Big Data – Too Big Now?
I’ve been seeing ads for passwordless authentication for some time now, but I hadn’t really thought about how it might work. But, when I went to arrange my Covid vaccine, I got a lesson in it.
I logged on to my pharmacy’s website (I won’t say which one that is) and set up an account. But, before it would believe I was me, it asked me quite a few questions that (in theory, anyhow) only I could answer.
I was asked, for example, at which of the following addresses I hadn’t lived. I was impressed at the overall level of detail they must have had on me to ask such questions. But, I did not see it as foolproof.
It was immediately obvious to me that this sort of authentication had to be based on a large database with a lot of information about just about everyone. So far, so good.
But, it then occurred to me what could go wrong. Just how long is it going to be before hackers get their hands on these databases, and start impersonating anyone and everyone?
One nice thing about passwords is that they cannot be researched (except by phishing, perhaps). Biographical info can indeed be researched, or perhaps hacked into / stolen.
I guess my conclusion is that I’m not giving up on passwords, just yet.