Biometrics

Description

Biometrics are automated methods of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic. Among the features measured are face, fingerprints, hand geometry, handwriting, iris, retinal, vein, and voice. Biometric technologies are becoming the foundation of an extensive array of highly secure identification and personal verification solutions. As the level of security breaches and transaction fraud increases, the need for highly secure identification and personal verification technologies is becoming apparent. Biometric-based solutions are able to provide for confidential financial transactions and personal data privacy.

Enablers:

• Increased Security Concerns

Increasing security concerns ranging from individual identity theft and corporate security to national security are driving the biometric market around the world.

• Convenience

Use of biometrics eliminates the need to remember several different passwords and pin codes for consumers.

- Advancements in science

- Advancements in technology

- Research

- Need for higher security

- Terrorism

- Hacking

- Espionage

The use of biometrics in financial institutions grows as banks worldwide strive to offer a combination of enhanced security and convenience to their customers, according to Frost & Sullivan.

Inhibitors:

• Cost

Biometric devices are more expensive to deploy than traditional access control systems such as passwords and key cards.

• Lack of Standardization

Biometric devices are still mostly proprietary and this gives way to interoperability issues. This makes it tough for large institutions such as banks to make large scale deployments user-friendly for their customers.

• Accuracy

Although the accuracy of the biometric devices has improved considerably over the last few years, there are still problems of false rejects.

• Misuse of Data

There are concerns that the personal data obtained from biometric systems could be misused. This could include identity theft where a hacker could reverse engineer biometric data when it is being transferred from a sensor to a central repository.<br\> The use of biometric information to track individuals is also a real possibility. For example: Facial recognition systems could be used to track the whereabouts of people without their knowledge.

• Physical Danger to Authorized Personnel

Robbers and other miscreants could potentially assault an authorized user to gain access to areas secured using biometric devices. In such cases, the damage caused to the user could even be irreversible. For Example: Malaysian car thieves cut the finger of Mercedes S Class owner in order to steal his car.

• Religious Objections

Certain Christians interpret biometrics to be a “Mark of the Beast.” Although such religious objections to biometrics are nor expected to be widespread, they must be taken seriously because of societal and legal emphasis on respect for sincerely held religious beliefs.

Paradigms:

The evolution of biometrics has enabled a new age for security. However at the same time it has raised concerns over the right to privacy. While biometrics offer many benefits there is a realization that a balance between the need for security and the right to privacy is needed.

Timeline:

1858: First systematic capture of hand images for identification purposes is recorded<br\> 1892: Galton develops a classification system for fingerprints<br\> 1903: NY State Prisons begins using fingerprints<br\> 1936: Concept of using the iris pattern for identification is proposed<br\> 1960s: Face recognition becomes semi-automated<br\> 1969: FBI pushes to make fingerprint recognition an automated process<br\> 1976: First prototype system for speaker recognition is developed<br\> 1992: Biometric Consortium is established within US Government<br\> 1996: Hand geometry is implemented at the Olympic Games<br\> 2001: Face recognition is used at the Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida<br\> 2003: European Biometrics Forum is established

Web Resources:

http://www.biometrics.org/ <br\> http://research.iiit.ac.in/~vandana/PAPERS/BASIC/Biometrics_history.pdf