How Much Longer Will The Password Be Used?

Did you know that the password is a security measure developed in the 1960s? With the recent passing of the man who developed the computer password it became public knowledge, at least for a day. There is very little else that we use that is 50+ years old, especially when it comes to cyber security. Even the magnetic strip is not that old, though it is close. The magnetic strip is being phased out and so is the password. So what will the next generation of security look like and how long does the password have left?

What Could Replace The Password?

We’ve been over a few of these options in the past. A biometric option is the most commonly tossed around most commonly. This has been integrated into many of our devices like our smartphones and even into a few ATMs around the country. This is the future.

Biometrics

You probably know what biometrics are. There are certain things that are unique to you. Your fingerprints, your retina, your DNA. This can be used to secure an account. 

Advancements in AI have helped to make this possible and Visa has been at the forefront of this. Visa claims that where it has implemented biometric security it has helped to reduce fraud by ⅔ and has helped to bring global fraud to an all-time low. 

AI allows Visa to analyze information faster and more accurately than a human can. Each event can be analyzed 500 different risk attributes in real time for each transaction and this can be done in one millisecond or less. That is less time than it took you to read this paragraph.

Current Security

Think about the current security options available. Chip-and-signature does not really present much in the way of stopping fraud as someone can forge the signature and there is potentially nothing for a merchant to compare it to. Chip-and-PIN can but a PIN can be replaced or guessed. Biometric security eliminates those vulnerabilities and Visa says that it will be replace those methods. 

This was also spurred on by the number of different devices that can be used to make a payment. As a merchant you may accept payments from more than just cash and credit cards. With the ability to make a payment with your smartphone and other devices, new standards and technology was needed. Considering that biometrics have been integrated into many smartphones this is an easy leap to make. 

It is also much tougher to type a password onto these screens. You’ve probably experienced that at some point with your own phone. It’s a hangup that could slow down the checkout process and biometrics will overcome that.

When will this be introduced? It’s already here. As technology improves this will become more common, so if you don’t have biometric technology in your smartphone you will with your next one and that goes for your customers too. By making this technology more readily available more people will use this. Are you ready for this with your business? If you aren’t you should start getting ready and if this is something that you are interested in, give us a call at JLE Business Consultants and we can help you out.