On 1/20/24 22:52, Tim via users wrote:
On Sat, 2024-01-20 at 17:54 -0800, ToddAndMargo via users wrote:
c) Something you are, such as a biometric. This method involves verification of characteristics inherent to the individual, such as via retina scans, iris scans, fingerprint scans, finger vein scans, facial recognition, voice recognition, hand geometry, and even earlobe geometry
The problem with biometrics, is that if you're identified by data about you, that data is stolen, and someone can provide it on demand without your presence, you can't change your authentication data. If someone can fake your biodata, they can do it forever.
Fingerprints lifted from the glossy surface of your phone, a compromised service that held your data, a fraudulent service that gets you to log into them...
Yikes! The bad guys can just use a "keystroke" logger stye malware to intercept your biometric data and then they can repeat it at will.
This all goes back to using easy passwords. And the same passwords on different sites:
https://www.nist.gov/itl/smallbusinesscyber/guidance-topic/multi-factor-auth...
"In fact, databases of known breached account information reveal the actual passwords in use around the world, and we can see that people typically fail to choose sufficiently long, complex, and unique passcodes. A study of the most common passwords used globally has “123456”, “qwerty” (six consecutive keys on a keyboard) and “password” among the top 5."
Add to that the foolish security sites that ask you to constantly change your password all the time. If the bad buys have not figured out how to crack your password the first time, lets give them another change every two weeks! I have seen customers with passwords on sticky notes on the bottom of the monitors: abc!, abc!!, abc!!!, abc!!!!, etc. to revolve through their passwords. The revolving passwords silliness has been proven time and again to lessen security.
Multi-Factor Authentication is a technique to try to get around the users response to the obnoxious nature of passwords. Whether or not it improves things or just manages to further annoy the poop out of the users is up for debate.