Research says fingerprint scans more popular than other biometric-based authentication
More than three quarters of participants in the sharing economy in the U.S. favour authenticating their identities using fingerprint scans, according to a survey of 3,585 consumers by news service PYMNTS. Some 76.4 per cent of the respondents who have been asked to verify their identities by scanning their fingerprints report being “very” or “extremely” satisfied with the login process.
PYMNTS said this is a considerably higher satisfaction rate than for other forms of biometric identification: 54.8 per cent of users using facial recognition scans for authentication report feeling “very” or “extremely” satisfied, while the equivalent figure for voice recognition was 41.2 per cent. “It will likely take some time before voice recognition and facial recognition techniques are advanced enough to function with the same ease and accuracy as fingerprint scans,” PYMNTS commented.
Carried out early in 2019, the survey also found that sharing economy services typically ask new users to submit their email addresses (71.5 per cent of respondents were asked this when creating their accounts) and phone numbers (64.6 per cent). PYMNTS said this is a cause for concern, noting: “With consumers’ personally identifiable information readily available on social media and the dark web, it can be remarkably easy for bad actors to use real consumers’ information to create fraudulent accounts.”
Indeed, on the dark web cybercriminals can now purchase a user’s full web browser and computer characteristics, allowing them to impersonate the victim almost flawlessly, according to a new report by external threat intelligence firm IntSights. The report highlights a new black market, called Richlogs, which specialises in selling and trading digital browser identities, enabling bad actors to access websites as another user and circumvent advanced identity protection services.
For more information, please see the summary of the PYMNTS research and the IntSights Inc. report.