Use of biometric technology for information access control among undergraduates of Northwest University, Kano

Traditional access control mechanisms such as passwords, personal identification numbers (PIN), and plastic access cards (PAC) can be shared with or stolen by unauthorized user. Biometric authentication offers a more secured and efficient alternative by utilizing unique physiological or behavioural characteristics. This study examined the use of biometric technology for information access control among undergraduates at Northwest University, Kano. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design, using all 16,541 undergraduates of Northwest University, Kano as population. Krejcie and Morgan sampling table was used in determining the sample size of 375. Stratified random sampling technique was adopted for data collection. Structured questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. The data collected was analysed using descriptive statistical tools such as mean, standard deviation and simple percentages. The findings revealed that there is moderate level of awareness of biometric technologies among the student (M=3.26). The study further reported that fingerprint and facial recognition are the most widely used biometrics among students, particularly for securing banking information, smartphones, and personal computers. The study uncovered that the use of biometric technology enhances security and reduces identity fraud, however, challenges such as high implementation costs, privacy concerns, and system reliability issues hinder its widespread adoption. The study concluded that the use of biometric technologies is best for information access control. Thus, the study recommended more awareness campaigns, improving biometric infrastructure, ensuring strong data protection policies, and adoption of multimodal biometric systems to enhance security and usability for information access control. The paper concluded that biometric authentication provides a reliable information access control however; there is need for robust data policy protection to address the issue of privacy implications associated with the technology. The paper then recommended that biometric awareness should be enhanced through integrating biometric security education into relevant academic course in Nigerian tertiary institutions.