Security technology is constantly having to evolve to meet new threats. It’s not just the personal threats that we have to consider, but the business ones, too. The last thing anyone wants to do is put their faith in the cloud and then have it hacked, with all of their information stolen. Education is the key to getting ahead of those who think that they can access and destroy your information.
Here’s a look into what the future may look like for us all based on recent security trends and proposed ideas from experts. Is it going to be scary and invasive or will life be more comfortable and easier with these technologies in place?
Smart Technology
Already, homes are starting to embrace smart technology – the idea of being able to control your whole home remotely via an app or a computer programme. When it comes to security, there are already smart burglar alarms on the market. These send an alert to your phone if someone has accessed your home. There are also smart security cameras that you can view on your phone whenever you need to. There are even smart locks that you can fit on your front door. These are locks that don’t require a key – instead, you use your phone to open them remotely. The idea of having everything controlled remotely has its concerns (cybercriminals can already hack into kettles – how long before they hack into people’s front doors?). That said, it’s likely to make old-fashioned burglary a lot harder.
Drone Security Guards
Some companies are already starting to use drones to serve as flying security guards. Not only can a drone patrol an area faster than a human but they can do so from the sky, making it harder for trespassers to hide. A company named Aptonomy has even developed a self-flying drone that doesn’t require someone to manually control it. That’s right – we already live in a world where there are flying robots on patrol. How long will it be until these become a common sight around prisons and military bases?
Dissolving Bank Cards
It’s possible that in the future we may have bank cards that can be triggered to dissolve when stolen. Researchers have managed to do this by creating a circuit made of polymers that melt away when a drop of water is added. If it’s possible to trigger this process remotely, it could stop bank cards from getting into the wrong hands and prevent a lot of fraudulent crime.
Facial Recognition
Facial recognition is already in practice as a form of security. If you’re a company looking to screen customers to see if they truly are who they say they are, there are identity solutions on the market that use this technology. Facial recognition is also being used for personal security purposes, with the iPhone bringing it in as a means of locking one’s phone. It’s thought that facial recognition could one day replace the password altogether (which means no longer having to remember numerous complex passwords). In fact, there are even talks of banks using this form of biometrics at ATMs.
Heartbeat Monitors
Companies have also started looking into heartbeat monitoring as a form of personal identification. By supplying everyone in a company with a monitor attached to one’s wrist, it will be possible to control access by reading everyone’s heartbeat. This could be faster than any other form of biometric access control and more secure than simply carrying a card. Such devices have been tested under various environmental conditions and found to be very reliable at still distinguishing a person from their individual heartbeat.
Microchipping
The most controversial security measure of them all is the idea of every human being getting microchipped for security purposes. Already, this is done with dogs as a way of tracking them – the technology is there to do it with human beings, but how many of us feel comfortable constantly having our every motion tracked? Besides, if the government always knows where you are, who else may be able to obtain this information? Such security could help to track down criminals and find people who have been kidnapped or gone missing. There’s also talk of using chips for other purposes such as tracking people’s health and even spotting life-threatening illnesses early. There are concerns, however, about whether such microchipping would ever become mandatory. If it’s voluntary, then at least people have the freedom to have it if it makes them feel safer but mandating it would amount to a severe violation of freedom and privacy.
