely continue to advance as AI evolves, cybercriminals find new ways to trick these algorithms, and consumer needs change with new platforms and updates. This technology is already integrated into many organizations that handle sensitive information and need to protect their databases. Companies are also investing in the research and development of biometric authentication systems to get ahead of emerging trends that will shape the following stages of identity verification and security.

The future of biometric authentication must first address the serious consumer concerns that are keeping many people from voluntarily using the technology. Until then, it will remain a viable option for businesses looking to take their security standards seriously.

References