Question

Evaluate the strengths and weakness of the following authentication categories: passwords, access cards, and biometrics. Which do you think works best? Why? You should list strengths and weaknesses for each and explain your thoughts on what works best.

Answer 1

Passwords:

Strengths-

• Protects our account,documents and files.
• Provides privacy.
• Secures the confidential data of an organization or a person.

Weakness-

• Passwords rely on the computer's weakest connection and on the network protection chain; which is the individual user.
• Most consumers believe protection measures as a joke and chooses weakest password.
• Intruder can attack password protected system through hacking or by guessing passwords.
• Another form of attacks are login spoofing,dictionary attack etc.

Access cards:

Strengths-

• Good for low level security.
• It is something the users can carry with them.
• Low initial cost.
• Fast.
• It is a greatest authentication tool.

Weakness-

• It can be lost or easily damaged.
• Accounts can be hacked if card gets lost.
• Easy to make a duplicate.
• Loss of data is easy if card is lost.

Biometric:

Strengths-

• Authetication is Convinient.
• Hard to duplicate.
• Very excellent performance.
• Difficult to hack.

Weakness-

• Personal data can be collected easily and without consent.
• Hackers are a threat.
• If a password is found it can be changed but biometrics remains same forever.

I think Biometrics is a better way of protecting and authenticating.Use of advanced biometrics encrypt confidential records.Biometric technology offers very convincing protection options, as the devices are easy and impossible to replicate. As part of a two-factor authentication strategy which integrates something you are, something you have or something you know (like a password), they make a strong replacement for user names. That is a powerful combination.