onClick Biometrics in touch

Mitsubishi introduces worlds first touchless fingerprint sensor.

New fingerprint reader scans prints without touching skin. The world's first scanning device that reads fingerprints without touching the skin will hit the market this autumn, Mitsubishi Electric said.

The device could be used to enhance security measures at financial institutions and airports.

The new scanner uses light from a red light-emitting diode (LED) to read fingerprint patterns under the surface of the skin. Red LEDs are typically used in a wide variety of industrial uses, such as in automotive electronics or medical instruments.

Ordinary fingerprint sensors take prints using physical contact between the finger and a glass plate.

In some cases, however, such physical fingerprint readers are unable to take an accurate print when the subject's skin is rough, wrinkled or covered in perspiration.

In the new LED device, the user places a finger in the reader with the nail facing up. A light scans through the finger and analyzes the convex and concave patterns of the skin layer below the surface.

Financial institutions, eager to find ways to circumvent thefts of personal data and cash, are anxious to find devices like the Mitsubishi Electric reader to provide better identification at ATMs

Show Finger if you are 18!

Access, Identification and now Age Verification! A leading security company is employing new technology in the field of biometrics to verify if a computer user is an adult or a child.  The age distinction is made by analyzing a bone in the person's finger.  With ever growing social issues of pornography and online gambling, this company has our vote!

Hazmat followup

That program to take biometric information from hazmat truckers I mentioned earlier, isn't for Canadian drivers. It doesn't apply to them, however they have been working towards their own security card as well, and they are talking to the US to get Canadian drivers up to speed.

Hazmat fingerprint rule doesn't include Canadian drivers - for now.

Keep on truckin'... to the fingerprint site.

As part of the USA Patriot Act Monday, truckers have begun getting fingerprinted and have criminal background checks performed on them. These are truckers who haul hazardous materials around the US, because those trucks could be used as weapons by terrorists.

The problem affecting this project is that there are very few and far between fingerprint stations, and some truckers may have to make a detour. Hopefully that is just temporary.

Fingerprinting of hazmat truckers begins.

What's to come in 2005.

I think I forgot to post a link to this. Here's an article from us written for Secure ID News. It's all about our predictions for the future of the industry, and how the government is playing a large roll. And *sigh* yes, even large corporations.

SecureIDNews expert panel predictions.

Portable fingerprints at CES

Already floating around the net are reports on gadgets being showcased at the Consumer Electronic Show. It's still not officially up and running, but sites like Gizmodo and Engadget are way ahead of the game.

Here's a brief rundown of some things that this one reporter already spotted. Lexar has a keychain drive with a fingerprint sensor, and also making its first appearance at CES is this flash drive that he didn't cover.

Lexar Media, flash memory maker, showed off USB keychain drives that protect the files stored on them using biometrics. They can scan your fingerprint and prevent someone who finds the drive--should you misplace it or leave it somewhere--from accessing your files. I've lost more than a few keychain drives and tried hard not to think about the files I left on them and how they might be used.

A first look at CES.

An internal struggle

This Associated Press story is everywhere today. Government agencies are fussing over sharing fingerprint information databases between US immigration and law enforcement. Imagine that.

Agencies clash on fingerprint database.

Forget about being the first on your block

This is a good article very plainly stating why the US is the last to get biometric cell phones. Of course it's expected that we are always the last to adapt to any new technology, but this particular instance is also being hendered by the providers. Here, they select what features they want to offer and directly determine what the manufacturers produce for us. In Asia, the consumers buy from the manufacturers.
Biometric cell phones on slow track to US market.

US Consumers say: Bring it on!

A survey sponsored by AuthenTec found out something. Imagine that. No really, based on 2,000 responses - from adults no less - U.S. consumers appear to be willing to pay for the security that fingerprint biometrics can offer. Specifically, 63% said they would use biometrics for their PCs and laptops, and 71% would use the feature in their cell phones.

What's interesting is that in Asia 4 million biometric cell phones are already in use, and here we are posting about every new fingerprint enabled phone that comes our way like it's breaking news. The US definitely needs to step up. The people have spoken!

Albeit, it is a survey sponsored by a manufacturer, which to me always lessens the validity of it. AuthenTec is a great brand, but they did this to promote their products. When vendors/manufacturers have their hand in research surveys, it could always be a little biased.

Here are the survey findings yanked directly from the article.

In the PC and notebook computer segment, the survey shows that:

Younger consumers (18-44) are the most interested and are willing to pay the highest price for a biometrically-enabled device. 

Parents also showed a higher interest than non parents in adding the feature to PCs than non-parents - at 75 percent versus 58 percent.

43 percent are most interested in using fingerprint sensors to replace their computer or internet passwords

Navigating the cursor and automatically starting favorite programs were other key capabilities consumers were interested in using.

Three in ten (29 percent) said they would be willing to pay more than $25 for the additional feature.

In the wireless segment, the survey shows that:

71 percent are interested in adding fingerprint sensors to protect their sensitive and personal information stored on their cellular phone.

Overall, 32 percent would be willing to spend more than $25 to have the feature added to their cell phones, while nearly half (45 percent) of young adults (18-24) indicated they are willing to pay more than $25.

60 percent said they would like to use biometrically-enabled cellular phones as a replacement for their wallets - debit cards or credit cards -- to conduct purchases or online banking. Nearly half of those said they would be interested in using a biometric cell phone to purchase items from a store, while 30 percent for wireless banking, 27 percent to gain access to mass transit, and 25 percent for wireless shopping.

Parents, younger adults, and men are the most interested in using the cell phones as a replacement for their wallets.

Keep the 'bad man' out.

It's good to be involved in an industry that can provide people with something they really need. Such as security. And security for young children is even better. There's an organization in Florida that provides therapy to children up to five years old with disabilities - and they've begun a project to prevent unauthorized visitors from gaining access to the facility. They are using fingerprint to identify parents, staff, volunteers and vendors. It appears that this is a pilot program that this particular organization was selected for. No idea what the full intent of the program is. Likely just a test to see if biometrics used for child protection shows enough interest.
Read the press release.