Integration of Biometrics in Web Applications: Web-Based Biometrics

Evolution of Web Applications & Biometrics

Client-server and standalone apps dominated the computing world in its early years. Either standalone systems were installed with software programmes or a client-server setup was used. Back then, it was crucial to keep things "local." Applications that could be installed locally, a local network, local storage possibilities, local processing power, etc. However, with the development of the World Wide Web, things had to alter.

The World Wide Web was mostly a collection of static sites when it first began to take shape in the early 1990s. Web pages, which were mostly created with HTML, were essentially documents that could be accessed online. They weren't quite as interactive or dynamic as modern web pages. Any link visited by users would send a request back to the server and trigger a page reload. 

As an illustration, clicking the "Show more" link at the bottom of a page would refresh the complete page rather than just the remaining material. The order of the pages allowed for some degree of interaction. The early WWW's passwords served as its digital security guards.

Some dynamic features may be written to load with the webpage when JavaScript, a very popular client-side scripting language, was launched by Netscape in 1995. Instead of reloading the full page with each request, Java script elements could carry out some tasks locally.

Servlet Specification version 2.2 in Java and Ajax in 2005 made it feasible to develop more dynamic and interactive web pages starting in 1999. By using Ajax techniques, websites might send and receive data without refreshing the full page and distracting the user interface. Given that online applications require a high level of user interaction, this was a significant turning point.

Biometrics emerged along with the web. By 1999, significant advancements in biometric research had been achieved. In the same year, the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) of the FBI went into operation. Prior to that, the first commercial, generic biometric interoperability standard was released in 1997.

What is Web-based Biometrics?

Web-based biometrics is a method in which biometric authentication is set up to happen on the web. Users can log in to an online resource that is available via a browser by authenticating with their biometric identifiers using web-based biometrics. Web applications, email accounts, and several other secure online services that need user verification before allowing access can all employ this method of authentication.

Web-based apps must rely on the browser to access both the internal hardware resources and the external devices because they are hosted on a web server and load in a web browser upon request. Therefore, the web browser acts as a mediator between the web application and the resources on the local system.

Web apps, which may be accessed through a web browser, function similarly to on-demand, online software. Users are relieved of the burden of handling the different aspects like installation, minimum hardware requirements, configuration, compatibility, etc. All you need is a suitable browser; the service provider will take care of the rest.

Web apps are now preferred by businesses over client-server and locally installable standalone programmes. Because they are ready to use, web applications are often preferred by non-business users. This transition shouldn't come as a surprise given that there are much more benefits to web applications than disadvantages.

However, despite this significant change and the web applications' phenomenal development, they continue to rely on passwords to protect accounts and data.

Online-based fingerprint authentication is one example of biometric authentication in web applications that now makes perfect sense as personal and commercial computing demands shift towards the cloud and web apps.

Employing web-based biometrics for biometric authentication in web applications has certain special benefits:

• Software installation is not necessary

• Less use of the client's storage, memory, and computing resources

• Lower costs for IT management

• Automatic updates to the software

• Desktop platform independence

• Improved security

• Capability for authentication and authorization

• Increases licence consumption while decreasing licence costs

• Makes deployments easier