January 3, 2005

Biometrics:Who Do They Say You Are?

Identity proven by a thumbprint, voiceprint, eye-scan, facial features, and palm print are all part of the landscape of new biometric identification technology. There are warnings that if the technology is not well planned prior to implementation it could be more trouble than help to consumers. Some questions to consider: Are the databases that house this information secure from tampering or theft, and if so to what degree? Will the biometric screening process react to slight changes in the physical features that are compared to the stored static information? Will there be alternative means of proving identity in the case of false negatives? These are some of the questions that privacy advocates are asking while merchants are adopting biometric identification at a rapid pace.

Biometrics must balance privacy and security. CNN Online, December 3, 2004