1. Biometrics are expensive

Years ago, biometric solutions were quite expensive and only used in high-security environments.
But, as it goes, prices have fallen (considerably) as the supply and number of providers has increased and the technology has developed.
The oldest, simplest and most widely used techniques, such as fingerprint readers, are now very affordable.
Facial recognition has also become a lot more affordable, which means that this technology is being used more and more widely.
At the moment, there are already biometric readers available that can compete with a card/tag reader in price and speed.
Although biometric solutions in general have fallen considerably in price, the price differences between the different techniques are still there.
The most expensive biometric solution at the moment is the iris scanner.
It has a very high level of security and is very difficult to manipulate.
Iris scanners are therefore mainly used in high-secure environments.

2. Biometrics are slow

The ease of use of biometrics is mainly determined by the speed of identification/verification.
Users don’t want to wait to gain access unless it’s access to a high-secure area.
In that case, they are aware of the importance of a high level of security and accept that granting access takes a little more time.
Fortunately, biometric readers have become faster and more accurate in recent years, and this development will continue in the future.
Furthermore, the likelihood of someone being wrongly rejected – aka the FRR (False Rejection Rate) – plays a role when we talk about ease of use.
The higher the FRR, the more often someone is wrongly denied.
And that causes inconvenience and delay.
Often, high-secure biometric techniques have a high FRR, but a low FAR (False Acceptance Rate).
The low FAR is then decisive, so users have to accept that they will be wrongly rejected from time to time.
In other cases, the balance between the FRR and the FAR can often be set by software.

3. Biometrics are not hygienic

With traditional finger readers, dozens or even hundreds of people may put their finger on the same device every day.
And who’s to say what these people have done with their fingers?
Of course, the same goes for a door handle.
Is biometrics therefore inherently unhygienic?
Certainly not.
There are types of (3D) fingerprint readers where you no longer have to put your finger on a reader, but can run your entire hand through the scanner quickly and contactlessly.
Palm and facial recognition also work contactlessly, and there are many more techniques available or under development that are absolutely hygienic.
Think, for example, of voice recognition or even gait pattern recognition.
Hygiene does not have to be a problem and is therefore only a consideration to take into account in the choice.

4. Biometrics are a danger to my privacy and security

Especially in this age of social media, it is understandable that people are concerned about the privacy and security of their data.
Are our biometric data also at risk?
To do this, I will first explain how security systems store biometric information.
Fingerprints or facial images are analyzed by advanced software and converted into unique (encrypted) codes.
When the finger or face is offered again, a new code is created and compared with the code in the database.
It’s important to realize that a stored code can’t be converted to a fingerprint or facial image.
The chance of misuse of biometric data from readers or other security systems is therefore very small.
Moreover, if the data is stored locally (as opposed to centrally) in a database, scanner or, for example, on an access card, this limits the risk of theft.
Especially now that so much attention is being paid to the topic of privacy due to the arrival of the new European privacy law (GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation), it is logical that some of you are concerned about the use of your unique personal data.
It is not for nothing that the GDPR itself pays explicit attention to the processing of biometric data.
An exemption only applies if the processing of this data has an authentication or security purpose (see Article 26) and there is no other option.
The processor of the data is also obliged to properly secure this (database), for example through a careful password or authorization policy.
Mactwin wrote an article and a whitepaper about this that can help you.

5. Biometrics are easy to manipulate

But what about manipulating biometric readers?
Biometric data is not secret: after all, anyone can take a picture of you and fingerprints can be left anywhere!
While no security technique is truly 100% secure, manufacturers go to great lengths to minimize the possibility of manipulating the biometric reader (spoofing).
For example, ‘liveness detection’ (based on sweat, flexibility of the skin, temperature or heart rate) can be used to determine whether a finger offered is a living and human finger.
Algorithms and machine learning are also used to train a system to distinguish between a real person and an attacker.

Conclusion

So, all things considered, the perceived disadvantages are nuanced.
It depends on what priorities you set, whether you formulate good policies and on the basis of which arguments and priorities you select the resources.
This paves the way for biometric security; After all, it is very easy that your means of identification will never be lost, stolen or forgotten again.
Not to mention the manageability and possible cost savings.
We’re sorry for the critics, but the advance of biometrics seems unstoppable.