Biometrics

Biometrics is used in many places and there is a bright future for them. Coca Cola has recently replaced time card system with hand scanning machines. Finger print scanners are being used in many states of the US. They have been used to trace social welfare fraud. An iris pattern identification system is being used in Cook County, Illinois to ensure that right people are released from jail. ATM machines have been installed with finger scanners to prevent theft and fraud in Indiana (Jain, 2005).

The world’s major credit card companies are using finger scanning devices to protect credit card information and save the consumer from credit card fraud. Walt Disney World in Orlando has implemented a hand scanning system to prevent people from lending their passes to others. Biometric systems are being widely used for security and convenience. Major departments of the United States government like the FBI, TWIC and RT are using such technologies. Many biometric identification systems have been installed in airports for security and preventing terrorism.

New biometric technologies are being developed using diverse physiological and behavioral characteristics. These technologies are in various stages of development. Vein scan technology identifies a person based upon blood vessel patterns. This technology uses infrared light to detect vein patterns. It is available for commercial purposes. Facial thermography detects heat patterns which are created by blood vessels that branch. These heat patterns are also emitted from the skin. An infrared camera is used to capture images. The advantage of this system is that it does not require close physical contact. These systems can also work in darkness. However these systems are very expensive to implement (Woodward, 2005).

DNA matching is a biometric system which can produce positive identification of a person. The technology is many years away from development. Blood pulses on a finger can be measured by new biometric systems. This technology is currently under development. Nail bed identification is based on identifying distinct spatial arrangement beneath the fingernail. Gait recognition is another technology which is under development. This recognizes individuals by their distinctive walk and captures a sequence of images to derive and analyze motion characteristics. The technology is currently under development and its complete potential and limitations can be fully assessed. Many biometric identification systems are being developed and tested (Woodward, 2005).

Biometric technologies are getting better and finely tuned. The rate of false readings and errors has sharply fallen. However it still requires careful consideration and planning to implement a biometric identification system. They are most costly and complicated to implement as compared with other authentication systems. A proper evaluation of the system is important before purchasing any biometric system. A thorough risk analysis is necessary. In many cases biometrics may be overkill. Biometrics must be used if there is high level of risk involved. Customer acceptance is also important when logging on to company websites. Home users might not be ready to install biometrics on home computers for online banking.

Another consideration is where the digital data and templates will be stored. The data needs to be protected on a dedicated and secure server to prevent it from being stolen and replayed against malicious access. Biometric data must be securely transmitted and encrypted to prevent data theft during transition. Interoperability with existing databases is necessary for the storage of authenticated data. Biometrics products are still growing. The products are still in their infancy. It will take time for consolidation. Many companies market biometric products. Regulations regarding advertising and manufacturing biometrics are not available. Large scale adoption of biometrics is expected to offer protection against economic and social problems associated with identity theft. Concerns with biometrics must be addressed to ensure their proper implementation and usage. Biometrics can be integrated into existing systems and technologies. There have been some difficulties because older systems are not designed to accept newer techniques.

There have been some social concerns with biometrics. Some people believe that this technology can cause harm to an individual using methods and instruments which are not clean. There have been concerns of potential harms from unclean iris scanners. There are also personal concerns which include that biometric methods might be misused or data stolen for criminal activities. There is also the fear of biometrics using data without authorization from an individual. Another danger is that if thieves cannot gain access to any device they could assault the property owner (Jain, 2006).

It is important that criteria should be developed for biometric identification systems. They should be unique and acceptable. Effective biometric identification systems must retain the feature of being acceptably changed over the lifetime of the individual. While biometric systems are better than password based authentication systems they still carry risks. One of the risks is that if a password is lost or stolen it can be cancelled and replaced by a new version. However this is not possible in biometric identification systems. For instance if someone’s facial image is compromised it is not possible to cancel or reissue it. Biometric data is vulnerable in storage and processing state. Cancelable biometric identification systems are being developed to allow protection and replacement features in the system. Several systems have been proposed for the creation of cancelable biometric systems. One idea is to transform the original data into a domain where the recognition is performed accurately and cannot be transformed back to the original data (Jain, 2006).

Biometrics is being widely used for security of buildings and IT systems. They are also being used for access and identification. Several countries have implemented automated fingerprinting. Prisons have already taken ink fingerprints from convicted prisoners. An automated system has been implemented which can quickly confirm a person’s identity. It also allows information to be rapidly shared. Face recognition technology has been implemented in police stations.