Biometrics - Why Our Information Is Not Secure?

Is our information Secure or not?

August 22, 2008

This paper will cover what the future holds for biometrics. What some of the possible hurdles are for biometrics, whether or not it's safe to use biometric systems, and lastly, what some of the alternative technologies to using biometric systems.

What is the future of biometrics? Biometrics has come along way since its inception in 1973. One company carried the only patent for iris scanning technology for ten years. After this paten expired the technology was fair game to other companies. Errors in retina scans have decreased by as much as seven fold. The future of biometrics holds great promise for law enforcement applications, as well for private industry uses. By measuring facial geometry, surveillance systems can identify suspects against characteristics stored in the security system's database. "There is a popular tendency to regard biometric products as sci-fi mythology, but the reality is that biometrics is the future of the security industry and is quickly becoming recognized as the most accurate identification technology in the market.

Biometrics' future will include e-commerce applications for extra security on the checkout page, and biometrics will guard against unauthorized access to cars and cell phones. In the future, biometric technology will further develop 3-D infrared facial recognition access control, real-time facial recognition passive surveillance, and visitor management authentication systems.

Is biometric technology safe? Biometric technology has been around for over thirty years and is still a process in the works. Many companies have released their own versions of these systems, some of them secure, and some of them could barely stop a monkey from stealing your fingerprint. Several tests have been done proving that fingerprint biometric systems can be fooled. Using just one form of biometrics is no more secure than a password under your keyboard. To ensure a higher level of security, I have found combining at least two types of biometrics works much better. For instance, combining a retina scan and facial recognition software coupled with smart cards will create a much higher level of security. While biometrics isn't totally safe, it can be when properly coupled with other technologies.

One of the biggest hurdles facing biometrics is the fear of it's lack of security, and that somewhere there might be a database of your fingerprint somewhere. The privacy concerns are both perceived