Biometrics: The Actual and Potential Advantages

When taking a closer look at biometric devices, it is evident there are numerous actual and potential advantages of their use in organizations. This section focuses on the advantages of Biometric Iris Recognition and Fingerprint Scanning.

Given that most organizations deal with the use of personal information either to exchange goods and services or for employee identification, it is essential to place proper security measures to ensure this information is not compromised in any way. Today, iris recognition and fingerprint scanning devices can be found in many large and small organizations because of their ranking of accuracy, efficiency and reliability. In addition, the iris and fingerprint are distinctive to each individual and cannot be forged.

Within the transportation industry biometric devices are a current requirement in airport security. Iris Recognition is becoming prominent in airport security. This gives access to passengers and airport personnel to restricted areas. Shiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Frankfurt Airport in Germany and Charlotte/Douglass Airport in Charlotte are among a number of airports which has implemented Iris recognition technology. The iris recognition error rate is 1:131,000 and has a very low false acceptance rate (Reading Room Sans).

Within the banking industry Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) have began implementing Iris Recognition to replace PIN numbers. A PIN can be guessed and forged whereas, an iris cannot. The Bank United Corporation in Houston, Texas was among the first to implement this method in supermarkets in 1999 (Reading Room Sans).

Within the law enforcement industry the use of portable Fingerprint Scanners is visible in the UK. All police forces within this area are provided with these mobile devices so they may perform identity checks on the people. This is intended to aid in future criminal investigations conducted by the police force (guardian.co.uk).

Within the housing industry Fingerprint Scans on door locks and garages are becoming very popular. Keys can be lost or stolen, whereas fingerprint scans are of no use to those who find a lost portable scanners and it can only give access to the registered fingerprints. Furthermore, the costs of installing these scanners are very low in comparison to other security tools (techBiometric).

As you can see, Iris Recognition and Fingerprint Scanning are becoming more and more popular because of their numerous advantages. They are continuously being improved to increase security as more industries begin to implement these technologies.


References:

• Reading Room Sans: http://www.sans.org/reading_room/whitepapers/authentication/dont-blink-iris-recognition-biometric-identification_1341
• guardian.co.uk: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/oct/27/project-midas-fingerprint-scanner-liberty
• techBiometric: http://techbiometric.com/biometric-products/fingerprint-reader/
  

Figures:

• Airport Security: http://www.life.com/image/51032499
• ATM Access: http://biometrics.cse.msu.edu/info/index.html
• Police ID Checking: http://statismwatch.ca/2010/03/04/uk-mobile-fingerprint-scanner-for-english-and-welsh-police/
• Door Lock: http://www.prlog.org/10381425-fingerprint-door-locks-keyless-entry.html