What is Biometrics?: A Look Into the Future in Technology

The same software used by the Tampa Police Department for the Super Bowl can also be used with ATM and check-cashing security. Special ATM or check cashing machines are setup to capture the image of a person and make the comparison needed to authenticate them in place of their bank card, PIN or photo identification. Their account information is associated with the equation generated by their face so once authenticated they have access to their bank accounts or the option to cash a check that has their name on it. This technology can help prevent theft of bank cards or people being forced to withdraw funds since a camera is present to take pictures.

To authenticate to a computer the “FaceIt” software just needs a webcam attached to the computer and it will then use facial recognition in place of the user’s password. Although it is not completely hacker proof this method would make it extremely difficult for someone to gain access to a system without proper authorization. International Business Machines (IBM) has already started using this technology for a screensaver with certain model laptops.

PRIVACY

Many people do not like the idea of facial recognition technology because it can and usually is used without consent. Other methods of biometrical identification require a person to touch or intentionally get close to a scanner, but facial recognition can be used without a person knowing and from a significant distance since cameras have zoom capabilities. As discussed previously with the Super Bowl example, a person’s face can be captured and stored without them knowing. All the crowd had to do was be present at the game and when they traveled to certain areas of the stadium they were scanned or randomly photographed while sitting in their seats. Many people consider this an invasion of their privacy.

CONCLUSION

Biometrics has a promising future with its ability to uniquely identify a person across multiple systems but like any other system it has flaws that can be exploited and other political issues. With further development these systems can become much more secure and help make things like law enforcement and personal identification much easier. Also with further development the methods of scanning and matching records will be achieved at a lower cost. With the current prices of biometrical technology many organizations simply cannot justify the cost when there are many other solutions out there that can do secure authentications for a fraction of the cost. Once these issues are worked out then biometrics will undoubtedly be the primary means of authentication.

REFERENCES

An Introduction To Biometrics. Retrieved Oct.12, 2005, from Biometric Consortium: Introduction to Biometrics Web site: http://biometrics.org/html/introduction.html.

Bonsor, K. How facial recognition systems work. Retrieved Oct. 17, 2005, from http://computer.howstuffworks.com/facial-recognition.htm/printable.

Daugman, J. (1993) High confidence visual recognition of persons by a test of statistical independence. Trans. Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence.

Fingerprint. Retrieved Oct. 20, 2005, from Individual Biometrics Web site: http://ctl.ncsc.dni.us/biomet%20web/BMFingerprint.html.

Harrison, A. (2003). Hackers claim new fingerprint biometric attack. Retrieved Oct 20, 2005, from http://www.securityfocus.com/news/6717.

Jain, A., Prabhakar, S. Fingerprint identification. Retrieved Oct. 20, 2005, from Biometrics: Fingerprint Web site: http://biometrics.cse.msu.edu/fingerprint.html.

Rothstein, L. (2001). Stop that face! Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 57(6), 6-8. Retrieved Oct 17, 2005, from Proquest database.

Sieberg, D. (2000). Iris recognition at airports uses eye-catching technology. Retrieved Oct. 12, 2005, from CNN.com – Technology Web site: http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/07/24/iris.explainer/.

Starkey, R. B. (1992). The human face – A unique pattern? Sensor Review, 12(3), 16-18 . Retrieved Oct 17, 2005, from Proquest database.

Verified Identity Pass, Inc., Verified Identity Pass. Retrieved Oct. 12, 2005, from http://www.verifiedidcard.com/.