Page 163 - Cyber Defense eMagazine December 2022 Edition

need to secured by one of the newly developed quantum-resistant algorithms to prevent bad actors from
breaking passwords without the need to use phishing or social engineering.

The future of cybersecurity

Although these replacements for passwords may have disadvantages, a card-based biometric system
that removes these limitations and allows governments, companies and individuals to verify their identity
securely is currently being developed by Pone Biometrics, a Nordic R&D-driven cyber tech company.

With its own operating system and embedded applications, Pone Biometrics aims to develop a fingerprint
reader on a card that acts as a microcomputer. Users that log into a website or open a door, can tap their
card while pressing their thumb or finger on the reader. The onboard computer checks their print and
transmits the encrypted verification to the device securely, meaning that very little is sent between
devices.

Since the cards are only active when in use, there is no possibility that they will be ‘skimmed’ while a user
believes that they are inactive and a visual display that shows if it is in use. The internal battery can last
2-3 weeks between charging, and it even has a failsafe system in place that protects users from being
forced to use it - they can have a ‘failsafe finger’ that will wipe the device if used.

These cards could end up being used wherever there is currently the need for authentication – a
government employee could use the same device to access sensitive information while at work and use
it to open the door to their home and log in to accounts on their home computer.

To ensure biometrics survives, cryptography protecting biometrics from future quantum computers would
need to be integrated into any new security systems from the start. After pursuing feasible security for
over 25-years, Utimaco has been developing technology to counter quantum computers years, perhaps
even decades before they are widely available. By combining next-generation biometric security cards
with future-proof quantum resistance we can enter a post-password world.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – December 2022 Edition 163
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