The Intersection of Biometrics, Digital Forensics, and Blockchain

The last few years have demonstrated the importance of thorough cybersecurity policies. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the digital economy experienced an increase in cybercrime in the wake of fear, changing practices, and mass confusion. In this new dangerous environment, every data practitioner requires the security of new and advancing tools like biometrics, digital forensics, and blockchain ledger systems.

Where these tools and techniques intersect, the potential of cybersecurity advances. As enterprises of every size and shape look to improve their outcomes through technological integration, these are the systems you should be combining.

However, maximizing the potential of intersection points among cybersecurity tools requires insight and opportunity. These are the aspects of advancing digital integrity that you’ll need to understand for safer business practices.

Fortunately, there has been no end to the technological advancements currently revolutionizing the field of cybersecurity and empowering greater data protections. Just look at how quickly new biometric authorization systems have made their way into our mobile phones.

Currently, you can protect your personal information behind a fingerprint scan on a device you keep in your pocket. In the last decade alone, we have seen biometrics go from anti-terrorism tech to retail systems that enhance the customer experience. That’s pretty incredible considering that these systems were featured most in futuristic spy-thrillers until Apple rolled out fingerprint recognition for the iPhone in 2013.

However, the potential for this technology in cybersecurity is just beginning.  From multi-factor authentication to facial recognition, biometrics carry a wide range of security implications. When combined with other evolving technologies, these tools stand to revolutionize institutional stances toward digital integrity.

The most important of these technologies include advancements in the field of biometrics, digital forensics, and blockchain. Here are some of the ways in which these tools are changing the nature of cybersecurity.

Biometrics is uniquely identifiable physical characteristics that help machines to better recognize us and protect our identities.

• Iris recognition
• Face recognition
• Voice identification
• Fingerprint recognition
• Signature identification

Additional identifiers may be built into security systems if the need or opportunities arise. However, the singular goal of biometric information-gathering is to guarantee the authenticity of a user. This means that biometric data must be stored securely through efficient cybersecurity systems.

That’s where other techs — like digital forensics and blockchain systems — come in.

You may not think much about digital forensics as a key aspect of any business’s cybersecurity protocol. However, the reality is that every organization requires digital forensics tech to support a comprehensive approach to data security.

That’s because digital forensics is the process of identifying, analyzing, and documenting evidence of data breach or tampering. Without such a process, businesses would be hard-pressed to determine when and where a data breach has occurred.

However, digital forensics is much more than an aspect of criminal justice. Instead, organizations that apply data require these forensics procedures for securely managing systems and maintaining data transparency. Fortunately, blockchain ledger technology is breaking ground in these directions.

To integrate these high-powered combinations into your security approach, however, you’ll need to understand the potential of these intersections.

Individually, these three advancing technological fields are impacting cyber security like nothing before them. Where they intersect, these tools and techniques offer potential all but guaranteed to improve our digital well-being.

Blockchain technology makes it possible to store and record information in one of the most hack-proof methods currently available. That’s because an attacker would have to control a majority of nodes on the chain to gain comprehensive access. Paired with other security technologies, these ledger systems can be a game-changer for digital integrity.

For example, the decentralized nature of data storage makes it less of a threat in terms of a targeted cyber attack. Additionally, the immutability of the information stored on encrypted blockchain links gives users a clearer picture of their data.

Created for and popularized by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, blockchains represent distributed and decentralized data systems in which information is protected behind cryptographically linked nodes. Naturally, this produces a host of benefits for data security.

No cybersecurity solution exists in a vacuum. From human error to malicious infiltration, a range of combined threats risks the integrity of user data. To better combat these converging threats, organizations must employ a combination of security tools.

In so many cases, the capabilities of one tool more than makeup for the weaknesses of another. Consider, for instance, the potential of biometrics to enhance IoT security through endpoint authorization of unchanging physical characteristics.

An iris scan or a voice command can go a long way toward streamlining data integrity. From user authentication to smart contract management, these techniques provide checks and balances for securing system integrity.

The result is enhanced authentication accuracy and the potential for automated, highly secure digital contracts.

Where biometrics, digital forensics, and blockchain intersect, the potential for accurate authentication is boundless. That’s because biometrics are some of the most difficult identification factors to emulate fraudulently. Meanwhile, transparent and immutable digital ledger technology stores authorization data in a way criminals can’t manipulate.

For such an approach to data security, an organization would have to implement biometric authorization over the IoT. From there, data storage goes to a blockchain ledger. This provides system analysts with a real-time and accurate assessment of information use.

Finally, automated digital forensics tools powered by artificial intelligence are capable of crawling over these ledgers to assess them for fraud or error. The results are information systems capable of preventing and understanding any and all data breaches.

Another of the most powerful intersections between biometric authorization, digital forensics, and distributed ledgers is the creation and implementation of smart contracts. Without all of these factors, smart contracts would be much less powerful. As it stands, these additional methods of managing obligations make for greater security.

Simply put, a smart contract is a coded agreement stored on a digital ledger that will automatically run when conditions are met. They offer important digital forensics data for validating legally binding transactions and would be impossible without blockchain technology.

Smart contracts are especially useful when creating important documents for digital assets such as a digital will. This is a binding contract dictating the location and inheritance specifications of virtual assets. From cryptocurrencies to NFTs, you can manage the legal ownership of your data through smart contracts.

These contracts are gaining popularity as a means of regulating transactions in a global, digital economy. Because the information is decentralized and distributed with all changes and versions recorded, all involved parties gain greater control over their assets.

From here, applying biometric information to further validate smart contract terms adds another layer of vital security.

Facing all threats in the modern digital economy and heightening the security of your online identity is and should be a priority for every individual and business. Fortunately, advancing technologies in the field of biometrics, digital forensics, and blockchain enable greater data integrity than was ever before possible.

Incorporating these tools in combination to fill gaps such as IoT vulnerability or access point transparency is a must for competitive online platforms. 87% of surveyed consumers said they would not do business with a company if they had concerns about its security practices, making security a top priority for business longevity.

Meanwhile, the costs of digital insecurity are too much for most individuals or organizations to bear. For example, the average cost of a data breach in America is $8.64 million.

Commercial enterprises with irresponsible data policies incur fees, damages, and legal settlements. For the affected individual, data theft can mean stressful fraud management actions including loss of access to funds and accounts. Instead, combat these damages with a thorough approach to digital security.

1. Protect access points on the IoT with biometric authentication factors.
2. Employ AI-powered digital forensics tools to track potential data breaches and flag threats.
3. Use blockchain ledgers to store access point data and biometric information.
4. Protect access to distributed data ledger behind biometric authentication measures.
5. Educate staff, innovate, and explore these advancing technologies as well as the additional gaps in security that they can fill.

With these tips, you can enhance the integrity of data across an organization. From here, you’re protected from damages both financial and reputational, meaning you have the potential for greater longevity and success.

Knowing the right combination of security tools for data protection comes with all kinds of benefits. That said, it’s essential that data practitioners use the intersection points of modern tech to maintain an advantage in a rapidly changing economy.

The most powerful potential of biometrics, digital forensics, and blockchain in cybersecurity lies where these tools intersect. Advancements in these technologies are enabling secure authentication and smart contract features that can optimize the security of a data management system. Through distributed ledgers, data authenticity and transparency are further enhanced.

Understand the role of these tools in managing data integrity. Apply biometrics, digital forensics, and a blockchain towards reliable data practices you and your users can trust. As a result, you’ll be best protected against a dangerous digital landscape.