The coming of age of biometrics; by Cyrille Bataller, Partner, Accenture Technology Labs.
Increasing globalisation, terrorist threats and online fraud are prompting governments and businesses to search for more intelligent identity solutions and a more strategic use of biometrics technology.
Biometrics help strengthen identity systems by adding in physical or behavioural characteristics, such as fingerprints, facial structure, iris structure, signature, keystroke, gait, among others. As such, biometrics are increasingly seen to complement rather than compete with other security technologies, such as smartcards and passwords. Higher security can be achieved by combining multiple factors: something you have (a smartcard or token), something you know (password, PIN), and something you are (biometrics).
The shift
With mandates to implement enhanced identity authentication for civil identification, biometrics technologies have increasingly moved from niche, criminal justice applications into mainstream civil applications. During this time, perceptions of biometrics as a security technology have also shifted. It is now considered to be an automation technology, enabling automatic identity verification, providing value to virtually every industry. As a result, biometrics are poised to become a convenience technology – with the potential to provide better, speedier service for users.
Currently, the main traction for biometrics comes from regulated travel programs; e-passports, border control (entry/exit, registered traveller) and to a lesser extent, national ID cards as a result of added pressure from growing levels of illegal immigration and terrorism.
We are, however also seeing increasingly what the European Commission calls the "diffusion effect" of biometrics, where it is now being used in the private sector as well, ranging from banking, to healthcare, to day care parental access, to combat identity theft and enhance privacy.
New solutions
Technology developments and scientific progress are paving the way for new solutions that can be used with biometrics to ensure that identity can be verified quickly and thoroughly. Beyond more established technologies such as fingerprints, face recognition, and iris, some of the latest technologies to enter the marketplace include vascular and voice recognition technologies.
For instance, palm vein technology has been deployed in the commercial banking sector in Japan on ATMs. Internally, fingerprint access used with a password provides secure access to office desktops. Externally, palm vein technology, used in conjunction with a bank card, provides extra security for customers accessing their accounts. These enhanced levels of security increase levels of customer confidence in the bank’s abilities to protect their customers’ privacy and security.
Voice is also a technology poised for growth, given the abundance of phones that can be used for authentication. For instance, as a background identity verification technology in a call centre, or for providing a one-time password in order to access a specific web site.
Future uses
New traction for biometrics will come from the banking sector to combat identity fraud, for access control and time management in enterprises, and for large scale event management projects, particularly sporting events such as the Olympic Games or football events may see a rise in biometrics integrated into an e-ticketing process.
The increased use of biometrics technologies by governments, and now by businesses as valid means of identity authentication looks set to continue. Interest in biometrics will continue to expand over the next four to five years as the technology becomes more pervasive.
