Source: Information AgeBiometric technology is an industry characterised by “disappointment and broken dreams”, according to David McIntosh, the former chairman of the Intellect Association for Biometrics. Even those with a keen interest in promoting it cannot deny that false promises, clunky technology and intrusive approaches have done little for its cause – particularly within the private sector. Where biometric technology has flourished, it has been at the hands of government officials as part of large-scale government-mandated implementations, focusing on areas such as border-control and crime-prevention: passports and visa programmes.
But biometric developments are far from quiet on the corporate security front. One of the UK’s biggest casino groups, for example, is now deploying facial recognition in order to welcome its customers as they step through the door. Likewise, many UK banks are implementing voice recognition to authenticate telephone customers.
Businesses in Saudi Arabia are increasingly using the technology to immediately identify high-value customers. Meanwhile, the use of biometrics at ATMs and point-of-sales is also emerging – particularly in Asia – in order to deliver smoother services while simultaneously ensuring strong security.
And the article continues with news on interesting developments in voice recognition, keystroke recognition, vein recognition and gait analysis. Click here.
http://www.information-age.com/magazine/february-2008/features/304936/biometric-diversity.thtml
Developments in Biometrics will be one of many security technological developments covered in the new Specifying Security Technology Course, 21-25 July 2008. Contact Janet for details.
