Instigator / Pro
4
1566
rating
29
debates
56.9%
won
Topic
#1635

Biometrics are preferred over traditional passwords

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
0
3
Better sources
2
2
Better legibility
1
1
Better conduct
1
1

After 1 vote and with 3 points ahead, the winner is...

Zaradi
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
3
Time for argument
Two days
Max argument characters
5,000
Voting period
One week
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
7
1558
rating
4
debates
100.0%
won
Description

"Biometrics" - Using one's unique body signatures to identify individual people
"Preferred" - Would be better for society
"Traditional Passwords" - 1 2 3 4 5

Please refrain from juxtaposing biometrics or traditional passwords with ones of the historic past, or distant future. Limit your time span within reasonable lengths.

Criterion
Pro
Tie
Con
Points
Better arguments
3 point(s)
Better sources
2 point(s)
Better legibility
1 point(s)
Better conduct
1 point(s)
Reason:

Interpreting the resolution:
The debate was clarified to be a false dilemma, to which I must grade one side...

1. Safe and Secure
Uniquely generated by the user’s body, but sadly it’s still able to be spoofed (con used the term hackability, but I think that might be the wrong term). Some extra credit goes to con here, for explaining all about the layers of biometrics which prevent the bad movie bypasses such as photos of people; but he still showed why it is not actually as secure as people would like to think, it can instead be bypassed by cleverness...

2. Convenience
Easy access, and unforgettability. ... Con does a good mitigating point that initial convince is not necessarily a good thing, since if ever hacked under bio you can’t do anything about it, but with a traditional password you can.

3. Saves Money
I’m torn on this. Better sourcing would probably have come in handy.

4. Impact
Con conducted a pure refutation. A highlight was a source analysis which concluded that the damage listed was for cybercrimes in general, not specifically password theft.

5. Reversibility
This was the one that made me comfortable giving the debate to con. It was hard hitting in that that we can always reset our passwords, but if a biometric lock is bypassed we have no recourse.

---

Arguments:
See above review of key points. I was left worrying that if a hacker steals whatever password type thing my bio data is stored, I’m screwed... Pro, a lot of what con was doing was debate lingo, don’t worry so much about it, things like him saying neg all the time is not an insult, it’s a reference to types of reasoning used. Also in future please maintain headings across rounds.

Sources:
I have a pet peeve against posting sources in the comments. I am closer to ok with it when they’re still linked in the main body (as seen from pro after R1), but as the saying goes, a source is worth a thousand words. I also hate URL shorteners, as I like seeing at a glance what to expect.
This leans toward con, but I am just not feeling like reviewing the sources right now when already giving him the argument points.

Conduct:
Pro was a complete wise-ass, which tilts conduct away from him, but I did not see him cross the line into vileness which would cause the penalty to hit. Additionally, I appreciate the attempt at sprinkling in humor.