Recent squabbles debating the merits of face recognition versus fingerprints ignores the larger truth – never rely on a single factor for identity. The discovery that terrorists possessed fingerprint molds, as reported in Planet Biometrics, drives this point home:
“Turkish counterterrorism units have discovered that fingerprint molds are a new tactic being used by Daesh militants for fraud.
The molds were uncovered during a raid in the Central Anatolian province of Kirsehir on Dec. 26. On the same day, security forces also detained 12 people in the southern province of Adana over their suspected links to Daesh.
Police discovered a number of molds of the fingerprints of dead Daesh militants during raids on two different areas in Kirsehir, where dozens of Daesh militants had been arrested previously. The molds are believed to have been used for financial transactions.
Sertac Canalp Korkmaz, a researcher in security studies at Ankara-based think tank ORSAM, said the molds could be used in a number of ways, including hiding the identity of those planning or implementing terrorist acts.
“They might use them to forge identity cards and passports, or to communicate between themselves on digital media,” he told Arab News. “But the key point is whether this tactic is limited to this particular cell. If these fingerprint patterns are unique, this operation becomes even more significant,” he said.”
Using multifactor security has been identified by multiple experts and regulatory agencies as the norm, and this include multifactor biometrics. This is why Mercator expects behavioral biometrics will become a critical part of multifactor identity. Not because behavioral is better than fingerprints, palm prints, face recognition, or any other single technology; but because it enables additional factors to be layered on top of all of these – utilizing only the sensors already in pretty much every smartphone today.
Overview by Tim Sloane, VP, Payments Innovation and Director of the Emerging Technologies Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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