Security
by dukebytes
We have a hand scanner on the outside of our data center. You have to punch in a 4 digit number and then place your hand in it to open the door. It works very well and we have tried to out smart it several times with no luck. I think that biometrics will become a lot bigger becuase of the concern with security overall.
Customers allways make the joke about cutting off your hand and getting access that way - but we tell them that it takes a heart beat also - freaks them out a bit - but we are kidding of course. Althought it does bring up good points about Biometric's in general. I would assume that someone could cut off your hand and get in if they had your access number.
It's going to have to get better to be closer to 100% - asI'm sure it will.
Just my 2 cents :)
Duke
Mr. Yarden may be right about the authentication of a person. I agreed with biometrics until 9/11.
Since then, governments (in US and Canada) used this "event" to vote or prepare to vote Big Brother laws.
Citizen will now look as guilty as opposed to innocent two years ago.
However, I disagree with biometrics from now and here is why.
What about the theft of your biometrics files ?
In the old days, when I suspect a problem with a password or userid, I just have to change it. But what happens if somebody cracks a system that uses biometrics and steals the biometrics data files ?
What happens if the governments require that all biometrics files must be given to them ?
Criminal courts may also have a hard time with the proofs when there is a possibility that biometrics files were interchanged. Finger prints may be a better and undeniable proof in case of crime.
Forgive my ordinary english sentences since I am a French Canadian that his identity will be filed by the canadian government for the fol-lowing six years after he takes a plane…
Ciao.
by patrick642
Good posting. Governments, though, do not need to require those biometric files - all they need is a warrant to request a file (or a batch of data files).
Stealing the biometric data just goes back to what has always been the problem of how smart the criminals are and how smart the security staff is. That will always be there, so worrying about the theft may paralyze some firms from not even attemtping to stop access using biometrics.
But raise good points. Security firms will have to ensure some of authentication and non-repudiation - maybe something along the lines of Kerberos and PKI. We have to start somewhere instead of saying, we have to have a perfect system in place now. I continue to wait for the spread of airport scanning and business fingerprint scanning - but, the economy....
by patrick642
Yes, the time has come for it, more than ever. The use of a token and a pin/password, voice pattern recognition, GSR (galvanic skin response), the use of retinal/iris scanners, hand scanning devices, all of these and more are going to come into play- and there is no 'IF' about it.
The problem is the cost (the current economy), performance (speed) and reliability (false negatives/false positives) of various firms' devices. Where I don't have the authority to approve purchase of any biometrics - I am always recommending them. The biometrics route is much better than carrying a simple swipe card to gain access to a facility. And as to what the one guy said 'suppose they cut off your hand'? Having biometrics (something you have) and a pin/password (something you know) is far the better way to go.
by scoid
Criminals aren't well-funded masterminds as the James Bond franchise would have us believe. Most criminals are criminals because they're STUPID and unmotivated, yet want to make a quick buck. Their nature prevents them from making a living by getting an education and the corresponding legitimate job afterwards.
If they believe the potential reward to be great enough, some of these STUPID people WILL try to circumnavigate fingerprint, hand, and retinal scanner security by removing the appropriate body part from the authentic 'holder' and attempting to the scan it, still bloody and dripping if need be. It's already been done in the movies, and we all know that STUPID people re-enact stuff they've seen in movies. (Remember the scene ofthose high school football players lying on the center line of the busy highway for kicks? Seems too many kids were getting squished shortly thereafter. The studio had to cut that scene out of the movie so it wouldn't be sued out of existence.)Is the average employee willing to risk perfectly good body parts to safegurard their employer's data? I certainly hope not! That would make them almost as stupid as the guy who's willing to steal living body parts to gain access to a building.I like the voice print idea. It requires the presence of a living person...
by n2y2
I don't want to take the time to dig it up, but there was a highly publicized method of faking fingerprints published in the last year. It can be done very inexpensively with some circuit etching equipment and some gelatin. And it?s edible too, to remove evidence of the crime. Yum.
If biometrics is going to work, you better not be able to defeat it with cheap stuff you can get at Radio Shack and Wal-Mart.
by gka
Bruce Schneier has a summary of the project in his May 15, 2002 newsletter: http://www.counterpane.com/crypto-gram-0205.html
The research was done by Tsutomu Matsumoto - there are links to some slides, and an email address that you can requesta copy of his paper from.
by inzane
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1991517.stm
Says it can be faked by any semi professional. lets face it where theres a will theres a way.
by greybeardci
by pesk, mbcs, mcse, mcitp, sts
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