In a not so distant future, our brain waves will be our passwords.
Remembering alpha-numeric passwords, PINs and usernames, sometimes, is like a mind doing a juggler's act. Though Biometrics - fingerprint, face recognition and retina scanning have replaced keying in most of our login rituals, they are, in a way limited in scope. After all, a person cannot have more than a face, two eyes and ten fingers. If those features become compromised, authentications can become a hassle. Nowadays, as such, Biometrics are increasingly becoming vulnerable to a data breach- the most exhaustive one was that of the 5.6 million US Federal employee's fingerprint data stolen in 2015. And, those bunch of employees can never ever, in their life, use fingerprint as an authentication!
But what if, there be a parameter which cannot be stolen? Say like the brain!
What Are Brainwaves? / Brainwaves Enter The Picture
Whenever a brain is stimulated by music, pictures - still or moving and or texts, the brain generates a neuron response which is authentic and unique for each individual. It is like an intangible personal signature.
Can Brainwaves Act As Passwords?
Now researchers have been able to successfully capture and catalogue these brain waves with the help of tiny electrical sensors. An effort is afoot to harness these distinctive brain waves and to use them as passwords. Days are not far when one can completely do away with remembering passwords, let alone feeding them in devices. Tests have proven that a particular brain's response remains consistently faithful to the corresponding stimuli it receives. In fact, the process is so unconscious and automatic that a person cannot externally control its results. Try and grimace all you can, but it will have no bearing on the brain impulses.
So how does it work?
Initially, any one of the person's identity documents, fingerprints or facial map will be paired with existing records. And then they will have to review a few stimuli on a monitor, say a piece of familiar music or audio text; still picture and or the call of an animal or an audiovisual sequence, while wearing a padded headgear fitted with tiny electronic sensors strategically placed inside it. The recorded brain waves will then be linked to the documentations and voila! - no more remembering of any passwords.
Your Brain, Your Password
Henceforth, all one will have to do is to check out a display on a monitor, on any device or appliance, wearing a smart headgear or a VR set, and it's open sesame!
