As part of the security firm's attempt to preserve our true biometric identity, it offers a ring containing an artificial fingerprint developed in collaboration with a Swedish designer

• Kaspersky offers an artificial fingerprint ring // Photo: Kaspersky

Security company Kaspersky, in collaboration with a Swedish designer named Benjamin Waye, contains a unique but artificial fingerprint ring.

The development is designed to protect the true biometric identity of the wearer (ie, the biological fingerprint), and to use the artificial fingerprint in the ring, as a substitute for biological fingerprinting, for devices requiring fingerprint recognition such as smartphones and biometric devices.

"The combination of art and technology makes her stand out. It's a different approach to how we wear jewelry; it's usually much more practical. The ring is not only beautiful but designed to help solve a rather serious problem in modern life. It helps maintain our uniqueness in a world where Everything was to be copied, "says Benjamin Wei, the ring designer.

Photo: Kaspersky

In contrast to our true fingerprint, the artificial fingerprint of the ring can be blocked, deleted and changed relatively easily, in the event of a biometric data breach. The move and product are designed to raise awareness of the topic, and keep our true biometric data secure, without worrying about being stolen.

It is worth noting that this is not a theoretical problem. In 2015, the US Federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was breached and 5.6 million fingerprints leaked to unauthorized hands Recently, more than a million people's fingerprints were discovered in a publicly accessible database used by the London Police, British Department of Defense and banks. There are other examples of cases where researchers have proven that it is possible to penetrate repositories and steal fingerprints with digital cameras and other tools. Kaspersky's research found that 37% of computers that stored biometric data were themselves the target of at least one cyber attack in the third quarter of last year.