Google’s selfie video sign-in security feature for unlocking accounts provides users with yet another method for getting back into an account you may have been locked out of for whatever reason, but not everyone sees this as a win, specifically Information Security Manager at Incogni Miguel Fornés. According to Fornés, Google’s Selfie Video sign-in is a significant security risk, and that users need to take the proper measures to make sure that their data is safe. Especially with facial biometric data, because you can’t simply swap faces like you can with a password.
If you’re unaware of Google’s new selfie video sign-in method, it lets you gain access to your account back by taking a short selfie video to prove that you are who you say you are. The selfie video also asks users to go through a series of guided head movements as part of the verification, intended as a means of preventing people from faking the video because it requires you to make those movements during the video recording. Fornés still sees this as a big issue.
Google’s selfie video sign-in poses a big security risk if facial biometrics are leaked
According to Fornés, the main issue isn’t with the facial biometrics per se, but more in the way that Google stores this data, and the security risks that it could end up causing should the data leak. “With a password, if it’s stolen, you change it, and you’re safe again. With a face, there’s no reset button. Once biometric data is exposed, it’s exposed forever,” Fornés says.
Despite these risks, there are ways to do the utmost you can to minimize any potential issues. This includes things like not relying on single sign-on for more important logins like banking apps and your primary email. Enabling multi-factor authentication goes hand-in-hand with that as it requires you to not only login with a password, but it also asks for an authentication key, which is randomized at the time of request. Also worth considering is a physical form of multi-factor authentication, like a Yubikey for instance, at least for whatever your most important account is.
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