Make Your Online Identity Safe Again (4) - Let's see how you get pass this!

Recently Blizzard gave us an animation that inspired the name of this blog entry. The character Mei is an interesting data analyst who hyper-slept for 0 years. I'll leave the link to the video at the end of the post. It is worthy of watching.

So we're gonna talk about authentication. Right now there are only 3 ways for a computer to know that you are IN FACT you. Apple has given us a lovely example of this with their new iPhone X.

The most common way to authenticate is by testing the knowledge of the user. This can be used by asking for a password, just as Facebook, or a NIP, like an ATM. By asking the user for a specific piece of knowledge, the application can trust some rights to the person trying to access it. That's why it is so important for you to NOT share passwords, and to be very unrelated to you.

The next method is a little bit more secure but actually can be more problematic as well. In Walt Disney World, there exist something called a Magic Band. It is a bracelet that every member of a family must have on themselves through all their stay. The parks react to the band, so they can give you a more personalized experience, you can also access to your the parks and hotel room with it. You can even connect your credit card to it and you can pay for food and souvenirs inside the Walt Disney World with it. The system knows who you are, and gives you access to everything you paid within easy reach of your wrist. The big problem about this is that you COULD lose your Magic Band and someone COULD access to your room, park tickets, and credit card without your authorization. The credit cards in Mexico function like this as well, if you have an account, you just have to have your card with you to make a transaction. If you ever lose your Magic Band or your Credit card, report it immediately.

The third method you can use for authentication is something you CAN´T lose: Your own self! Apple started using Touch ID a while ago, and now with your new iPhone X, they are using Face ID. That's right! If you want to unlock your phone, you just have to watch it and it will recognize is you. Awesome, right? Well, Apple claimed that the chance that someone who isn't you unlocks your cellphone by Touch ID is 1 in 50,000. And by Face ID is 1,000,000. There exist room for error. If someone wanted to go through your iPhone X, they could even print a 3D scale of your face and use it to unlock it.

My point is that there's not one final or best way to authenticate, we just have to protect our data as much as we may be able to, and we also have to be ready for the worst case scenario.