Cybersecurity multinational Kaspersky has partnered with the three-dimensional (3D) accessory designer Benjamin Waye and creative agency Archetype to create a special ring that has a printed artificial fingerprint pattern that can be used for authentication, the company announced on Wednesday.
This solution was designed because biometric data is unique and, if compromised – be it a fingerprint, face or iris – once lost it is lost forever and cannot be reset, unlike compromised passwords which can be reset.
With this kind of accessory, people can unlock their phone and use other systems that require authentication via a fingerprint without having to worry that their biometric data will be stolen.
Unlike a real fingerprint, the artificial fingerprint can be changed and reset. Should biometric data be leaked owing to an attack, the ring can be replaced with a new artificial pattern and a person’s unique personal data will remain secure.
“Our bodies are becoming keys to digital authentication, replacing pins and passwords. With many services becoming digital and automated, our unique biometric data is becoming a vital element in unlocking these services – many people already use their fingerprints or faces to unlock their phones, to make payments or to even access their homes or offices,” the press release stated.
Kaspersky’s research shows that biometric data is at risk of being compromised.
A recently conducted overview of cyberthreats to systems used to process and store biometric data showed that various malicious threats (including remote access Trojans, ransomware and banking Trojans, besides others) are often found trying to infect information technology systems.
In the third quarter of 2019, around 37% of such computers encountered one of those threats at least once.
The ring is just one of the possible solutions for protecting peoples’ biometric data in an environment where there is no 100% guarantee that real biometric data will be stored by third parties responsibly.
”By combining the elements of art and technology, the ring has been designed with the aim of helping to solve quite a serious problem in today’s modern life. It helps preserve our uniqueness in a world where everything could otherwise be copied,” said Waye.
“This is certainly not a silver bullet. A real solution will involve creating measures and technologies that would guarantee the protection of people’s unique identities. Such a solution is yet to be developed and, to be honest, the current situation surrounding the safety of biometrics is not where it needs to be,” said Kaspersky Europe Global Research & Analysis Team director Marco Preuss.
“Nevertheless, with the increasing adoption of these technologies, it is extremely important that we start the conversation within the relevant industries to develop a collaborative approach to ensure this data is protected.”