Security Selfies to Replace Passwords?
We all know passwords can easily be forgotten, stolen or intercepted and we all know it happens far too often. That’s why many companies particularly ones which deal with large amounts of customer’s money are trying to find new ways to protect accounts and eliminate cybercrime. One way MasterCard have trialled doing this is through “Security Selfies” also more technically known as Identity Check. This allows customers to authorise transactions by taking a selfie on their smartphones and then transmitting it to MasterCard.
MasterCard have carried out many trials on the software with 92% out of 750 Dutch cardholders saying they found the system more convenient to use. MasterCard says it plans to launch Identity Check on a wider basis in the summer of 2016.
This topic raised a few debates in our office with many of us questioning just how much safer would this system be? What about criminals impersonating the genuine user. They could use a mask, a printed photo or even what would happen in the case of identical twins? Or is this the future of security technology? Would a password accompanied with a selfie be more appealing?
Should we all just stick to pin numbers? Or will selfie security take over the world of card payments and maybe even other technology devices such as replacing house and car keys? Who knows but I’m sure we will all find out soon enough!
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