The Busy Persons Guide to Biometrics
OK, so what are biometrics and why should we be concerned
with them?
Biometrics are best defined as measurable physiological and/or behavioral characteristics
that can be utilised to verify the identity of an individual. They include fingerprints,
retinal and iris scanning, hand geometry, voice patterns, facial recognition
and other techniques. They are of interest in any area where it is important
to verify the true identity of an individual. Initially, these techniques were
employed primarily in specialist high security applications, however we are now
seeing their use and proposed use in a much broader range of public facing situations.
So what was wrong with cards and PIN’s?
 PINs
(personal identification numbers) were one of the first
identifiers to offer automated recognition. However,
it should be understood that this means recognition
of the PIN, not necessarily recognition of the person
who has provided it. The same applies with cards and
other tokens. We may easily recognise the token, but
it could be presented by anybody. Using the two together
provides a slightly higher confidence level, but this
is still easily compromised if one is determined to
do so.
A biometric however cannot be easily transferred between individuals (replacement
part surgery is outside the scope of this paper) and represents as unique an
identifier as we are likely to see. If we can automate the verification procedure
in a user friendly manner, there is considerable scope for integrating biometrics
into a variety of processes.
What does this mean in practice?
It means that verifying an individuals identity can become both more streamlined
(by the user interacting with the biometric reader) and considerably more accurate
as biometric devices are not easily fooled.
In the context of travel and tourism for example, one immediately thinks of immigration
control, boarding gate identity verification and other security related functions.
However, there may be a raft of other potential applications in areas such as
marketing, premium passenger services, online booking, alliance programmes and
so on where a biometric may be usefully integrated into a given process at some
stage. In addition, there are organisation related applications such as workstation
/ LAN access, physical access control and other potential applications.
This does not mean that biometrics are a panacea for all our personal identification
related issues - far from it! But they do represent an interesting new tool in
our technology toolbox, which we might usefully consider as we march forward
into the new millennium.
But surely this is all science fiction, we don’t
see them working in everyday applications?
Ten years ago, this was an often heard response and frankly, a justified one
as many of the early biometric devices were rather cumbersome in use and priced
at a point which prohibited their implementation in all but a few very high security
applications where they were considered viable.
These days things are different as not only has considerable
technical progress been made, providing more accurate,
more refined products, but unit cost has dropped to
a point which makes them suitable for broader scale
deployment where appropriate. In addition, the knowledge
base concerning their use and integration into other
processes has increased dramatically. This is no longer
a ‘black
art’ practised by a few high priests (who charged accordingly) but an everyday
piece of relevant technology that the average five year old will soon be able
to tell you all about.
The remainder of this document will cover the subject in greater detail and provide
a solid background into this interesting and exciting technology.
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