Biometrics Security News and Information

The Importance Of Data Management

Data Is The Key

As many of you know or might not know, I also work during the day time as a content writer.  I write on all sorts of stuff, ranging from IT topics the cloud, virtualization, VoIP, security, networking, to even further flung subjects such as hydraulic hoses, belt drive design, to GPS tracking.  But in all of this writing, there is one key area which is crucial-the data that drives this stuff, and how the businesses that own this content manage this data.  Really, data management is  very crucial to any business/organization, no matter how large or how small.  After all, you need sales reps to get you customers and revenues, and they need this data so they can find those sales prospects. 

Even in the Biometrics Industry, data and data management is also critical.  The outsider does not see this, but to us on the inside, it is very important.  But in our field, our data is unique-in that it is not just all about numbers, but it is about the biometric templates and the mathematical algorithms which support them. 

So, as you can guess today’s topic, here we go:  “Neurotechnology, a provider of high-precision biometric identification technologies, today announced the release of MegaMatcher Accelerator 4.0, the latest update of the company's multi-biometric software and hardware solution for high-volume, high-speed fingerprint and iris identification. MegaMatcher Accelerator 4.0 includes a larger database capacity, enhanced fault tolerance and a new matching algorithm that provides even greater accuracy, with extremely fast matching speeds of up to 100 million fingerprints per second – with a tolerance of 360 degrees of fingerprint rotation – and up to 200 million irises per second. Even at these high speeds, MegaMatcher Accelerator performs a full database search for each match (unlike systems that use internal database indexing or pre-classification); this eliminates potential false rejections from incorrect classifications and gives MegaMatcher Accelerator a very high degree of reliability . . . MegaMatcher Accelerator 4.0 provides fast, accurate multi-biometric identification using both fingerprint and iris modes together, or either mode can be used as a primary form of identification. MegaMatcher Accelerator also can check identification results with other biometric data from any Neurotechnology-supported modality, including face, palmprint or voice identification. It can manage a database of up to 40 million fingerprints and 50 million irises with the Extended version and up to 4 million fingerprints and 5 million irises with the Standard version. For even higher volume applications, multiple MegaMatcher Accelerators can be connected in a cluster to manage databases with billions of records.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9346/). 

My Take

Now, one thing I want to make clear, I am not trying to make a sales push to any of my readers on this.  Rather, these statistics exemplify (as can be seen in the above quote) just how crucial biometric template management really is.  Just as much as the hardware is important, so are the databases and the data which resides in them.  It all comes down to how quickly one can be verified and/or identified in just a short period of time.  It can be likened to waiting in the grocery shopping line.  We never want to wait for a long time, and we don’t want to wait for a long time to be verified.  Now of course, it all depends upon the application we are talking about. 

If we are simply talking about a basic SSO solution, then maybe we will have some patience (I mean no longer than 5 seconds, but this would be considered extremely slow).  Now, if the application gets upgraded to like an office setting or warehouse for Time and Attendance and Physical Access entry, we want to be verified as quickly ASAP.  And here I am talking like 2-3 seconds.  But, if we are now talking about something extremely gargantuan like a national database such as AFIS, we need verification/identification in just one second or less.  And as you can see again from the above quote, we are talking of about literally hundreds and hundreds (even thousands and millions) of biometric templates which need to be matched at virtually light speed.  And then of course, the metrics then come into play (specifically the FAR, FRR, ATV, and the ERR). 

Now, let me point out that in these scenarios I have just described, I am just talking about one type of biometric technology being used.  All of this stuff becomes even more needed when we are talking about multimodal biometric solutions-when fingerprint/iris/vein pattern recognition are used.  There can be no hiccups in the data connections, or any type of lag time in the processing of the biometric templates. 

In the industry, this is known as flushing:  “ . . . a specific procedure that periodically pauses the processing of identification requests to optimize internal data structures.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9346/). And even further examples of data management in Biometrics include hardware compatibility, parallel processing, data synchronization, and the list goes on.  As mentioned previously, the first image conjured up when thinking about Biometrics is a big lunky device, and Big Brother watching.  But there is much more to that obviously, and hopefully with this posting, all of you out there can get a better insight as to just how important data and data management is to our industry. 

We all keep talking about standards and best practices for the actual technology itself, but it is also equally important, if not more for the biometrics templates, the supporting algorithms, and how they are all managed.

To The Republican Candidates: A Real World Solution

Our Borders

Well, how many of you are watching the Republican Presidential debates with full attention???  As for me, I am not.  And to be honest, I really don’t care.  In my extremely pessimistic view, whoever gets the Presidential nod, the United States is still doomed.  We have a long, long way to go until all of this financial debt mess is taken care of. 

And today, the European Union just announced their 2^nd bailout package to Greece.  Once this is done, people will be clamoring about the 3^rd bailout package for them.  When this happens, we will see the financial markets swing wildly once again.  To me, these debates we have today, are just a 3 ring circus.  We keep hearing about a “9-9-9” economic plan, and the candidates bashing each other, especially Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. 

But, over the past weekend, I was reading an interview Rick Perry did.  Whether you love him or hate him, he did have this one thing right:  The debates are in no way a platform in which a candidate can air their views and plans.  I will give him credit for that at least.  But one thing you don’t hear too much about is the immigration issue, and border control.  I thought for sure that would be a hot button topic, but I guess not.  But in the world of Biometrics, it is very much a fire hot topic. 

So, here we go:  “Morpho (Safran group) announced today that it has signed a five year agreement with the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service to maintain their automated border clearance system, known as “SmartGate”. This important phase strengthens the long term partnership between the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and Morpho. This partnership is focused on automation of border clearance processing and is representative of Morpho’s increased focus on service based solutions . . . SmartGate carries out biometric identification of eligible ePassport holders. Travellers are identified in real-time using facial recognition technology, and that image is then compared to the digital image stored in the chip of their electronic passport. The system has been recognised as a key tool for Australian Customs and Border Protection Service as it not only simplifies the control process but it does so without compromising border security.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9345/). 

My Take

Really, there is nothing new to using Biometrics for Border Protection, and curtailing the threat of illegal immigration.  But, this particular piece caught my eye for a few reasons.  First, one would think that Australia would not have as much of a problem with border control, and illegal immigrants.  I mean heck, it is a huge piece of real estate surrounded by water.  It’s not like the US-Mexican border.  But, people can still some how come in illegally, so this is what it is for.  Second, this scheme is actually a cousin of a Biometrics solution I wrote about before, just last week, by the same Biometrics Vendor. 

This solution as described here also is an e-Passport type of thing, but from what I understand, this only uses Facial Recognition. Most other e-Passport technologies rely upon other means of Biometrics, which include fingerprint/iris/vein pattern recognition.  To be honest, this is the first time I have seen an e-Passport scheme which just uses one Biometric Technology, and one, in my view, still has to prove itself a little bit, given its privacy rights and civil liberties issues.  So, we’ll see how it turns out.  Third, here see countries (and a continent for that matter) taking their own Border Control issues seriously, and implementing solutions rather easily and painlessly.  How come we can’t do it here in the United States, especially with our own border to the south (and just mentioned). 

I mean, we are still technically a world technology leader (though some may question that), including Biometrics.  So how come we can’t achieve the same level of success that Australia and the other European nations (and Asia) they have???  Truly, it makes no sense to me.  But for that matter, neither is this economic mess we are in.  But, if the Republican candidates want something else to bash and debate about, and offer some real solutions, perhaps they should talk about our border to the south, and because of that, how jobs are being taken away from us. Then they should mention about solutions, especially the use of Biometrics. 

Hmm, something that makes sense here:  A real world solution to a real world problem.  Boy, that would for sure stifle the mind of any politician or Presidential hopeful.

The New Face Of Marketing

It’s Not Just About Numbers

When one thinks of market research, the image of a “nerd”, with rimmed glasses, pouring over spreadsheets and high level statistical models often come into mind.  Heck, back in my college days, there was a time I wanted to be in market research.  In fact, even to this day, I still very much enjoy conducting research, as I have to scour the internet daily to find good stories on Biometrics to write upon (granted it is not number crunching though).  But, the days of old school, number grinding, bare knuckles approach of conducting research may soon be gone.  Just think about it for a minute. If you think about long and hard enough, you could come to realize that a bulk of market research conducted is to gauge as to how a potential customer will react to a certain product, service, or even an advertisement.  In other words, suppose you have just created Product “X”.  

Before launching it, you want to make sure that you’re marketing strategies and tactics will prove to be fruitful, and yield some sort of positive ROI (I know I don’t sound too optimistic on this point, because advertising usually does not give a high ROI-a response rate in the single digits is good, and low teens is awesome).  What better way than to this then actually conduct a test launch, in a controlled setting, and see how a sampling of people actually react to it.  So, how do you do it??? 

Here is a very possible answer:  “The essential part of marketing is research and testing, which is applied to almost every stage of the product cycle. Psychology tells us that emotions play an important role in how we make decisions. Yet much emotional processing occurs below our level of consciousness. So there are limits to what can be measured in a survey about emotions. By the same token, if we can reach deeper to understand these emotions, it will provide even greater insight into what makes great marketing and great advertising. To achieve this promise, Ipsos has partnered with Boston-based Innerscope Research. Innerscope uses biometrics to understand the full scope of emotional reaction. Biometrics is a fascinating field that measures and analyzes our biological reactions (heart rate, skin conductance, respiration, movement) to decipher the emotional response to any stimulus.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9340/). 

My Take

Of course, if you have been an avid follower of my blog site, you will soon realize that I have written a few postings about the use of Biometrics in this type of market research.  But point be known, the term Biometrics here used in this type of content does not refer to the traditional stuff like hand geometry scanning, fingerprint recognition, vein pattern recognition, etc.  Rather, it refers to the use of such physiological features as the amount perspiration, eye movements, heartbeat, brain wave patterns, etc.  So although, in my view, this is taking the definition of Biometrics a little bit to the stretch, it is still Biometrics indeed, because it is still our unique, physical characteristics being probed and examined. 

Or if you prefer, you can look at Biometrics in a different angle, with this approach.  Really, either way works.  But the point that I am trying to make is that as you peruse through the above quote, just realize that the days of conducting market research the old fashioned way of sitting in an office and not having human contact are now over.  In today’s world and times, especially given the advent of all things Social Media, conducting any type of market research means you have to actually do it in real time, with real humans.  Take for example, viral marketing.  In an instant, your product or service could circulate around the web, and around the world, within just seconds. 

And if there is any mistake in your marketing strategy, your company’s image and brand could very well be doomed. Now I am not saying mistakes are not going to happen, but by conducting market research in test pilot phase with a sampling of some real people could greatly help mitigate some of these risks. 

Face it, and believe it or not, social media and the internet has changed the face of marketing.  And with this all, Biometrics will be there to ensure that you, as the business owner, deliver the very best you can to your customers and markets.

A Development In Multimodal Security

Multimodal Biometrics In The News

Given today’s tight economic times, it is always the IT budgets in businesses and organizations to get slashed first. I guess to a certain this can make some sense, I mean after all, if something is working, and is adequate to meet the needs of the employees to do their jobs, why upgrade???  Really, it can be viewed just as a capital expenditure.  Unfortunately though, very often, security budgets which are used to protect corporate assets are also thrown into this IT budget, and fundings for it too, get slashed. 

But the thing with security, is that you cannot rely upon legacy systems any more to protect your place of business any more.  Like the cat and mouse game I have talked about before, you have to stay ahead so that the hackers and the attackers can’t get to you.  Believe it or not, there are people out there who make it their full time mission to just hack and crack.  Fortunately though, Biometrics is not one of those technologies which age over time too quickly.  Even the hand geometry scanner developed two decades ago is still being used as a very rugged and protective device.  But probably the reason for this is that Biometrics is still not widely used here in the United States. 

And, when talking about security, one of the cardinal rules is to never rely on just one means of security-always have multiple layers of it.  In the world of Biometrics, this is known as a “multimodal biometric solution”-for instance, you have a fingerprint scanner coupled with the use of an iris scanner for double the protection.  In fact, multimodal solutions is a prime choice for SME owners-they can now afford multiple security for virtually the cost of one gigantic biometric implantation.  In today’s posting, I am pleased to introduce M2SYS, LLC who is a leader in the field of multimodal biometric solutions. 

In fact, just recently, they received an award for one of their cutting edge solutions.  You can see the details of this below, and even download the full press release at the link provided at the bottom of this posting.  So, here we go:

Frost and Sullivan announced that M2SYS Technology has received Frost and Sullivan’s  2011 North American New Product Innovation Award for Hybrid Biometric Platform™ - the first scalable, multi-modal biometrics system that supports fingerprint, finger vein, palm vein, and iris recognition from a single server.  Software developers can integrate into Hybrid Biometric Platform™ once and immediately utilize any of these biometric modalities to ensure that customers are not locked into a single biometric technology or device that may not work reliably for their end users.

Frost and Sullivan recognized M2SYS and their Hybrid Biometric Platform™ multi-modal biometrics system for the award through careful evaluation against the following key benchmarks:

*Product Innovation

*Leverage of Leading Edge Technologies

*Value Added Features and Benefits

*Ability to Increase Customer ROI

*Potential for Customer Acquisition and Market Penetration Potential 

M2SYS developed Hybrid Biometric Platform™ to ensure near 100% read rates under any condition, neutralizing the limitations of biometric systems that only support a single modality, such as fingerprint recognition.  Having a single, multi-modal biometric system ensures that customers can easily utilize the form of biometric technology that best meets their needs, without having to undergo extensive development or support.

You can download the entire press release here:

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/frostsullivan/52531/

 

How To Get Through Airports In Europe Quicker

Holiday Travel Revisited

OK, my posting from last week really got me thinking about the holiday season.  Although personally I am not much of a fan of it myself (both of my parents died around this time, a long time ago), I do have to admit, I am looking forward to it this year.  Minus, of course, the cold and snow.  Hmm, maybe in Christmas in July sounds pretty good after all.  Well, anyways, as I was crawling around the web today for things to write about, I came across a news article, which provides to a certain degree, and also sheds some new light, into the status of e-Passports in Europe. 

The connection here?  Holiday season=heavy travel=quick and speedy travel times.  In other words, with the upcoming holiday season coming up, there is some serious effort now on the European Continent to make travel there quick and painless, and make people happy.  This particular project is called “BioP@ss”, and here are the details of it:  “The BioP@ss project, funded through the EUREKA micro-electronics cluster MEDEA+, has developed advanced chip cards and embedded software for next-generation biometrics-enhanced passports and identity cards as well as access to pan-European public services. Contactless card scanning and very high speed data interfacing will reduce queues at airports and frontier posts while boosting European security. The technology will improve passengers safety while reducing government administration costs and simplifying access to public pan-European electronic services for citizens. The elements are already being incorporated in systems to meet air travel security standards from 2014.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111014104409.htm).  

My Take 

OK, yea, the e-Passport is something I have written about countless times before, and is going to be prime editorial in an upcoming editorial in one of my famous Biometrics journal (shameless PR here for me).  But, as I perused through this article, there is something that really piqued my interest.  Rather than trying to implement new technology to make things go faster, the Europeans are trying (or have found) to discover ways to upgrade their existing ID card infrastructure compatible to the e-Passport scheme in place. 

What I am trying to get at it is, yes, new technology to a certain degree will have to be introduced, but any existing infrastructure will not have to ripped apart, and started over again.  In other words, the effort here is to upgrade what is already in place (and since technology in the Biometrics world advances very quickly, existing technology could be considered legacy standards). 

OK, here is a very good summary of all this:  “Some 380 million identity cards are in circulation in the EU's 500 million population. However, security levels must be raised for electronic e-ID cards and passports while also simplifying access to electronic public services for citizens across Europe. The challenge facing the digital security industry was to meet new standards without changing the infrastructure already in use in airports. It was also necessary to speed card reading to cut waiting times and enable access to much more data.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111014104409.htm). 

OK, so how will all of this be done???  Well, there are lot of technicalities involved here, but the long and short is that another Biometrics Vendor, known as “Gemalto” is relying heavily upon the theories and principles which are involved in Cryptography, especially the emerging field known as “Bio-Cryptography”.  The constructs are going to use Public Key Infrastructure (also known as PKI), with a prime focus on the use of shared keys and asymmetric cryptography.  It may sound extremely complicated, but believe, me it is not.  And to make things even more confusing (some humor here), the principles of encryption are being used, in order to mask the communications between and the information/data which is stored on the smart card chip, and the reader which is capturing this deciphering and capturing it (the way things work now, the passenger or traveler merely flashes their card or e-Passport right underneath the reader) this particular data.  

This particular Biometrics Vendor is also partnering up with 11 different vendors and consultants in order to make sure that this all is integrated seamlessly and smoothly, so that people traveling through the European Continent this holiday season can get through quickly and smoothly and be with their loved ones.  Ultimately, it is hoped that the results of this project can be extrapolated to other public sector applications, for example, “While the initial focus was on e-passports and e-ID cards, applications were also envisaged for health-service access, electronic voting and driving licences.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111014104409.htm). 

Hopefully we can take what has been learned here and use it in the United States, into our own existing infrastructures, without having to waste more money on scrapping legacy systems and rebuilding them.  This for sure will be good news in these deficit ridden times.

How Fast 2011 Is Going By

The Upcoming Holidays

Well, on a personal note, as I look back on this year, I take stock on a number of things that have happened to me personally.  The best thing that has ever happened has been being with Anita, and being engaged, and finally getting married in July of 2012.  True other things have happened, such as gaining new skills on my job as a copywriter, continuing with even more content on this blog site, networking with contacts for BiometricNews.net, gaining more experience into the Biometrics Industry, and who can forget about the advancements I have been making in the martial arts. 

But probably the one thing that strikes me the most is just how fast the year has gone.  As a marker in time, I still remember fully well the days leading up to the blizzard of 2011, and its aftermath.  It seems like summer just flashed by with a snap of the fingers.  It is truly amazing just how fast time flies, and this year has been the fastest it has ever flown for me.  But, with the year coming soon to an end, there is one thing on people’s minds, and that is the upcoming holiday season.  For most of us, although time will be rejoiced with family and friends, we will be cutting back on spending in order to save during these turbulent economic times.  In fact, this time of the year is when people travel most-especially before and just right after Thanksgiving. 

But even then, people will also cut back on this, as it can be viewed as an expense.  But for those of us that do travel, especially by air, getting in and out of the airport quickly and smoothly will be the one thing we will cherish most.  To the traveler, there is nothing more frustrating when they have to wait in long lines going through security when they want to see their loved ones as quickly possible.  Or worst yet, being stranded at the airport because of late or cancelled flights.  Well, there could be very well a solution to all of this, and that is of course Biometrics. 

A Biometrics known as “Morpho” (and of the largest ones to) has just announced a new solution, and here are the details:  “Morpho (Safran group), the world leader in biometric technology, will be launching the new design of MorphoWay  its automated border control solution . . . The MorphoWay automated e-gates have been redesigned in a modern, transparent, low footprint format to meet the space constraints of border environments. With the fastest doors on the market, these e-gates have integrated document readers that carry out quick, reliable authenticity checks . . . Based on Morpho’s advanced biometric recognition technologies (fingerprint and face), MorphoWay™ speeds up passenger screening, reduces queuing time at borders, whilst guaranteeing optimum security.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9334/).

My Take

Of course, there is nothing new about using Biometrics in order to speed up the lines of immigration and customs at the major international airports.  Heck, Biometrics in this regard even have been in use since the mid 90’s. But what I found unique about this solution is that it is all encompassing-in other words, a completely automated border control app, using primarily fingerprint recognition and facial recognition.  It is intended to speed people through long lines with a simple swipe of the finger, or a quick scan of the face.  Or, the two can be combined into a multimodal solution. 

As mentioned about the holidays coming, I think personally this would be great to use at all of the major international airports, especially our backyard airport-O’Hare International, which has its notorious fame because of its intrusive body scanning technology.  Heck, in why not extrapolate this to the US Mexican border???  Maybe that might help solve some of the illegal immigration issues-in fact it could be a good political ploy in the upcoming elections year.  But again, all of this technology goes back to the question-What if it all breaks down??? 

Remember, Biometric is just as prone to failure as anything else.  If we expect to use just this technology 100% of the time, the Biometrics Industry will for sure be staking of a lot of its reputation on it.  Take the example of O’Hare once again.  If there is a long line of passengers waiting in line to get to their turkey, and if this system fails, Biometrics and the industry will get nothing but a bad rap (and an even greater one), like it has before.  So again, we need a balance of both:  Technology and humans.

Our Voice Being Used In The War On Terrorism

Our Voice

Well, as I review some of the Postings of this blog site (and can you believe it, we will soon be approaching the magical number of 800 pretty soon???!!!) there is a Biometric I have not talked about in a while.  It is one of those what I call the “silent type”, meaning its making its mark in the industry and in applications without too much fanfare in the press and media.  That is known as Voice Recognition, and for once in quite some time, it is making waves in the headlines. 

Here we go:  “Voci Technologies Inc. today announced that it has been selected by the Office of Naval Research to begin the research and development for an advanced speaker identification (SID) system. The US and other governments look for clues in conversations as they attempt to thwart acts of fraud or terrorism, and the massive amount of unlabeled speech presents a significant challenge to this effort . . . The accelerated processing speeds of the Voci speech recognition appliances will allow clustering, tracking and analysis of speech on a speaker-by-speaker basis within huge databases of recorded audio. Once the clustering is done, live conversations can be correlated in real time with the categorized and sorted voice files. Voci’s proprietary automated speaker clustering system technology will associate individual speakers to audio without requiring speaker registration. Targeted applications include identifying individuals based on voice for national security and business intelligence applications . . . Voci’s advanced SID system uses techniques based on acoustic tags that are uniquely associated with every speaker, similar to other biometric identifiers such as fingerprint and iris recognition. It enables the tagging of each speaker in a large database of conversations without the speaker having to initiate a connection between their name and their voice.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9328/).

My Take

This announcement caught my attention for a number of reasons.  First, it comes to of no surprise that the Federal Government is awarding this contract, obviously.  But it totally surprised me that they are awarding it for a Voice Biometrics application.  Most of the stuff I have written about has been about the awarding of live scan/Fingerprint and Iris Recognition/Vein Pattern Recognition kinds of apps.  So, it is refreshing to see such a huge contract being awarded for a Behavioral Biometric. 

Second, most applications dealing with Voice Biometrics are that on a commercial scale.  Meaning, private sector apps such as financial trading institutions, brokerage firms, and even call centers, where there are a large number of calls being placed in and out of, and people have to verified within just a matter of seconds (or if not, tempers will flare).  This is the first time I have seen Voice Biometrics being used in the protection and defense of our homeland.  For example, as you can see in the above quote, it will be used primarily for large scale fraud, money laundering, counterfeiting, crime detection, etc. 

Third, from my limited experience with Voice Recognition, a subject is asked to recite a few short phrases in order to create the appropriate Biometric Templates, via statistical modeling.  So, in just a matter of minutes, all is done.  But from what I understand here, this Voice Biometrics solution will take much longer voice and audio recordings in order to create the Biometric Templates.  And on top of that, the associated technology seems to be more sophisticated, such as the use of “acoustic tags” so it can be stored and used in massive databases (perhaps even along the scale of AFIS databases).  But, this only makes sense, after all, if you are dealing with terrorists and trying to apprehend them, you need to have all of the evidence you can garner, so testimony will be upheld in a court of law. 

But this Biometrics solution will also have its fair share in the commercial sector as well, such as business intelligence and CRM applications.  As the War on Terrorism is supposed to be a covert and suttle one, it has been far from that, with huge military and political miscalculations from the previous administration.  Now, with the emergence of Voice Recognition on the battlefield, perhaps a relatively known Biometric Technology can make this war a much more silent one, with positive results. 

A New Whitepaper: The Perceptions of Biometrics In The United States

A Joint Effort

In today’s posting, I bring you some pretty exciting news.  Over the course of the past year, John Trader of M2SYS, LLC, and I, have collaborated on a white paper which examines the perception of Biometrics here in the United States.  As I have written about before on many occasions, the United States lags heavily behind the rest of the world when it comes to the  usage and implementation of Biometrics.  This white paper provides specific reasons why this is the situation.  Here is a synopsis:

“In a world driven by individuality, your identity is what sustains you as a unique being on this planet. Increasingly, personal identification is playing a major role in the products and services we consume globally. Many countries across the world are turning to biometric technology as a means of proving the true identity of an individual. Whether it be in banking, social services, border security, passports, voting registration, academics, workforce management, healthcare, access control or a host of other vertical markets and services, these countries have been quick to embrace the benefits that biometrics offers and its ability to prove the identity of an individual beyond a shadow of a doubt. Despite the advantages that biometric technology offers, why has the adoption rate been so slow here in the U.S.? What are some of the factors that cause our society to be skeptical about using biometrics for personal identity? This White paper examines some of the issues and societal ideologies that hamper the growth of biometrics as a viable identification technology in the United States.”

You can download this white paper at:

The website of M2SYS: 

http://www.m2sys.com/pdf/The-Perception-Of-Biometrics-In-The-United-States-092311.pdf

The website of BiometricNews.net: 

http://www.biometricnews.net/Publications/The_Perception_Of_Biometrics_In_The_United_States.pdf

The Finger Is Extremely Resilient

A New Way To Capture Fingerprints

In the world of Biometrics, and for as long as I have been writing about it, Fingerprint Recognition has always been the predominant technology.  Of course, some may beg to differ that Hand Geometry Recognition is the big player here. But in my biased view, I prefer the former.  Fingerprint Recognition, in today’s times, is being known for two things:  1)  Extreme minitarization; and 2) Technological advancements (when compared to the others). 

So, it is with point #2 in mind, I bring you the following: “Integrated Biometrics, a South Carolina based innovator in the biometric fingerprint sensor market announced today that they have launched a new FBI certified, two-finger scanner for mobile applications. Named Watson, the device has been tested by The MITRE Corporation and was recently approved for the FBI's IAFIS Appendix F Certified Product List. Watson is the world's first non-optical scanner to achieve this level of certification . . . Weighing in at less than a 1/4 lb. and only 70 mm X 63 mm X 32 mm in size, Watson is the smallest and lightest weight Appendix F, FBI certified, two-finger scanner in the world. Watson's unique performance enables it to serve as an enrollment and/or verification sensor for single or multiple finger applications . . . Watson utilizes Integrated Biometrics' patented LES technology. LES technology uses a highly engineered polymer film that will only read a live fingerprint and works well with dirty fingers. Integrated Biometrics produces the Watson in both an embedded version and a standalone version and includes a complete SDK.”  (SOURCE: http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9321/). 

My Take

To be honest, when I first read this Press Release, I did not think too much of it.  But after reading it through a couple more times, it really caught my eye and attention.  First, I have never heard of this Biometrics Vendor up until today.  From what it sounds like, it seems like that they are on the cutting edge of technology. 

Second, this Biometrics solution, has passed some pretty rigorous testing standards by the FBI.  From what I have researched about, the so called Appendix F Certification is the most stringent for live scan Biometrics. 

Third, the world of minitarization continues ever more for Fingerprint Recognition.  For example, as you can see from the above quote, it is extremely small, coming in at ¼ of a pound!!!  That is probably the lightest weight I have ever heard about.  Can another Biometrics Vendor break this record???  Well, let us stay tuned on that front.  Let’s try for 1/10^th of a pound?!?!?!  This would of course have great market ramifications in the world of Wireless and Smartphones. 

Fourth, is the one that caught my eye the most.  And that is, this Biometrics solution does not use an optical scanner.  Why is this is so important?  It is important because probably 99% of the Fingerprint Biometrics in the world today use some sort of optical scanning to capture an image of the fingerprint.  The other scanning methods include ultrasound and infrared imaging (this is used primarily for Vein Pattern Recognition). The solution detailed in this posting uses what is known as “LES Technology”.  Although I am not privy to all of the technical details of it, apparently, it uses a polymer film to capture a live scan of the fingerprint (it can also support multiple scans, up to two fingerprints at a time). 

Given the breakthrough in this technology, it can even capture images from the dirtiest of fingerprints.  Another notable feature:  This Biometrics solution can also be used in direct sunlight, and can still collect quality fingerprint images (and on top of that, even the scanner does not to be cleaned, supposedly).  There is this old adage in the IT industry (yes, even Security), that legacy systems will soon die.  While this could hold true for some of the Biometric Technologies (especially Hand Geometry Recognition), my prediction is that this will not be the case for Fingerprint Recognition. 

Given the advancements it makes, and especially given this one, this is a Biometrics solution which will be around for a long, long, long time.  But will I live to see one day become a legacy technology?  Probably not.  That is just how powerful and dynamic it is.

My Homeland Called India

An Update

As many of you know, India is home to what is deemed as the world’s largest Biometric project.  Meaning, the population of some 1.3 + Billion people are going to be registered with either an Iris, Facial, or Fingerprint Recognition system.  How on earth all this will happen beats me.  But oh well.  Today, a Biometrics just announced that it has been certified by the Indian government to go ahead and start providing its Biometric solutions and products to this project. 

The details:  “Cross Match Technologies, Inc., a leading global provider of biometric identity solutions, announced today that it has been certified as one of the first suppliers of biometric devices for India’s unique identification (UID) program. This milestone signifies that the company has successfully completed a rigorous two-step certification process and has received the Certificate of Approval from the Indian Government to continue to supply the program . . . Cross Match received the Certificate of Approval for its rugged and dependable Guardian fingerprint capture device and the I SCAN dual iris capture device on October 7, 2011. Both systems utilize Cross Match’s patented Auto Capture feature, which quickly captures high-quality images with minimal operator involvement.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9314/). 

The Bottom Line

This is obviously good news to the Biometrics Vendor, as they are amongst one of the first suppliers to be approved. Meaning, they can now stake their claim onto this lucrative market.  There are other Biometrics Vendors involved with this, I can’t remember each and every one of them.  The Biometrics Technologies which will be employed in this regard include both Fingerprint Recognition and Iris Recognition.  It just won’t be for what I term “delicate usage” (such as an SSO), but rather the needs are much more rugged, as Indian Government officials will have to travel  to some of the remotest, rugged, and desolate places on earth in order to count each and every citizen. 

In other words, it appears that live scan methodologies are being used.  The use of these two technologies come to of no surprise to me, as even in Afghanistan, these two are also used quite heavily to lend out food aid and other critical items to the people living there.  This Biometrics solution being offered by this Vendor was strictly measured across a number of key criterion, which include:

*Ease of use and ergonomics;

*Biometric template image quality;

*Interoperability;

*Performance;

*Safety/security

Since I am of Indian origin, I have been to India a number of times in the past, most recently back in 2001.  Believe me, life there is not easy, and in order to succeed, you either have to a solid education or a lot of money.  There are a lot of poor people living out there, and probably the one place that comes to mind are the slums around Mumbai airport.  I just don’t know how each and every person will be counted there, as many of them migrate around in search of better times and opportunities. 

Heck, according to the Press Release, there just some 600+ Million people living in desolation in India. That is almost half of the entire Indian population, and more than  more than twice of the entire American population.  Personally, to me, just trying to get that amount of people to register in all of these Biometric systems will be a feat in itself (this Biometrics Vendor alone has captured some 20,000+ fingerprint and iris templates).  One has to start thinking where these people are actually even living.  To use a crude example, it is like trying to find mice in their holes, as they scurry around.  But knowing the Indian people, they will succeed in this gargantuan project. 

And I will provide updates along the way till the project comes to completion.  After all, although I am a US citizen, I still consider India very much to be home, and I am very proud of my heritage and culture there.