14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists have created a biometrics-based authentication system that uses a person's ear to authorize him to access sensitive information.
Fingerprints can be faked, some eye scanners can be fooled by 2D pictures, and passwords are just the worst. Faking an internal ear canal is not impossible, but it's a little bit harder than bypassing other biometrics and standard login systems.
Login system is based on classic echo & response behavior
Researchers say that the authentication system they devised works by sending sound into someone's ear and then measuring the echoes they receive.
The echo is based on sound reflected from someone's external ear canal, the tympanic membrane, and by sound that goes beyond the tympanic membrane and is reflected within the inner parts of the ear.
This response is converted into a digital signal, which becomes like a unique ID for each person.
The ear-based login is just perfect for smartphones
NEC, the company that's behind this new technology, says that their system has an accuracy of 99% and higher. Plans exist to commercialize the technology by 2018.
The company says that their system is more than ready to protect individuals from fraud, or to safeguard the government's sensitive data from unauthorized access, something which older authentication systems may fail to protect because of their inherent flaws.
The most obvious use case for this technology is in smartphones, as a way to unlock the device when the user puts his phone next to his ear to answer a call. The smartphone, already equipped with speakers and microphones, could find it very easy to launch the signal, listen for the response, and authenticate the user.
NEC says that this entire process takes around one second, which is about the same time that fingerprint and iris scanners also need.
These types of authentication and authorization systems are becoming more common. As such, last month, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) had announced the creation of a new working group tasked with standardizing passwordless and biometrics authentication systems.
