Issues in Criminal Justice and Technology-unit 9: biometrics & identification

Uses:

keyless entry, keyless ignition
ATM
reduce chance of unauthorized computer use
customs and border crossing
building entry.
corporate needs such as secure area access, time recording, reducing password helpdesk costs (which can total $150 a year per person)
eliminates need to carry a token or remember a password
regulatory compliance (creates an audit trail for regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, HIPPA)

History

began in China in 14th century or earlier: recorded palm and footprints of children on paper, with ink, to be able to distinguish them.
as we saw in history section, first example in West was Bertillon's system that measured things such as lenghth and width of the body, recorded markings such as tattoos and scars. Was widely used until proven flawed.
Replaced by fingerprinting.

Technology and types of biometrics

Identification vs. Verification:

There are two different ways to resolve a person's identity:

Authentication and identification (Am I whom I claim I am?):
The more common kind of system, involves confirming or denying a person's claimed identity. "Authentication systems are reliable and efficient if the subject base is small and the biometric readers are accurate and durable. Airports, prisons, and companies that need secure access use systems such as these."
identification (Who am I?)
has to establish a person's identity. "Implementing identification systems is more difficult. To be identified by a system, a subject provides biometric data, and the system must find a record based on that data only-which can require a search of the entire database. Performing this search takes a long time and even then will only rarely result in a single-record match."

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