Tears, the body's defense against intense psychological stress, can make hackers' work more difficult
Tears not only protect our eyes from infections, but they can become the "guardian angel" of our personal data on the Internet.
As Australian ophthalmologist Steven Mason explains to the "Financial Times", tears, the body's defense against intense psychological stress, can make the work of hackers more difficult.
The Australian scientist developed a method, a mechanism that scans tears and then uses them as passwords.
Mason's research focused on the cornea of the eye as hackers are unable to copy the unique way in which eyes change every time they tear.
“The surface of the cornea is wet thanks to tears, so our data changes from minute to minute,” the Australian ophthalmologist explains to the Financial Times. “Therefore, in the data recorded by each eye, there are real microscopic variations,” he adds.
For Vinny Sakor, security manager at the International Computer Security Association Labs, passwords are probably the "Achilles' heel" of systems, as they make it particularly easy to steal personal data if they are breached. For this reason, she points out, experts have focused their attention on biometric security systems, as this significantly reduces the risk of data theft.
The scientists' goal now is to test the new technology on smartphones, where it could be used to secure payments or access other services, such as email.
As the "Financial Times" reports, if Stephen Mason is right and the "unique biometric pin" proves effective, then it is not out of the question that it could even be integrated into ATMs or security doors.
