Protect your property with biometrics

One of the oldest methods of protecting one's property is probably the use of a chain and padlock. You need a key to lock and unlock a padlock. If one day only one person has the key, you would have to go after that person, and then perhaps you would find the padlock had been left unlocked and a burglar had already got away with your property.

If two people had the keys for the padlock, you would have the troublesome task of identifying which of the two would be responsible for the loss of property. The problem of responsibility would keep increasing as the number of keys in the hand of the authorized people increased. Why? Because the keys were not unique, and there was no way we could connect the keys and their holders.

The same would be true in the case of padlocks with built-in digital keys. The digits are stored in the security device, not in the access device. A password poses the same problem. As more people know the password, the protection level decreases. A solution would be to save the password inside a card, which must be used together with the stored password, to unlock a security system. Yet, a plastic card is a nuisance. What if you forget to take it with you? What if somebody steals it from your pocket?

One of the more sophisticated methods that is increasingly being used for security purposes -- whether to block entrance to a restricted area, to protect data on your computer, or to prevent other people from using your ATM cards and withdrawing cash from our accounts, etc. -- is to use biometric devices.

The word "biometrics" itself was used with a different meaning by statisticians in the early 20th century. It referred to the field of statistical and mathematical methods used in biology. In today's technology, however, the same word is being used to refer to the identification of individuals through their unique physiological features such as fingerprints, iris, retina, voice, hand geometry and face.

It is a field that is undergoing rapid growth. IDC believes that the Sept. 11 tragic events have only accelerated the use of biometrics hardware and software for both authentication and surveillance purposes.

Identix (identix.com) is one of the leading companies specializing in biometrics-based security and access technology. Another is Visionics (visionics.com). In fact, last February, the companies announced their intention to merge, and the process may be finalized by the end of this month.

How does it work? First, there should be a database of individuals against which a scanned image of someone's face, fingerprint, etc. is compared. Then, a hardware device will be required to do the scanning. The process should be very fast, and therefore sometimes microprocessors are required. Ideally, the surveillance system in a football stadium, for example, must be able to scan and recognize the face of a veteran hooligan or pickpocket in a split second before he disappears among the crowd.

In an office environment, a biometrics recognition system will make it easy for employees to record the exact times they come in or leave for home. All they need to do is press their hand on a hand scanner. ATMs that do not require you to enter your PIN but will ask you to stare into their video camera for a second before they dispense your cash have also been available.

Not surprisingly, biometrics recognition devices have also been integrated in servers, desktop computers and -- for the obvious reason that they are very easy to steal -- notebook and other portable devices as well. A notebook that is fully protected by biometrics devices will be worth very little when it gets stolen. Even the hard disk cannot be accessed without the help of a fingerprint scanner, for example.

A recent contract win for Identix's fingerprinting services was from Tennessee's Bureau of Investigation. With these services, to be provided by Sylvan/Identix Fingerprinting Center (SIFC), background checks for employees, volunteers and job applicants can be done quickly using their individual fingerprints. -- Zatni Arbi