BIOMETRICS, IS IT A VIABLE PROPOSITION FOR IDENTITY AUTHENTICATION AND ACCESS-CONTROL

In modern society, where a welfare recipient signs up for benefits under six identities, a child is released to a stranger from a day care centre, a hacker accesses sensitive databases,and a counterfeiter makes copies of bank cards, a trustworthy means of identifying employees or customers is urgently in demand. Biometrics is emerging as the most foolproof method of automated personal identification in today's highly computer dependent world. Biometric systems are automated methods of verifying or recognizing the identity of a living person on the basis of some physiological characteristics or some behavioural aspects. No one biometric system is likely to dominate the marketplace since all have limitations that compromise possible system solutions. The trade-offs in developing such systems involve hardware cost, reliability, discomfort in using a device, the amount of data needed, and other factors. This article looks at different types of biometrics systems and discusses in detail the various security implications associated with their application.