Voice biometrics can be effectively used in identifying identity thefts and frauds in the online education system. 

The Covid-19 pandemic transformed our lifestyle. Almost every service went digital with 24x7 accessibility and contactless doorstep services. The most significant change happened in the education sector when educational institutions completely went online. Kids would never have imagined staying at home and attending virtual classes that restricted them from meeting their classmates and professors. The blow was hard since it was unexpected and many institutions have restricted physical classroom training till next year. Many online educational apps popped up in no time gaining huge customer traction. 

Apart from missing the aesthetics of a physical classroom, online classes are more convenient, more seats are available, and it is cost-effective. 

Going digital increases data vulnerability and hence, there is a need to safeguard and validate identities. In an online education system, there are possibilities of online fraud, identity thefts, and security thefts. Passwords are the traditionally used method to secure data online, but they are not as effective as multi-factor authentication and biometrics. People often complain about forgetting passwords. Thus, biometrics has a great future in maintaining cybersecurity. 

Biometrics in Online Education

Fingerprint sensors have been in use for accessing places, unlocking phones, and even in online transactions. Along with fingerprints, facial recognition, and voice biometrics rose to popularity. Facil recognition is an ideal security authentication to prevent identity fraud. 

A 2020 report by Biometric Update covers the introduction of a biometric attendance tool by CourseKey. The report says, “E-learning company CourseKey has released a biometric facial and fingerprint scanning solution to keep track of student attendance and curtail online education fraud, the company announced.”

According to the report, this online platform uses the biometric security data collected by the student’s device for enhanced protection and real-time updates so that the instructor gets to know who is behind the screen.

Biometrics can be effectively used to identify participants in online courses using webcams. During tests, it is mandatory to authenticate the identity of test-takers and biometrics like facial and voice recognition helps continuous identification. Further, this can help reduce cheating or fraud during online examinations. 

Voice Biometrics in securing Online Education

As the name suggests, voice biometrics use a person’s voice as a unique identification mark. Using voice recognition is highly acceptable since it is fast and frictionless authentication. Voice recognition identifies different people since we all have different voices. Voice recognition is different from speech recognition, which only identifies the words people utter. Whereas, voice biometrics distinguishes and identifies people based on their unique voiceprints. According to an article in Security Magazine, voice biometrics is becoming more prevalent in telephone customer service and many banks in the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand have adopted voice biometrics for automatic call identity authentication. 

Voice biometrics has a pivotal role to play in the online education system. Online education providers often grapple with the issue of end-user identity breaches. For example, people can sign in using login credentials and attending the course in somebody else’s identity. Voice biometrics will prevent this since it uses unique voiceprints to authenticate participants. 

More student identity frauds are anticipated during online exams. Facial recognition and voice biometrics can together identify any frauds during exams and establish identity breaches by authenticating faces. 

The American Safety Council Review report says, “Voice or Keystroke Biometrics utilizes a robust set of  parameters to capture a sample of the participant’s voice or keystroke. Only those authorized via successful capture of what’s called an initial sample,  and matches to subsequent samples will gain access to the course. If a student fails to authenticate, they will be locked and required to contact us to be verified and unlocked.”

Online education has largely occupied the smartphone screens. Since mobiles are widely used and easily accessible it helps to provide online education through these screens. Voice biometrics benefits such scenarios since it is a mobile-friendly authentication method. Also, voice biometrics is faster than other methods and it will not tire you by asking to remember passwords or throwing a bunch of security questions at you. 

Voice biometrics is an ideal option for people with learning disabilities and people with visual impairments. 

Let’s Wrap It Up

The increasing vulnerability on online platforms needs to be addressed with effective and accessible security measures. Biometrics and behavioral biometrics will reign the future authentication space with their unique identification methods. Online education is here to stay and thus, ensuring maximum security is necessary to prevent identity thefts and frauds.