Biometrics for beginners
Biometric security is a term often mentioned, however, not many of us really understand this and indeed when I hear the word biometrics it conjures up pictures of James Bond having his eyes, face, fingers and whole body scanned by a machine that can tell if he is an impostor or the real 007. The dictionary definition of biometrics describes, “The statistical study of biological phenomena” or “the measurement of physical characteristics, DNA, fingerprints, retina patterns.” All this does sound state of the art and very futuristic, but biometrics as used in security systems is here and now, used globally by many diverse organisations, large and small, including 007!
Given that our bodies can be scanned and the information gathered from us can be compared with information already held about us on a database, means that the use of biometrics in some high-risk organisations is widely used to restrict access to sensitive areas of buildings by personnel and visitors. The most popular type of biometrics used in this type of security is a scan of the retina, which has a pattern unique to each individual, rather like our fingerprints. Depending on the level of security required, the choices to scan various parts of the body can increase from retina patterns, to finger printing and palm printing, to whole face scans and even whole body scans. Indeed only recently Gatwick Airport has introduced face scanning before passengers are allowed to get on a plane using the latest technology in the fight against terrorism.
Biometrics is only effective in a security situation if data is already held about an individual, i.e., in passports a chip is inserted that holds biometric data that has been gathered about an individual and stored on a computer. Large organisations have successfully used ID cards for many years; however, there was always the risk that if the card was lost or stolen it could be used successfully by other people to access unauthorised areas. With biometrics it is not possible to swap your DNA so using someone else’s card to access a building or restricted area is not possible with a biometric system. Or is it?
Security consultants throughout the UK are aware that using biometrics to secure buildings and high-risk areas also carries a risk. If verification takes place across an insecure network there is always a margin of error. If a keyboard fingerprint reader is not using a secure network then it will be open to attack by someone who may put his or her own digital thumbprint on the system in place of a colleague’s. Biometrics used with an identification PIN is one way to make this type of security system more resilient against attack.
So when will biometrics become commonly used? They are currently in use in new passports and some ID cards. Low cost systems are available on the market using retina scanners and fingerprint readers. The benefits of using biometrics are many, as personal information such as retina patterns and fingerprints cannot be duplicated and we don’t have to remember a PIN number because we always have our retina and fingerprints with us!
There are certain drawbacks to using biometrics one being that the reading systems are quite slow, so if there is a large organisation with many people trying to enter a building at the same time, this can cause a backlog as each face, retina and/or fingerprint is scanned and checked against the main computer system. There is also the problem of reading errors. These can occur when people change their appearance slightly or perhaps have dirty hands. When this happens verification of a different sort has to be provided to allow a person to enter an authorised building, again leading to delays and disruption for that individual. The technology that supports biometrics is improving daily and it is envisaged that these types of errors will be eradicated allowing biometrics to be used in large organisations with many staff and visitors wishing to access a building at the same time.
Biometrics is already used across the world by diverse companies such as Disneyland where biometrics is used to ensure that the same person uses the same card to enter the park each day; large banking institutions, and government departments. It may be coming to a facility near you soon!
For more information contact Ken Graham at Instrom Limited.
