Introduction
Biometrics is the automated use of physiological or behavioral characteristics to determine or verify an identity. All biometric identifier scan be divided into two big groups:
1) Physiological : Finger-scan, facial-scan, iris-scan, hand-scan, and retina-scan are considered physiological biometrics, based on direct measurements of a part of the human body.
2) Behavior : Voice-scan and signature-scan are considered behavioral biometrics; they are based on measurements and data derived from an action and therefore indirectly measure characteristics of the human body.
The physiological/behavioral classification is a useful way to view the types of biometric technologies, because certain performance- and privacy-related factors often differ between the two types of biometrics.
Most popular biometric technology is the finger print biometric systems
Advantages of a Biometric Security Systems
1. The Biometric Security Systems are very reliable due to the uniqueness of features used in the process of authentication.
2. The Biometric Security Systems are hardly misused due to the biometric protection.
3. The individual biometric systems can be connected together in a multilevel authentication system which further increase the security of the whole system. Should one of them fail or be cheated the others are able to negotiate the possibilityof the break through
Disadvantages :
1. Initial one time configuration effort is high : To move all the employees from a non biometric system to a bbiometric, requires more time. But now a days companyswho install the system take care of this one too.
2. Cooperation unwillingness: Some humans are not happy with acquiring their biometric features as now all their entries and exits will be recorded and the scope of misuse decreases.
Top 6 uses of Biometric Security Systems
Airport Security : Biometric technology is used at large international airports to verify passenger identities, iris recognitionin immigration control and also employee authentication in restricted areas. Biometrics simplifies the airport experience for millions of passengers travelling every day. Use of the technology also ensures the highest level of security and safety.
Law : Organizations like the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) have been using biometrics in criminal investigations and identification for years. In 2008, the Chinese Police adopted an ABIS solution to allow forensic fingerprint examiners the ability to cross check inmate identities for possible matches within the database. Biometrics is also widely used for jail and prison management.
Access Control & Single Sign On (SSO) : More and more organizations across the globe are adopting biometric technology for access control and Single Sign On (SSO) as traditional authentication tactics like passwords are insufficient for personal identification. Passwords only provide evidence or proof of knowledge whereas biometrics provides unique advantages because it relies on identifying someone by “who they are” compared to “what you know “or “what you have.”
Home: Biometrics is widely used around the world for home access control, mobile phone access, vehicle access authentication and Single Sign On (SSO).
Banking : Biometrics in banking is used for clients authentication. It has increased a great deal in the last few years and is being implemented by banks throughout the world. As global financial entities become more digitally-based, banks are implementing biometric technology to improve customer and employee identity management. More and more customers are looking for banks that have biometric authentication in place prompting banks to more closely research the technology for implementation.
Schools : Schools in India are slowing moving towards using biometric data. They are used not only for teacher ‘s attendance, but also for ensuring that only pupils and authorised adults gain entry to school buildings. Biometric data is also used for activities such as; recording attendance, checking out library books or even paying for meals.