Sci-fi scripts are awash with story-lines in which a person’s identity is stolen through the not-so-subtle removal of a finger, or being impersonated using all manner of clever biometric trickery.

Fortunately, the possibility of these horror scenarios actually playing out has diminished as the technology has matured. Given the rate at which organisations, including giants like Sony, Adobe and US retailer Target, have succumbed to breaches of their data, the time for science fiction-inspired security is surely nigh.