Can Biometric Technology Stop Identity Theft?

Biometric technology and biometrics are terms you'll hear with increasing regularity in the months and years ahead. Biometric technology is used to identify humans based on intrinsic physical characteristics such as fingerprints, retina scans, facial characteristics, voice, and more. The events of 9/11 and the resulting war on terror have put the spotlight on biometric technology with it's possibilities to increase security. But it's not only the government who's developed a keen interest in using biometrics, industry sees biometric technology as a solution to curbing identity thieves, computer hackers, and others crimes.

Credit Cards

Biometrics have not been widely deployed in credit cards, but it's being tested. As a matter of fact, all U.S. passports will soon require an RFID chip containing biographical (name, birthdate, etc.) and biometric (i.e. fingerprints) information. Critics argue that biometric technology is not yet fully tested and is too expensive.

Perhaps that's the reason biometric technology isn't growing as rapidly as expected. A recent survey of 300 business & technology executives revealed that only 9% of those surveyed place a high priority on integrating biometric technology into their business.

Biometric technology appears to offer several advantages over current authentication practices. Biometric characteristics uniquely belong to an individual which makes them resistant to theft and compromise. A fingerprint is unique and more difficult to compromise than a password, especially one assigned to you which be default is at least known by the person who assigned the passwords and may be accessible to anyone with access to the database of passwords.

As biometric technology advances, fingerprint scanners can now detect body heat and blood flow and can scan finger characteristics at a deeper level than the surface layer which makes photos and molds of the fingerprint less likely to fool the authentication system.

But that's not to say challenges don't exist. Biometrics are generally unique but they can change due to something as simple and common as a sore throat. What's the impact of this fact on customers who do business with companies that use voiceprint technology to verify the identity of the party on the other end of a phone conversation?

As promising as biometric technology is, it may not become prominent in society until it overcomes several issues. Researchers in Japan recently demonstrated the ability to fool fingerprint scanners with fake fingers created from materials that are readily available to the general public. As is common at the beginning of any technological cycle, cost is an issue ranging from low end fingerprint scanners to high end eyeball scanners. Cost can prove prohibitive in the decision on whether or not to install biometric devices on every door leading into a building or attached to every computer in a network.