Study Finds Biometric Authentication is Less Popular at Work

Another study is pointing to the rise of biometric authentication, and the decline of the password.

Commissioned by London-based multimodal authentication specialist Callsign and carried out by YouGov Plc, the study entailed online surveys of a little over 3,000 adults across the UK and the US. The survey found a significant difference in authentication preferences between workplace and personal settings: At work, 56 percent of respondents expressed a preference for password-based authentication, whereas that number dropped to 45 percent in personal settings. Biometric authentication, meanwhile, was preferred by 30 percent of respondents when it comes to access online accounts or making digital purchases, whereas only 15 percent preferred biometric authentication at work.

Another notable finding from the survey is that younger respondents appear to be more open to the idea of behavioral biometrics than older respondents. It’s clearly still something of a niche, with only 12 percent of respondents aged 18 – 24 preferring behavioral biometrics, but that represents a lot more enthusiasm than can be found among individuals aged 55 or older, only four percent of whom preferred behavioral biometrics.

While the survey doesn’t offer a picture of how these attitudes have changed over time, this last finding offers a clue by indicating that younger respondents are more receptive to newer security technologies like behavioral biometrics. A number of other studies, meanwhile, have shown that consumers are increasingly comfortable with biometric authentication as a password replacement, while enterprise decision makers, particularly in the IT department, are increasingly aware of the risks entailed in relying on passwords. Many people may still prefer passwords overall, but those attitudes are changing.

–

August 30, 2018 – by Alex Perala