The covid pandemic has dramatically changed the way we live and work entirely. Almost every service has gone digital with around-the-clock availability and contactless home deliveries. And one of the most significant changes had occurred in the education sector when educational institutions switched to online education. Children could never imagine staying home and attending virtual classes that limit their meeting with classmates and teachers. The blow was strong because it was unexpected, and many institutions limited physical education until next year for precautionary purposes. Many educational applications appeared in a short time and gained significant traction from customers because the need for these applications was massive. Besides lacking the aesthetics of the physical classroom, online learning is a more practical solution that became convenient and cost-effective.

A massive crowd going digital spikes up data vulnerabilities, so there is a need for protection and authentication. Online fraud, identity theft, and security theft have become data vulnerability possibilities in the online school environment. Passwords are a traditional method used to protect data online, but they are not as effective as multi-factor authentication and biometrics. Hence, biometrics holds a great future in maintaining cybersecurity in the educational sector.

Fingerprint sensors are used to access places, unlock phones, and even network transactions. Along with fingerprints, facial recognition and voice biometrics are growing in popularity. Face recognition today has become an ideal security authentication technique to prevent identity fraud.

Biometric data can be used effectively to identify participants in online courses using webcams. Test participants’ authentication is mandatory during the tests and biometric data such as face recognition and voice help for continuous identification. Besides, it can help reduce scams or fraud while browsing online.

Just like fingerprint biometrics, voice biometrics uses a person’s voice as a unique identifier. The use of voice recognition is acceptable because it is a fast method of authentication. Voice recognition identifies different people because we all have other voices, and they stand unique. It is quite different from speech recognition, which recognizes only the words that people speak. While voice biometrics distinguishes and identifies people based on their unique voiceprints, it is becoming more common in customer service telephone agencies and banks in the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand for automatic call identification and authentication.

Voice biometrics plays a crucial role in the online education system. Online education providers often struggle with the problem of end-user identity violations. The growing vulnerabilities of network platforms need to be addressed through practical and accessible security measures. Biometric and behavioral biometrics will dominate the future authentication region with their unique identification methods. Online education, however, is not going anywhere, at least for a couple of years, and so ensuring maximum security to prevent identity thefts and frauds is a necessity.