Security Questions & Biometrics

Why American Safety Council uses Security Questions or Biometrics in Our Online Courses

Back in the days of just traditional classroom courses, students needed only show up and present identification to validate who they were. After being marked as present, each student would have to sit for several hours during a lecture, possibly participate, and complete an examination on the material at the end of each day or week. While nothing can take the place of the classroom experience, most people find online training more consistent – ensuring each student is provided the same level and quality of education. In addition, online learning is more convenient, cost-effective and guarantees every student can “get in” as opposed to classroom where there is limited seating.

With many states now allowing internet to be an alternative to traditional classroom courses, it is become mandatory that providers find a way to validate the student’s identity as well as take a final exam. A few states, such as New York, require a higher level of secure identify verification or two levels (2-factors) of authentication. This is where security questions and biometrics play a dual role in establishing your online identity. Voice or Keystroke Biometrics utilizes a robust set of  parameters to capture a sample of the participant’s voice or keystroke. Only those authorized via successful capture of  what’s called an initial sample,  and matches to subsequent samples, will gain access to the course. If a student fails to authenticate, they will be locked and required to contact us to be verified and unlocked.

Security questions, while not as restrictive, ensure the student who began the course is the one completing the course, in addition to preventing a student from “letting the timer run out” and logging the student out without actively participating.

Both of these measures while frustrating to some students, have to be in place to allow a user to complete state or government requirements online. We here at American Safety Council are continually improving and adjusting our secure platform to make sure the user experience is not compromised as much as possible. But that in mind, there will be some inconvenience encountered when trying to authenticate your identity, since this is not face-to-face instruction.

That being said we appreciate all our customers and value their feedback on how we can improve our system. Thanks for reading!

Author: charrisonasc

Categorized in: Discussion