Mobile Helix has announced a new authentication system for its LINK workflow management app for law firms. The system now supports biometric fingerprint scanning or PIN-based security as second factor authentication.

The fingerprint authentication comes by way of Apple’s Touch ID system on iOS. In a statement announcing the development, Mobile Helix emphasized the critical importance of identity authentication for online data sharing in a legal environment, given the sensitivity of the information being exchanged. “Biometric fingerprint authentication provides an independent, second verification of a user’s identity,” said Mobile Helix CEO Seth Hallem. It’s an approach being adopted by a growing number of organizations, with even banks embracing Touch ID for the customer’s mobile experience.

Of course, a PIN code is less secure than a biometric, and is less convenient to use. But in embracing biometric authentication as an option, at least, for second factor authentication, Mobile Helix is taking an important step toward the kind of advanced digital security that could eventually become standard across the mobile app world.