Advantages of face recognition

Aside from unlocking your smartphone, facial recognition brings other benefits:

Increased security
On a governmental level, facial recognition can help to identify terrorists or other criminals. On a personal level, facial recognition can be used as a security tool for locking personal devices and for personal surveillance cameras.

Reduced crime
Face recognition makes it easier to track down burglars, thieves, and trespassers. The sole knowledge of the presence of a face recognition system can serve as a deterrence, especially to petty crime. Aside from physical security, there are benefits to cybersecurity as well. Companies can use face recognition technology as a substitute for passwords to access computers. In theory, the technology cannot be hacked as there is nothing to steal or change, as is the case with a password.

Removing bias from stop and search
Public concern over unjustified stops and searches is a source of controversy for the police — facial recognition technology could improve the process. By singling out suspects among crowds through an automated rather than human process, face recognition technology could help reduce potential bias and decrease stops and searches on law-abiding citizens.

Greater convenience
As the technology becomes more widespread, customers will be able to pay in stores using their face, rather than pulling out their credit cards or cash. This could save time in checkout lines. Since there is no contact required for facial recognition as there is with fingerprinting or other security measures – useful in the post-COVID world – facial recognition offers a quick, automatic, and seamless verification experience.

Faster processing
The process of recognizing a face takes only a second, which has benefits for the companies that use facial recognition. In an era of cyber-attacks and advanced hacking tools, companies need both secure and fast technologies. Facial recognition enables quick and efficient verification of a person’s identity.

Integration with other technologies
Most facial recognition solutions are compatible with most security software. In fact, it is easily integrated. This limits the amount of additional investment required to implement it.

Disadvantages of face recognition

While some people do not mind being filmed in public and do not object to the use of facial recognition where there is a clear benefit or rationale, the technology can inspire intense reactions from others. Some of the disadvantages or concerns include:

Surveillance
Some worry that the use of facial recognition along with ubiquitous video cameras, artificial intelligence, and data analytics creates the potential for mass surveillance, which could restrict individual freedom. While facial recognition technology allows governments to track down criminals, it could also allow them to track down ordinary and innocent people at any time.

Scope for error
Facial recognition data is not free from error, which could lead to people being implicated for crimes they have not committed. For example, a slight change in camera angle or a change in appearance, such as a new hairstyle, could lead to error. In 2018, Newsweek reported that Amazon’s facial recognition technology had falsely identified 28 members of the US Congress as people arrested for crimes.

Breach of privacy
The question of ethics and privacy is the most contentious one. Governments have been known to store several citizens’ pictures without their consent. In 2020, the European Commission said it was considering a ban on facial recognition technology in public spaces for up to five years, to allow time to work out a regulatory framework to prevent privacy and ethical abuses.

Massive data storage
Facial recognition software relies on machine learning technology, which requires massive data sets to “learn” to deliver accurate results. Such large data sets require robust data storage. Small and medium-sized companies may not have sufficient resources to store the required data.

Facial recognition security – how to protect yourself.

While biometric data is generally considered one of the most reliable authentication methods, it also carries significant risk. That’s because if someone’s credit card details are hacked, that person has the option to freeze their credit and take steps to change the personal information that was breached. What do you do if you lose your digital ‘face’?

Around the world, biometric information is being captured, stored, and analyzed in increasing quantities, often by organizations and governments, with a mixed record on cybersecurity. A question increasingly being asked is, how safe is the infrastructure that holds and processes all this data?

As facial recognition software is still in its relative infancy, the laws governing this area are evolving (and sometimes non-existent). Regular citizens whose information is compromised have relatively few legal avenues to pursue. Cybercriminals often elude the authorities or are sentenced years after the fact, while their victims receive no compensation and are left to fend for themselves.

As the use of facial recognition becomes more widespread, the scope for hackers to steal your facial data to commit fraud — increases.

A comprehensive cybersecurity package is an essential part of protecting your online privacy and security. Biometric technology offers very compelling security solutions. Despite the risks, the systems are convenient and hard to duplicate. These systems will continue to develop in the future — the challenge will be to maximize their benefits while minimizing their risks.