The Cyber Defense eMagazine February Edition for 2024

How This Plays Out in the Real World
Any industry can make use of the synergy between biographic and biometric information, but let’s look
at a couple of specific areas where the combination is especially beneficial.
Banks and financial institutions are already at the forefront, in part because so many customer
transactions take place virtually these days rather than in person with the customer standing in front of a
teller. Banks can have a customer take a photo of themselves and provide identification that already has
the likeness on it. Their image is then stored and facial recognition software is used when they are
involved in a transaction.
Healthcare is another area where protecting data is important. In this case, it is the patient’s medical
records that contain all sorts of personal information and must be kept secure. With remote doctor visits
and patients accessing their records through online portals, the integration of biographic and biometric
information adds that extra layer of security that is critical.
As businesses move forward with this, though, they will need to keep a few things in mind. For example,
biometric information is wonderful for helping verify a person’s identity, but once the business collects
and stores the information, it must be kept secure. That will require the business to implement secure
encryption, adhere to stringent data protection regulations, and ensure transparent policies are in place
for the use and retention of biometric information.
To make sure customer trust isn’t compromised, the business should make sure it has user consent and
that the customers are told how the data will be handled.
But despite those caveats, businesses and consumers alike will find that the integration of biographic
information with biometric information will lead to more secure transactions.
And eliminate some of those customer frustrations in the process.
About the Author
Raj Ananthanpillai is founder and CEO of Trua, a technology company that
provides privacy-preserving identity and risk-screening platforms that assure
trust and safety in digital environments, sharing economy, employment and
workforce screening. Ananthanpillai has more than 30 years of experience
building technology businesses, with successful exits. One of his companies
was instrumental in developing TSA-Precheck, and other security threatassessment
programs for some U.S. intel agencies. Ananthanpillai holds an
M.S. in Engineering Physics and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering. In addition,
he holds multiple U.S. patents and has authored two books.
Ananthanpillai can be reached through his company website www.TruaMe.com.
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