Ear Canal ID Checker

Japanese firm NEC is developing earbuds that can confirm an owner’s identity.

11:43 14 March 2016

NEC is developing a new technology that can confirm a person’s identity by playing a sound and then checking how it resonates in the wearer’s ear canal. It can be used as an alternative to a fingerprint sensor or eye scanner.

 

NEC manager Shigeki Yamagata, said: "It enables a natural way of conducting continuous authentication, even during movement and while performing work, simply by wearing an earphone with a built-in microphone to listen to the sounds within ears.”

 

However, Ben Schlabs from a German security firm SRLab saw a potential problem. He said that it is easier for authorities to force the owner to comply with biometrics check rather than revealing their password.

 

He said: "I bet the FBI is regretting the fact that [San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook] hadn't been using an iPhone with a fingerprint sensor as they could have forced his dead body to have unlocked the handset for them rather than trying to make the courts get Apple to help.”

 

Technology consultant Ben Wood suggested two-factor authentication. He said: "Two-factor authentication is becoming a bigger deal as we move away from traditional passwords, so using both a fingerprint and an earprint, if that's what it's called, could be useful to those who want a higher level of security."