Bio-Identity

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Bio-Identity

Everybody is different. In addition to making for interesting times, this abundance of biodiversity is also helping businesses and individuals secure access to their sensitive files and precious network resources

by Jon Halpin Originally published in the March 1999 issue

It would seem that we are living in times of great suspicion. With corporate IT managers setting up remote accounts and home users ordering sweaters from jcrew.com, everyone is voicing concerns about security. Consumers are worried about their "identity" being stolen or even sold through the use of passwords, codes, credit card fraud, or even agent technology. Corporations are concerned about unauthorized access to private company data stored on the network or notebooks being stolen from mobile employees.

The demand for more effective security, however, has created a tremendous market for companies that can create more innovative solutions, particularly in the field of biometrics--verifying an individual's identity through unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, voice recognition, iris and retina scans, facial scans, handwriting verification, or hand geometry.

"Biometric technology makes the task of stealing identity much harder," according to Clint Fuller, CEO of the biometric vendor SAFLink, "Passwords and codes can be guessed, replicated, or passed along, but due to the unique qualities of biometrics, it is a much better way of ensuring positive identity. You cannot easily copy a fingerprint or retinal scan, but you can crack passwords."

Biometrics is not a new industry. It's been used for decades by the government and law-enforcement agencies, but has been too expensive to manufacture and sell commercially--until recently. At the 1998 International Security Conference, Barry Wendt, CEO of SAC Technologies, said, "The growing market is a direct result of today's advanced computer hardware. The faster, cheaper PCs on the market can handle the data-processing needed to verify an identify from a fingerprint, a voice, or a face--all in the time it would take to swipe a card or type in a password."

Biometric verification systems are essentially data-acquisition devices and software that read data (fingerprints, voice, and so on) using sensor inputs. They convert analog data to digital data, then compare the data with reference data already stored in a software database to verify identity.

System manufacturers, banks, and online merchants are all beginning to recognize the advantages of biometric technology and are implementing verification systems that are more secure. SAFLink's Fuller says, "One of the most promising areas for biometrics is the Internet--mainly for electronic transactions. There is a big issue in security over the Internet, and biometric technology can really shine there. The medical and health industry is another big area. Legislation dictates that health care must use more secure measures and regulate who is seeing what confidential information, for example."

If COMDEX/Fall '98 is any indication, biometrics may be evolving faster than anticipated. Many companies announced plans to include some form of biometric security in their product lines in the coming year, and many others showcased new verification systems. Fingerprint authentication was the most popular and most evolved system, but there were also prototypes of smart cards with voice-recognition features and iris and facial scanners.