Results Of A Survey
A Biometrics/Security Vendor has just announced results and findings from its security measure gauge, known as the “Unisys Security Index”. This is a study conducted twice a year, and measures people’s attitudes and concern levels with regards to various types of Security issues.
Here are some of the major findings:
*A majority of respondents (Americans) have a very strong distrust for the Federal Government and the Financial Institutions with regards to privacy of personal information and data. For example, only 22% and 29% of the respondents trust the former and latter, respectively;
*65% of the respondents are very concerned about Identity Theft;
*Close to half of the respondents (42%) have serious worries about the Security of the Online/Internet Transactions they conduct;
*Surprisingly, a majority of respondents are willing to use Biometrics as a means of Verification and/or Identification. Specifically, 93% and 79% of the respondents are willing to use Fingerprint Recognition and Iris Recognition, respectively;
*There is division between the concern about the computer and network Security related issues, for example, 40% of respondents are very concerned about these types of threats and risks, whereas a quarter of the respondents were not concerned about these types of issues at all;
*About one third of the respondents have serious concerns and reservations about their own personal safety;
*The level of income amongst the respondents also plays a key role in agreeing to submission of individual Biometric information and data. For example, those respondents with an income level of greater than $75,000 per year are more willing to submit Biometric information and data than those with a smaller income level.
Final Thoughts On Today’s Posting
Overall, this study found that the level for the concern of Security is at a moderate level. As thoughts about the economy seem to be improving (I have serious doubts on this one, but this is not a political blog site), the perception from Security threats and risks posed to the Financial Sector earlier this year are now shifting to a more macro level, such as the overall level of Security in the United States, and another outbreak of the swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus.
I am not surprised with the lack of trust and faith in the Federal Government and the various Financial Institutions with regards to the safeguarding of the private information and data. Also, the increased level of the fear of ID Theft, is no surprise to me either, as the pace of hacking and attacks seem to outstrip the pace of Security professionals just trying to keep with it all.
But what does surprise me is the increased level of the interest in the use of Biometrics. Of particular interest to me is the majority interest in the use of Iris Recognition, which in my opinion, still has issues of Privacy Rights to be overcome yet.
It seems that the lack of Interoperability Standards and a common IT Infrastructure from which to leverage Biometrics to the public is still a huge barrier to entry. For example, “ . . . the widespread use of biometrics in daily transactions with governments, financial or retail institutions . . . Adoption of interoperable identity management systems and an investment in shared infrastructure would hasten widespread use of biometrics . . .” (SOURCE: http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/7444/).
Another finding from this study which really piqued my interest is the correlation between level of income and the willingness to share individual Biometric Information and Data. I have never seen a finding like this one before, and I think it could have significant impacts into the future with regards to the acquisition and adoption of Biometric Technology.
I think much more research needs to be done in this area, especially on the part of the various Biometric Vendors, as this will greatly affect their Research and Development efforts into new Biometric Products and Solutions. Also, this finding is of great importance, especially as money and finances are becoming of paramount importance in today’s economy.
Perhaps a reason for this correlation between income and willingness could be based upon the fact that people with more disposable income and savings have more resources at hand to protect themselves in case they, in the unfortunate instance, become a victim of ID Theft or related Security risk.
Source for this Posting: http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/7444/
Comments