Introduction to authentication

Authentication is the process of linking a physical person to a digital identity. Authentication must be performed if the person should be given access a certain physical or digital environment.

There are three types of authentication:

• Something you know - a password, a PIN number, your mother's maiden name
• Something you have - a key, your bank card, an ID card
• Something you are - your fingerprint, your signature, your face

The problem with traditional authentication

Traditionally, people prove their identity by providing passwords or PINs- theoretically something only the “real” user would know. However, passwords can easily be lost, forgotten, stolen, or guessed.

The average person today has about 25 password-protected accounts (according to a Microsoft study), more passwords than they can reasonably be expected to remember. People compensate by using the same password for multiple accounts, and by choosing passwords that are easy to remember.

Unfortunately, easy to remember usually means easy to guess. Other users select difficult passwords but then write them down where unauthorized eyes can find them.

A recent and growing trend is token-based authentication, where a person carries a physical item, such as a USB stick or smart card, encoded with a security key. Tokens can add an extra layer of security, but can also be lost or stolen. They still do not truly prove that the person is the authorized user, only that they are carrying the right token.

BioID offers a secure, convenient, and affordable solution to the authentication problem.