Phasing Out Passwords

The word is out…
We’ve all experienced the frustration of forgetting our login details. A single password used to work on most websites in the early days of the internet, whereas modern websites all seem to apply their own differing stipulations. Some demand a mixture of letters and numbers or a blend of capitals and lowercase, while others insist on symbols alongside alphanumerics. Certain portals won’t accept passwords with consecutive number strings, and there’s a slow but inexorable increase in the minimum character length required.
Things get even more complicated with two-factor authentication, such as online bank accounts that request a user ID and then ask for an additional password and PIN code on a separate page. Then we have to remember PIN codes for debit cards, unique identifiers for telephone banking, burglar alarm passkeys, codes for padlocks and door entry systems at the gym, house keys, car keys…
Life would be much easier if we had a single universal method of identification, and modern technology is gradually advancing to a point where key rings and memorised security codes may finally become obsolete. Biometric information and wireless communications are pointing the way to an easier future, representing a key advantage of the Internet of Things. Any device with an internet connection can now be governed automatically, just as registration plate scanners in car parks that automatically lift the barriers when prepaid vehicles arrive.
A simple example of password replacement involves near field communications (NFC), which you may have come to know as ‘contactless’. Instead of inserting a debit or credit card into a chip-and-pin terminal before surreptitiously entering a PIN code, tapping your card against an enabled NFC reader can authorise payment. Originally designed for checkouts and cash registers, NFC is already expanding into areas like security entry systems and ticketing.
Fingerprint recognition is nothing new, and the police have used fingerprints as a form of identification since the Victorian era. However, modern systems can be used to open our front doors and unlock our iPhones, with fingerprint-controlled safes another example of this technology’s burgeoning reach. Fingerprint cash machines are already common in Poland, and Barclays are experimenting with machines that scan the vein patterns underneath our skin in lieu of chip-and-pin cards. Scanned data is stored remotely rather than on any Barclays databases, since the UK’s laws on biometric data retention are quite stringent. Another less-heralded advantage of vein-scanning software is that a severed finger can’t be used to make fraudulent transactions, unlike more basic fingerprint scanners.
Perhaps the ultimate method of personal identification involves our eyes, with retinal and iris recognition offering two very distinct methods of achieving the same outcome. Our retinas contain unique accumulations of blood vessels, which remain unchanged unless a condition like glaucoma or diabetes develops. An infrared beam traces a path along retinal blood vessels, registering points of high and low reflection. By contrast, iris scans pass infrared illumination across the coloured outer portion of a person’s eyes, delivering almost 100 per cent accuracy and proving impervious to any medical conditions. Iris scans are also less invasive than retinal scans, which explains their adoption within airports and military bases.
As anyone who’s seen the movie Minority Report will know, being identifiable isn’t always a good thing. However, as more and more devices become connected to the Internet of Things, technology is ideally placed to abolish old-fashioned identifiers like padlocks or magnetic card strips. We could even end up with passwords electronically tattooed onto our bodies (like permanent QR codes) or embedded below the skin within microchips that can communicate wirelessly. It will be interesting – and a touch unnerving – to see which methods of identification eventually free us from today’s tyranny of lost keys and forgotten login details.