As companies and businesses continue to engage with their customers online, the need to protect the information shared to them became very important to avoid any potential attacks and identity theft. Countless ways of identity proofing were introduced over the years, one of which (and might be the most common way) would require customers to have a password or pin to access their accounts. But nowadays, using a customer’s biological data is the go-to for many services and devices – making the days of passwords numbered. Even though biometrics only started to make its mark in the industry in the recent years, the modern history of biometrics started during the 1800s.
The work of Frenchman Alphonse Bertillon during the 1800s is widely considered as the first system for physical measurements, mainly used to identify criminals across Paris during that time. The bertillonage, as it is called, uses the measurement of facial features, along with tattoos and scars to identify different people. Although effective at some point, it was deemed expensive to implement and later on abandoned for the use of fingerprints.
The science behind this technology started in the 1960s. Scientists began their exploration of the physiological characteristics of speech and sound, which became the catalyst for developing voice recognition technology. Later on, researchers progressed to studying the minutiae points in fingerprints to map distinctive patterns and ridges. This study paved the way for automated fingerprint identification used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Over the subsequent years, the FBI continued funding the research and development of biometric technology. They worked with the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) to improve the technology’s compression and algorithms.
By the 1990s, more organizations and agencies delved into biometric technology until it was made available for commercial applications. It was used at border control to tighten security on offenders while facilitating travel for legitimate passengers. Moreover, the government also utilized the technology to monitor and detect potential national security threats.
It was not until the 2010s that biometric technology became publicly available.
People in the modern world are surrounded by biometric technology. Still, there is more to know about its history – how continual research and innovation made the technology what it is now. See this infographic from LoginID, which briefly discusses the evolution of biometric technology.
To learn more about digital identity verification and eKYC, you may visit LoginID.
