For some time there has been a great deal of speculation amongst the cybersecurity community that biometric password managers will eventually be able to take the place of traditional passwords and password management software. However, there are many issues with this potential development in cybersecurity.
Here we will show what management software for traditional passwords, like Bitwarden, can offer and look at the weaknesses associated with biometric password management.
Biometrics like Touch ID and Face ID may be implemented to replace traditional passwords. You can configure Touch ID to unlock your phone by holing your fingertip against a sensor, which is very convenient. However, as good as this may be, it does not always work and there must therefore be a PIN that can be used. Otherwise, if you cut or burn your finger, you may be locked out of your phone. Unfortunately, PINs are often weak and easy to crack. This is therefore not a better option that using a password manager with enhanced security features.
It is also tricky to implement biometrics across a large organization due to the requirement for scanning software and hardware linked to a central authentication system. The cost of the hardware and software and labor costs of implementing such a solution make biometrics prohibitively expensive for most organizations.
Why are Traditional Password Management Solutions Better?
A traditional password manager will allow your company to take control of all passwords and store all employee passwords in a secure, cloud-based digital vault. This vault will store passwords, encryption keys and any other important files. A good password manager like Bitwarden will create strong, random passwords and autofill them and can be accessed across all mobile devices and web-using technology. Password managers make it much easier for employees to remain safe and eliminate the need for them to remember many different long and complicated passwords.
Password managers can greatly improve your security posture and have the following important benefits:
- Make it easier for staff members to exercise good password hygiene
- Save passwords and other sensitive data in a secure and well protected vault
- Reduce the threat from phishing attacks
- Ensure regulatory compliance by enforcing password security requirements
- Allow login credentials and card details to be auto-filled securely
- Create audit trails to record user access to sensitive data
From a technical aspect, Bitwarden has many more advantages including:
- Completion of ongoing third-party security audits to ensure the security of the solution
- Fully compliant with HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, SOC2 and SOC3 security standards, and is a member of the FIDO alliance
- Open-source and source code transparency that can be deployed in the cloud or self-hosted
- Protection of all vault data using end-to-end encryption from installation
- Provision for password sharing among teams with auto-delete
- Directory synchronizations and multiple integrations with your existing identity supplier for Login with SSO
- Cross platform password synchronization and review generated password history
- Command-Line Interface tool means users can quickly and simply access all functions available in other Bitwarden client applications
- Advanced users can avail of a command-line client to manage programmatic integrations
- Password authentication for integrated IAM/ICAM management and biometric unlock on browser extensions for additional security
