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Your Name

Mr. Sugerman

Info Tech and Its Applications

Date

Biometrics

Biometrics is a unique and effective security technology that authenticates a persons

identity by verifying personal characteristics. Biometric devices grant users access to programs,

systems, or rooms by analyzing some biometric identifier, such as a fingerprint or eye pattern.

Two commonly used types of biometric security devices are fingerprint readers and iris

recognition systems.

A fingerprint reader captures the curves and indentations of a fingerprint. Fingerprint

readers can be set up to perform different functions for different fingers. For example, the index

finger could start a program, and the ring finger could shut down the computer. Fingerprint

readers usually cost less than $100, making it easy for people to use them in personal and

business environments. Newer computer models include internal fingerprint readers for added

security. External fingerprint readers usually are connected to a USB port on the computer

(Parlor 34-35).

Facial recognition is the use of a camera, or sensor to uniquely identify ones face. They in

general are moving away from simply matching a face to a stored face in a database, which was

easy to be fool if a person had grown a beard, or shaved their face. This also gives the ability to

recognize a face without a full view of the face, or a side view. There are still a few things that

could throw off a facial recognition system which include lighting. More in-depth details on

facial recognition system will be discussed later.


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Iris scanners authenticate a user by reading the surface of ones iris. The iris of a person

is considered to be nearly as unique as a fingerprint, with 200 plus points of comparison. They in

general are fairly hard to fool, with an acceptance rate of nearly 1 131,000. Which is a very

good number compared to other biometric devices. The iris scan itself is capable of a false

reading only a few things, which include lighting, and glasses. Retinal scanners are similar to iris

scanners, however they read the layer of the blood vessels behind the eye. They are considered to

be highly effective.

A major improvement over iris scanners is that retinal scanners are capable of

authenticating those who are blind, or those who have lack of pigment in there iris. They are

however, considered less convenient then iris scanners because of their invasive nature. They by

nature of how the device works require the person who is being authenticated to be very close to

the device itself, which scares some people. In general however, they are hard to fool, and have

an error rate of only 1 in 1,000,000, which is exceptional among all biometric devices.

Hand geometry is one of the first types of biometric devices, given its age, advancements

have made comparable in effectiveness to other biometric devices, however there are still causes

for error. These include age, and hand injury, and well as jewelry and Band-Aids. All in all, the

rate of spoofing a hand geometry device is relatively low, and the error rate is 1 in 500, making it

somewhat similar to fingerprint scanners prior to their implementation of blood flow sensors

being imbedded in fingerprint scanners.

A biometric security device used in high security areas is an iris recognition system. Iris

recognition systems read patterns in the iris of the eye. These patterns are as unique as a


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fingerprint. Iris recognition systems are quite expensive and are used by government security

organizations, the military, and financial institutions1that deal with highly sensitive data (Doe).

Biometric technology is a very effective way to keep information secure. Biometric

technology is used in several different ways. Two widely known biometric devices are

fingerprint readers and iris recognition systems. With biometric technology, the world can be

more secure.

Comparing Biometric Devices

1Some organizations use retinal scanners, which work similarly but instead scan patterns ofblood vessels in the back of the retina.

Biometric Accuracy Reliability Error rate Errors

False

Positive

False

Negative

Fingerprint 1 in 500+Dryness, Dirt,

AgeExtremelyDifficult

ExtremelyDifficult

Iris Scan 1 in 131,000 Poor LightingVery

DifficultVery

Difficult

Retinal

Scan

1 in10,000,000

GlassesExtremelyDifficult

ExtremelyDifficult

Facial

Recognition No Data

Lighting,Age, Glasses,

Hair

Difficult Easy

Hand

Geometry 1 in 500

Hand Injury,Age

VeryDifficult

Medium


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WorksCitedDoe, Carolina.Biometric Technology. Dallas: Forrest Works Press, 2012.

Parlor, Alma K. Computer Technology. 22 Mar. 2012.

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