AQA · GCSE · Computer Science
Course version: 8525 · Version from Sept 2020
Biometric measures (particularly for mobile devices)
Full specification wording
Methods to detect and prevent cyber security threats: biometric measures (particularly for mobile devices)
Biometric measures authenticate a person using a physical or behavioural characteristic rather than something they know or carry.
Checked against the AQA 8525 specification (opens in a new tab) on .
- Point 1 of 5
Study notes
From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.
The idea
Biometric measures authenticate a person using a physical or behavioural characteristic rather than something they know or carry. A mobile device may scan a fingerprint, map a face or read an iris, then compare the captured pattern with a stored template; a match unlocks the device. Because the trait belongs to the user, there is nothing to forget and nothing obvious to steal, and the check is quick. Limitations matter: a template can be copied or spoofed, recognition can fail (false rejection) or wrongly accept another person (false acceptance), and a user cannot change a fingerprint as easily as a password. Biometrics are therefore usually combined with a PIN or passcode as a fallback.
What earns the marks
- Identifies biometric measures as authentication using a physical or behavioural characteristic of the user, such as a fingerprint, face or iris.
- Explains that the captured characteristic is compared with a stored template and access is granted on a match.
- States a strength: the trait is unique to the user, hard to guess and cannot be forgotten like a password.
- States a limitation: templates can be spoofed or copied, recognition can produce false acceptances or false rejections, and the trait cannot be reset like a password.
- Recognises that biometrics on mobile devices are often paired with a PIN or passcode fallback.
Common mistakes and how to put them right
Treating a biometric as a password the user types.
Put it right by saying the device measures a physical or behavioural characteristic and compares it with a stored template.
Assuming biometrics are impossible to defeat.
Put it right by noting spoofing and false acceptance are real limitations.
Ignoring the fallback: correct this by explaining that a PIN or passcode is often used when biometric recognition fails.
Exam tips
- Read the question stem to see whether it asks for the method, a strength or a limitation, and answer only that.
- Reject options that describe something the user knows or carries, because those are not biometrics.
- When two options look similar, choose the one that names a measurable characteristic of the user.
Try the lesson
The start of the Methods to detect and prevent cyber security threats: biometric measures (particularly for mobile devices) lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.
Have a go first
A smartphone owner wants to unlock the phone using a physical feature of their own body rather than typing a code. Which of these is a biometric measure?
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