Companies like Microsoft and Facebook are getting rid of passwords in the workplace and are now switching to fingerprints and biometrics as a more secured form of identity verification in order to prevent hackers from accessing stored data from devices.
In a report by CNN Tech, Microsoft’s director of program management Alex Simons said that passwords have been evolving to more advanced identity authentication such as that of smart cards, and now to biometrics.
He said: “Passwords are the weak link. They have terrible characteristics about them, and they’re hard for you to keep track of.”
Amid being considered as one of the more reliable form of verification, fingerprints could possibly be stolen as a breach at the federal Office of Personnel Management reportedly leaked 5.6 million people’s fingerprints back in 2015.
Though it is still unclear how hackers could make use of the fingerprints, researchers have shown spoofed fingerprints can be used to log in to smartphones which could lead to widespread identity theft.
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