Importance of Biometrics for HRMS

 

Importance of Biometrics for HRMS

In the digital age, it is increasingly common to authenticate with biometrics, a technology that is in our daily lives, since we use it to unlock the Smartphone, withdraw money from an ATM, go through an airport, obtain a visa or vote in the national or local elections and even to open the door of the house, enter work or the gym. It is these days commonly seen in the offices where Human Resources have started taking the Attendance from the Biometric Machines which directly goes to the Company’s HRMS System.

This technology is an automated system based on the recognition of a physical and non-transferable characteristic of people such as the fingerprint, the iris or the face and it is a way to validate the identity to prevent fraud; as well as to streamline processes and improve the user experience. 

With biometrics people do not have to worry if they forget their keys or identification cards, their password or codes. According to a BCC investigation, published by Portfolio, “the global market for biometric technologies will reach US $ 41.5 billion by 2020.

The fingerprint segment will reach US $ 24.4 billion and other biometric components such as facial recognition, veins and voice, will increase to US $ 11.9 billion for the same year. An expansion of biometric authentication is then proposed in the financial sector and subsequently in government issues, related to the identity control of citizens of a country or region”.

Private and public organizations increasingly use these systems, for security and practicality, to offer a better user experience and streamline processes. Therefore, in this downloadable you will find a basic guide on biometrics to understand this system and evaluate if your company needs it.

What is biometrics?

Biometrics is an automated system, based on the recognition of the physical characteristics of certain parts of the body of people, which are unique and non-transferable such as fingerprint, iris or face and is a way to validate identity to prevent fraud.

Pragma's biomedical engineer and data scientist, Yorhagy Valencia, explains that biometrics is the biological measurement or physical characteristics that are used for the recognition, authentication and identification of people. These physical characteristics must be universal, unique, recordable and measurable such as fingerprints, facial and voice recognition.

"Although these are the best known, researchers affirm that characteristics such as the shape of the ears, patterns in the veins, facial contortions, body odors, the way we sit and walk are other unique identifiers of the human being", says the bio-medical engineer.

For the experts at Biometrics Daon, a reference in the world, “biometrics is ideal for authentication because users do not need to remember complicated passwords or carry additional tokens. Biometrics also prevent authentication credentials from being shared, unlike other factors that are not uniquely tied to the person. "

We share 5 things you should know about biometrics so that you know the benefits of this technology. 

Types of Biometrics:

Biometrics is divided into three main categories of characteristics: biological, morphological, and behavioral. the biomedical engineer explains each one.

Biological

DNA: a part of an individual's body such as saliva, nails, hair or blood, is collected by forensics and taken to laboratories for research and medicinal purposes. The advantage of this type of technology is that it is a very accurate identification method. However, DNA profiling requires a physical sample to collect biometric data.

Morphological

Fingerprint recognition: this biometric method is the oldest and most efficient, due to the fact that fingerprints are unique. Like all other biometric technologies, it identifies and verifies a person's fingerprint with previously saved data. Today fingerprint recognition is widely used from mobile devices to door locks, and even for high security access control. This secure technology is easy to configure and is the most established biometric modality. However, it suffers from a superficial condition like wet or dirty fingers, scars, skin diseases, etc.

Facial recognition: There are high-quality cameras with the ability to recognize subjects, making facial recognition suitable for security and surveillance applications as well. This technology is easy to configure and no additional hardware is required in today's computing devices and smartphones. 

However, it may fail to authenticate twins or it may be exposed to tampering or fraudulent attacks.

Speech recognition: the voice is a physiological trait that depends on the anatomy of the throat and mouth, as well as the chronic components. The voice becomes a crucial biometric identifier that can be used to distinguish the speaker. Speech recognition allows users to interact with technologies simply by speaking, allowing you to create reminders, search and other simple tasks. Some examples of voice recognition systems are virtual assistants such as Alexa (Amazon), Siri, Google, and Cortana. 

However, these systems are very sensitive to background noise or language problems, this causes a false input and causes the system to perform an action that we do not ask.

Eye pattern recognition: This method focuses on the pattern formed by veins in the thick, white outer membrane of the eyeball known as the sclera. Vein recognition works by iris pattern in the human eye. The iris is the colored, circular membrane of the eye that separates the anterior chamber from the posterior chamber. 

Every human being has an iris color pattern; even the iris of the left and right eyes is different.
The advantage of this type of technology is that it is not altered as time passes, the redness of the eyes or the consumption of alcohol. It also works for the person with glasses or contact lenses. However, very expensive tools are needed to guarantee a good result.

Behavioral:

Recognition of GAIT: gait is defined as the cyclical and coordinated combination of movements that result in human locomotion. We all identify a person simply by observing their gait. This unique feature, with the help of computer-based imaging and computer vision, is turned into a biometric technology for pattern recognition that can map human gait.

This technology is used for the diagnosis of gait-related disorders. However, human identification and recognition systems are still new compared to other methods of biometric technologies that use voice, fingerprints or faces. Therefore, it is not yet fully developed.

Daon explains the key biometrics for consumer applications:

Face: Using a camera to capture an image and authenticate a user based on the characteristics of their face.

Voice - Use of a microphone to capture a voice sample and authenticate a user based on their vocal characteristics and speech patterns.

Fingerprint: use a fingerprint capture sensor to authenticate a user based on the characteristics of their fingerprint (some smartphones are already using this method).

Palm: using a camera to capture an image of the palm and authenticate the user from the lines on the palm surface.

Behavioral biometrics: use of the behavior of a user to authenticate him, for example, by means of the dynamics of keystrokes (typing rate) and any sensor of the device.

Iris - Using a camera (with proper lighting), where an image of the iris part of the eye (i.e. the colored part) is captured and the user authenticates based on the iris pattern.

Why use Biometric Data?

We use biometrics in our daily lives every time we unlock the screen of a Smartphone with facial recognition, we ask Siri or Alexa a question with voice recognition; We open our banking application, the door of the home or office with a fingerprint or our iris. 

When we travel from one country to another, immigration control systems use this technology to streamline the process and identify people on black lists. Likewise, in the streets and stadiums we are monitored by cameras with biometric analysis in 3D, which have the capacity to register 20 faces per second and identify criminals. 

In fact, governments are increasingly using biometrics to reduce security risks and reduce phishing.  In medicine, biometrics can save lives, by offering better patient care and avoiding identity errors or crossover diagnoses with other patients that can put them at risk. If you want to implement this technology in the company knows l will top 5 biometry services in the cloud. In addition to it, organizations also uses the biometric systems to get the exact and valid details of employees attendance and which is transparent to them in their HRMS Software for further processes like Taxes, Payroll & Leave management.

 

Can they Hack Biometric Data?

If someone steals our banking password or access to an application, we can easily change it; contrary to biometric data because if a person or company steals it, it is forever: our fingerprints and retina never change. However, most people are not aware of this and increasingly download applications that require you to register with your physical characteristics that ensure your unique identification. The reason is that many people believe that biometrics is more secure than passwords, but fingerprints can even be stolen from photographs.

That was dismantled in 2014, when the hacker team The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) assured in a conference that they could steal the fingerprint of the German defense minister, Ursula von der Leyen, with software to clone the fingerprint, using High resolution photos printed on a silicone sheet that sticks to any finger to outwit the fingerprint reader of any device.

According to the guide for the Treatment of Biometric Data of the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data, our biometric information can be used by the authorities to better fulfill their powers and to provide better services to citizens. for example, in the processes of replacement of identification documents, immigration control, or in the criminal sphere. The entity explains that biometric data, as a general rule, can be considered personal data and that therefore, companies, organizations, professionals and authorities must process this information under the conditions established by the regulations on the matter. To learn more about biometrics, we invite you to listen to our podcast "The future of biometrics in today's life”, where we chat with Cristián Bermúdez and Gustavo Londoño, Pragma engineers. But what is biometrics? since when is it being used in the world and how far can it go.