To understand Web Biometric Authentication, it is essential to understand what Web Applications are and how they work.
Web Applications
So what is a Web Application and how does it work?
A Web Application is a Software Application that is served from a Server Computer to a Client Computer over a network connection and is run on a Web Browser.
Anything that you have to run on a Web Browser like Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer is a Web Application. Google is an example of a Web Application you access via a Web Browser.
Have you noticed the increased rate at which standalone software applications are existing the stage in favor of web based applications?
Did you know that Microsoft now gives you an option to use Microsoft Office on Web in their new Office 365 suit?
Times are changing very fast and guess what? Do not be surprised if your best software may not have an update next time but send you a prompt to migrate your data to the new web based version.
Organizations are frequently finding themselves in situations requiring them to transition from standalone applications to web based applications.
Sometimes the urgency to migrate to web for an organization’s information system may be abrupt with no time and room for making mistakes.
Once in a while an entire software development team finds themselves requiring to attend training or classes to learn how to code in web so that they can be equipped to support the new web based system that is getting adopted.
It is good if you are in an active software development career to get yourself well versed with how to code in web more so these days if you do not want your skill set to be obsoleted and rendered redundant.
Web Biometrics
With more standalone applications being re-engineered or replaced with web based applications, comes the need to provide secure access control means of authenticating users.
Just like in standalone software applications, passwords are the most commonly used means of authenticating users on web based applications.
Using Passwords alone on web have long outlived their usefulness. New security threats on the web sphere have made it unsafe to rely solely on Password to authenticate users on web.
The most prevalent problem in implementing access control solutions is the challenge of concretely determining if a person is who they are alleging to be.
If a Person’s password is stolen or a person decides to share their password with another person, a software with an easy to compromise security vault will grant the offending person access rights.
This however is not possible with Biometrics.
With Biometrics, you will have to be present to log into a Biometric controlled system. Nobody can do it for you.
Any login attempt via a Biometrics Authentication Web page cannot be disputed. It is a sure way of verifying and confirming that it is indeed Subject X and NOT Subject Y that gained access into a Web based Application
This is where Web Biometric Fingerprint Authentication stands tall among PASSWORDS, PINS, and SECURITY CODES.
With Biometrics Fingerprint Authentication, Foolproof instances of Web Application access and Audit can be relied upon unlike the case of PASSWORDS.
Biometrics Authentication is making use of Web Applications on Internet, VPNs and Cloud more secure than ever before and this is significantly helping combat and prevent Fraud in Large Scale.
Web Biometric Authentication
What is Web Biometric Authentication?
Web Biometric Authentication is the use of Biometric Authentication Technology to provide Verification and Identification access control features to determine True Identity of an individual intending to gain access to a Web Browser based Application.
That’s it!
Implementing Web Biometric Authentication
The most important aspect of securing your Web Browser based Application is knowing how to go about adding Biometrics.
Before you embark on integrating Biometrics to your Web Application, there are a couple of factors you need to consider beforehand.
They are;
- Targeted Web Browsers
- Targeted Operating Systems
- Your Web Application’s Programming Language
- Type of Fingerprint Scanner
- Web Biometric API
a). Targeted Web Browser
Do you need your Web Browser Application to run on a variety of Web Browsers? In this case, you should find a Web Biometric Authentication software solution that makes it possible for you to add Biometric Authentication to Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer.
If you are only interested in having a Web Biometric Authentication solution that works and you are comfortable using Internet Explorer, you will be able to integrate Biometric Authentication in your Web Application for less and with much ease.
Internet Explorer has been used for quite some time now for running Applications that run on Microsoft Windows Desktops on Web with much flexibility and speed.
b). Targeted Operating Systems
Before choosing a Web Biometric Authentication software solution to integrate with your Web Browser based Applications, first confirm what Operating Systems your targeted Computers will be running.
The Web Biometric Authentication solutions by Jomutech Systems are designed and developed for Windows client Computers only.
Jomutech Systems can however assist you to implement a Windows or Linux Biometrics Server for your Web Biometric Authentication solution.
IF you are planning to integrate your Web Browser based Application that runs on Windows with Web Biometric Authentication, Jomutech Systems will offer you support to get this right from the word go.
c). Your Web Application’s Programming Language
It is easier to implement Biometric Authentication in some Programming and Scripting Languages than in others.
A good example is with Ruby on Rails. It is laughable to force yourself to develop and implement a Ruby on Rails Web Application on Windows. Ruby on Rails fairs well on Linux.
Even though most Ruby on Rails Web Applications run on the client side on Windows computers, their back-ends that run on Linux make it an uphill task to implement a Web Biometric Authentication solution.
It is possible but you will be wise to use that time, energy and resources to implement your Web Biometric Authentication solution with Web Programming Technologies like PHP, ASP.NET, Python, NodeJS, HTML5, JavaScript.
At Jomutech Systems you can enlist for Biometrics Developer Support and Guidance to integrate your Web Application with a variety of Web Programming technologies.
If your Web Application is developed in a Programming / Scripting language which worries and makes you think that you cannot get help integrating Biometrics Authentication with, you will get assistance on how to integrate it with Biometrics at Jomutech Systems. Send an e-mail at Jomutech Systems to discuss your project further. In fact, those are some of the most challenging and interesting projects that are best solved at Jomutech Systems.
d). Type of Fingerprint Scanner
The success of your Web Biometrics project will be largely dependent on your choice of Biometrics Fingerprint Scanners.
A bad choice of Biometric Fingerprint Scanners for your Web Biometric Authentication will give you headaches and sleepless nights.
Web Applications unlike standalone applications, once a problem features in the Web Application, all users of the same Web Application will experience it. This is why at Jomutech Systems Clients are recommended Fingerprint Scanner devices that have excelled before in implementing diverse Web based Biometrics Authentication solutions so that clients also experience the same success which has been experienced before by their predecessors.
With the High costs of procuring and implementing Biometrics Authentication, clients cannot afford to make mistakes with choice of Biometric Fingerprint Scanners they choose to use.
Choice of Fingerprint Scanners recommended at Jomutech Systems for Clients to use for developing and integrating Web Biometrics solution are listed here below;
- DigitalPersona 4500
- DigitalPersona 5100
- DigitalPersona 5160
- DigitalPersona 5200
- DigitalPersona 5300
- Eikon Touch 510
- Eikon Touch 710
More Fingerprint Scanners will be added onto this list after they are tested and confirmed to work seamlessly on Web Browser based Biometric Applications.
DigitalPersona and Eikon Touch Fingerprint Scanner devices are less costly and average the same cost of other Fingerprint Scanners in the market that do not work on Web Applications. For USD $ 89 – 99 you can get a unit piece.
The most significant reason why at Jomutech Systems the DigitalPersona and Eikon Touch are the most recommended to Clients is that Clients always WIN with these Fingerprint Scanners because, unlike other Fingerprint Scanners in the market which will work e.g. on Standalone applications only, this particular set of Fingerprint Scanners will work on a variety of platforms should you want to use them for other use cases in your company. These recommended Fingerprint Scanners will also work on Standalone, Web, Linux, Cloud, Raspberry Pi boards and Android Software Applications.
You will not need to buy other Fingerprint Scanners if you have any of these Fingerprint Scanners for your other Biometrics Projects in other operating system.
Lastly, before choosing a Biometric Fingerprint Scanner, check out for its reputation in the market. How long has it been in the market? Does the manufacturer make efforts to keep up with the changing market demands and changing technology times to keep innovating and availing satisfactory and improved Biometrics Fingerprint Scanners to the market?
The DigitalPersona Fingerprint Scanner is a device that has been in the market since 1996 and for this long they have been around, they have been innovating and availing new series and brands of their Fingerprint Scanners to compete in the market and meet changing Biometric Authentication requirement needs.
For How long has that $20 or $40 Fingerprint Scanner where they are offering to print your company name and logo on them been in the market?
Take note that with the majority of the other Fingerprint Scanners flooded in the market, you will find that you cannot use them on Web, Cloud, Android, Raspberry Pi boards, Linux simultaneously like you would do with DigitalPersona and Eikon Touch yet they cost the same or higher in price value per unit.
Finally, always exercise caution when purchasing Biometric Fingerprint Scanners so that you do not form part of the statistics of other unlucky people and companies who have been tricked and conned to buying some funny contraptions of Biometrics Scanners from countries specializing in breaching copyrights, manufacturing defective and counterfeit Biometrics Electronic devices which are dirt cheap and end up finding that the devices cannot do what they allege to do. Usually you will see something like this on their websites alongside the biometrics scanners they are pitching for you to buy, “…we provide government biometrics finger solutions to win elections” or “…our biometrics scanners are professional we can add your brand and company name on them”. Another thing, you can never be sure if these type of devices are spying on you and remitting your Biometric data covertly over the internet to some shrewd government agency somewhere. To identify this scam is easy but it could also be very elusive if you do not have a trained eye to see it. This is highlighted here to help you navigate these caveat and snares when implementing your Web Biometric Authentication application especially if you are a first timer seeking to implement a Web Biometric Authentication solution so that you do not fall for this neatly crafted deceit! Jomutech Systems cares about you and wants you to get it right the first time so that your Web Biometrics Authentication project is a success from the word go! Who else got your back like this? Toss a beer to that!
e). Web Biometric API
The other thing to consider before identifying your choice of a Web Biometric Authentication solution is the Web Biometric API.
Things you could consider when deciding upon a Biometric API could include the following;
- Ease of use / integrating with Web Biometric API
- Licensing of Web Biomeetric API
- Limitation on number of Web Client Computers it can be used
- Limitation on number of Web Server Computers it can be used
- Operating System it supports for Web Client Computers
- Operating System it supports for Web Server Computers.
- Does it support Programming Language used to Develop your Web Application?
- Is the Technical Support provided by the vendor of Web Biometric API satisfactory? This you can tell by how enthusiastic they are about their product.
- Cost of Web Biometric Authentication
- Is it Easy to Migrate and use your Biometric Data Captured and Enrolled by this Web Biometric API to other Biometric Systems?
The above list should suffice at least in most scenarios to help you scout for a Web Biometric Solution that meets your needs.
The 2 Main Components in a Web Biometrics Application
To integrate Biometrics in any Web Application successfully you will need to implement the following in your Web Application in order to make it a full-fledged Web Biometric Authentication Software Application. They are;
- Web Biometric Enrollment
- Web Biometric Authentication
Web Biometric Enrollment Component
In Web Biometrics Enrollment is where you will capture a Person’s Biometric Data for the first time for saving into the Database alongside their other particulars like Name, Gender, Nationality, Date of Birth. Current City.
This component is very vital in that, most of the biometrics data stem from how Biometrics Enrollment was done.
As noted earlier in the discussion about Fingerprint Scanners, during Web Biometric Enrollment you should not mix Fingerprint Scanner types because in your Biometrics Database you would end up with Fingerprints of different sizes, hue, and quality among other data configurations that are specific to a Biometrics Fingerprint image Data.
Using one type of Biometric Fingerprint Scanner during Web Biometric Enrollment makes it easier to prevent any Biometric Enrollment data issues that could arise later as a result of using Fingerprint Images of different configurations in the same database.
DigitalPersona and Eikon Touch listed above require a single Web Biometric Enrollment of a Fingerprint to have at least 4 or more Fingerprint images captured so that Fingerprint Image with the best Quality and clear features is selected automatically by the Web Biometric Enrollment algorithm for archiving into the Web Biometric Database.
Majority of other Fingerprints and their APIs capture only one Fingerprint image during Web Biometric Enrollment. This is usually a bad practice as only the captured Fingerprint is enrolled with no checking whether it was of Quality standard, passed the threshold of Good Fingerprint Image safe for future Fingerprint Web Biometric Authentication processes. To steer away from these and other related problems always go for DigitalPersona and Eikon Touch.
Web Biometric Authentication Component
Using Biometrics to authenticate a person with Biometrics is facilitated by the Biometric Authentication Component of a Web Biometrics System.
In Web Biometric Authentication, the Biometrics Fingerprint data that was saved during Web Biometric Enrollment is retrieved from database and the captured Biometric Fingerprint Data is compared with it to Verify or Identify a Person.
The success of Web Biometrics Authentication is determined by the quality of Biometric Fingerprint data captured during Biometric Enrollment and the type of Fingerprint Scanner used.
Web Biometric Authentication happens on the server side either on Windows or Linux Server so that this task is resource intensive and is relegated to the computer with more processing power and RAM memory.
At Jomutech Systems you can ask for Web Biometric Authentication Server Side Software Application that runs on either Windows or Linux. In fact, if you want, you can get the Server Side only if that is what you need and will be given a Quotation and invoice for the same and get Help to set it up on your Server remotely.
That’s all!
Is there anything you would like to be clarified to you about Web Biometric Authentication or something you would like added onto this post? If so, bring it to the attention of Jomutech Systems via e-mail below and it will be looked into and later considered for addition to this post.
Joseph Mwema, we would like to Establish contact with you so that you can Help us with Biometrics integration in our Project. How do we contact You and what are your terms of Engagement?
Learn more about what I do and what my asking rates are for those interested in engaging my expertise in developing and implementing identity access management solutions in their Software based Projects using Biometrics from the About Section of Joseph Mwema’s Vlog here https://www.youtube.com/c/JosephMwemaa/about
Why Jomutech Systems?
