Musings from the CU Suite

Sep 29, 2015

Fingerprints and Hurdles

Written by Anthony Demangone

I remember the first time I heard about using your fingerprint in place of a password.

I was pumped.

Passwords and I do not get along well.  Ten characters. At least one capital letter. At least one number. At least one special character.  

How many variations of Go Penn State! can you create?

Ah, but the fingerprint would solve this!

Cololerd Thumb Fingerprints

Or maybe not.  5.6 million fingerprints have been stolen. And those are the ones we know about. 

The fingerprint technology was an improvement. But it was no silver bullet. It raised the bar, and "the bad guys" stepped up their game.

But here's the thing. There are no silver bullets. In the world of security, there will always be better forms of security. But there isn't a safe that cannot be cracked. 

In the world of security - once you get by one hurdle, you need to plan on the next one.

And that isn't just for security. 

Are you at the top of your game? You built a better mouse trap? 

Great! But keep moving. Your competitors will adapt. There are hurdles to come.Â