Building Cloud-Based Application for Biometric Data
Cloud-based biometric technologies utilize cloud services through a web-based user interface, which can be either a browser or a mobile application. Here, the biometrics is managed by a cloud service provider and is available on demand. In details, cloud-based biometric includes a server, which consists of a biometric template database and all the processing data created during the individuals' identification and verification. According to Vonage Business, over 75% of business said that in 3 years, almost half of their applications will be deployed in cloud environments. As this technology becomes popular, the need to make this technology more mobile and more accessible is becoming clear. Therefore, this growth leads to a push for cloud-based biometrics for greater efficiency and mobility all over the globe.
There are many possible ways the cloud can help biometrics to meet different clients' needs. Firstly, regards of large companies, it requires an efficient way to organize and manage its large amount of data. The reason is because sheer CPU power is no longer enough to manage the petabytes of information that biometrics identity systems require. Therefore, large-scale cloud-based applications will be created immediately, which could store the massive amounts of biometrics data. Moreover, most large companies today also face a big challenge in order to migrate their massive databases to cloud computing applications, says CloundTimes (2014). However, this can be solved easily with the powerful virtualization available through virtual servers and cloud hosting providers.
Besides the implementation of cloud computing in large companies, government will be the next leading sector across the wider economy. For example, US federal government has had early efforts at shifting IT to the cloud while the UK government created "G-cloud," which is to be a government-wide cloud computing network. In details, many government agency officials expressed their confidence about the high level security of cloud computing applications for biometrics in large-scale terrorist watch programs. It also enables government agencies to dramatically shorten their cycle time for accessing an individual's entire history. Therefore, this would help to reduce the use and drainage of government resource as cloud data management systems tend to reduce workloads significantly.
Furthermore, in terms of private sector, especially in defense-based corporations, cloud systems would serve a similar function. With nature to work with security-sensitive data, cloud applications plays a key role in managing data and information connected to security clearance. Moreover, all data are allowed to be accessed in one place, hence complicated information processes are seamlessly streamlined. In other words, cloud computing has changed a lot of things and it can do the same for biometrics too in a positive way. They are more advanced, secure, and cheap and load with high-tech utilities.
Based on the analysis above, it is clear that cloud-based biometrics has the potential to achieve a lot. However, there are some risks that clients have to be considered. In details, cloud computing can be threatened by "hacktivists" who have brought down significant websites as well as major financial institutions. Given example of Amazon website, hacker can log in to the customer's account in order to control their email although they already requested Amazon to change the password. Moreover, some financial institutions such as Visa, MasterCard, Bank of America, Chase and PayPal can also face the issues of losing personal and credit card information of customers.
