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Is advanced bio-authentication the most solid path to "true" digital identities? i.e. some way to convert/verify dna to a digital id.
by ramoz 8y ago
Is advanced bio-authentication the most solid path to "true" digital identities? i.e. some way to convert/verify dna to a digital id.
- markovbot 8y agoAbsolutely not. Biometrics, unlike most other methods of authentication, cannot possibly be changed. This makes it impossible to change it in the event of a compromise. Also, most biometric identifiers are pretty easy to collect from someone in person without their knowledge. We leave DNA and fingerprints on everything we touch.
- olliej 8y agoThe problem isn't the "correctness" of current authentication systems. In the US an SSN is already correct for the person to who (whom?) it is assigned. Tax payer IDs in other countries behave similarly. Essentially biometrics represent the same kind of thing, although possibly less secure as you definitely cannot hide your biometrics from other people. The problem with existing IDs, and biometrics especially, is that they cannot be changed (biometrics definitely can't be, at least not without surgery). Part of the problem (and what makes it particularly powerful in the US) is that there are a number of widely spread IDs where simply knowing the number/id is sufficient evidence that you are that person (still bizarre after more than a decade here). In the event of compromise (if it becomes a powerful, that is pretty much guaranteed) you /must/ be able to change it. In the US you are ostensibly able to change your SSN, but if you do you get royally screwed for a very long time...