March 14, 2002. Copyright 2002. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

Digital persona could replace passwords and credit cards

LONDON, March 14, Graphic News: Once the stuff of science fiction movies such as ÒGattacaÓ and ÒEnemy of the State,Ó fingerprint and voice recognition, facial imaging, hand geometry, iris-scanning and signature verification systems are increasingly being used to track travellers, check visas and confirm identities.

LondonÕs Heathrow is implementing iris scans, Malaysia has a smart-card passport, Hong Kong plans to introduce a thumb-print ID system next year, and IcelandÕs Keflavik international airport is already using biometric face scans to identify potential hijackers.

Face recognition -- also used by law enforcement agencies in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Germany and the United Kingdom -- captures between 80 and 200 facial descriptors, generated from image analysis algorithms, to compare and display an individualÕs face against a database. 

In America the government is developing a driverÕs licence that can electronically store biometric information -- data identifying individuals through their unique physiological or behavioral characteristics -- for the 184 million Americans who carry the cards. One state, Georgia, already includes a digital thumbprint on its driversÕ licences.

While civil libertarians fear that biometrics is the harbinger of an Orwellian superstate, supporters say the age of the Òdigital personaÓ is predictable after September 11. And the tech industry is gearing up to supply the fast-emerging market. 

In Hungary, for example, border guards have begun using notebook computers with wireless technology from California-based 3Com Corp to link them quickly with nearby computer networks.

The project, which involves HungaryÕs Ministry of Economy, aims to cut the time to process passports and ease the way for free-spending tourists. But HungaryÕs border guards, like many others around the world, may have another goal after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington -- to share data quickly to detect foreigners believed to pose possible security threats.

In the United States, the Department of Defense is funding biometric research at the National Biometric Test Center, San Jose State University. Soon, fingerprint, face and iris scans will replace passwords at the ATM and credit cards at the local grocery store. Already, eight U.S. states -- Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Texas -- are using automated fingerprint identification systems as the weapon of choice against welfare fraud.

Ink-based fingerprinting has been around for more than 100 years, but now there is increasing use of advanced Òtouch-chipÓ fingerprinting. A fingerprint image is acquired using a digital scanner. The scanner bit-maps the fingerprint impression at 500 dots per inch (196 dots per cm) with 256 gray levels per pixel. The digital image of the fingerprint includes several unique features -- ridge bifurcations and ridge endings -- collectively referred to as Òminutia.Ó

These minutiae are located using an automatic feature extraction algorithm. Each feature is commonly represented by three values, its location in two dimensions and the ridge direction at that location. The minutiae data are compared with records in a database. This comparison is expressed as a score. Based on this score, a final decision of match or no-match is made. In a number of countries, 12 to 16 corresponding minutiae -- confirmed by a human expert -- are considered legally binding evidence of identity.

The U.S.-developed EyeTicket JetStream iris recognition system, in use at Heathrow, is considered the highest accuracy, single factor identification method in the world. The process is harmless and takes only a few seconds. There is no contact with the body or with lasers or other potentially harmful light sources. 

More automated iris recognition stations are planned for New York's JFK airport and Washington's Dulles Airport.

Britain, keen to tighten security and reduce illegal immigration, announced on Thursday (March 14) that passports may soon include fingerprints and iris identity scans.

ÒWeÕre always looking at ways to make the UK passport more secure,Ó a Home Office spokeswoman said. ÒThe idea is to supplement standard photographs with other biometrics that could be stored on a smart card.Ó 
/ENDS

Sources: FBI, IBM, Speech Technology Magazine, eCryp, Videx, Digital Persona. Home Office (London)