A new white paper is highlighting the value of device-side biometric matching. Commissioned by Nok Nok Labs, the report was drafted by PwC Legal, Price Waterhouse Coopers’ advisory service on legal matters.

The report’s authors highlight the advantages and risks associated with biometric authentication. In a statement announcing the report, PwC Legal partner Stewart Room lauded the technology as “one of the most secure ways to control access to restricted systems and information,” adding that compared to passwords, biometric authentication “is easier to use in practice, and can be far more secure.” But he also noted that “biometric data is extremely sensitive due to its uniqueness and how intrinsic it is to a specific individual,” and asserted that additional efforts are needed to secure such data.

That being the case, on-device authentication mitigates the hacking risks associated with centralized storage, and also helps to ensure that biometric data isn’t transferred between regions with varying privacy laws.

It’s a validation of the approach taken by Nok Nok Labs and many of its partners on the FIDO Alliance, of which it is a co-founder. And given that FIDO is increasingly important in helping to shape the regulatory frameworks around biometric data, it’s an approach that could become highly popular as biometric authentication technologies continue to proliferate.

The PwC Legal white paper offers further analysis of regional privacy regulations, and can be downloaded fromNok Nok Labs’ website.

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May 13, 2016 – by Alex Perala