Biometric Auhentication

Biometric Authentication

19 February 2011

IT Security Planning and Policy

Security of information and information systems is paramount in today’s globally connected environment. The internet knows no physical boundaries, and as such presents an ever growing playground of government, military, business and sensitive personal information for potential thieves, hackers and terrorists alike to target and exploit. Whether the intentions of the attackers are for personal financial gain or ideological reasons, defense and security of our information and the systems that process, transmit and store this information is paramount for our economy and national security. Protection of information and information assets is so important, that the United States military lists Information Superiority and Information Dominance as critical to gaining the advantage during conflict and winning our nation’s wars. The examples provided may seem extreme, but the criticality of securing sensitive information cannot be taken lightly.

Technology, coupled with physical security is the primary defender of our information assets from these types of threats. As threats to our information systems continue to evolve, so does the technology that we rely upon to defend and stave off attacks to our information assets, that would expose our critical information to exploitation. One rapidly growing technological control mechanism is biometric technology (Panko, 2004). The purpose of this paper is to introduce the reader to biometric technology, first by defining biometrics and how they work. Next we will introduce the role of biometrics in controlling access through authentication and identify some of the current types and uses of biometrics technology. Finally we will outline how biometric technology is being used in the public and private sectors, and briefly touch on some of the pros and cons of using biometric technology.

Biometric...