THE BIOMETRICS REVOLUTION

In this article, the first of a new series on the biometrics technology, SecurityWorldHotel takes a look at the exciting developments within the biometrics industry. Over the next four issues, we will explore exactly what biometrics are, how they work and the advancement of the various different types of biometric technology together with the practicalities, successes and barriers surrounding their current and proposed future uses.

There are very few things, in this World, that have so noticeably changed the way we live. Some, to such an extent, that they make a dramatic impact within our short lifetime, or even within a decade… When they come around, we certainly notice their looming presence. We spend a few years questioning their existence and we object to the changes and new rules they inevitably bring. All this, just before we start to take them for granted as part of our everyday life, then practically forget they exist, like electricity, television and radio, PC’s and the Internet, mobile phones or flight. There are a growing number of people who are predicting that the biometrics technology will certainly be the next addition to this list.... The International Biometrics Group (IBG) defines biometrics simply as "the automated use of physiological or behavioural characteristics to determine or verify identity." Commercially Available since 1984 It is true to say that the security industry in general has been aware of the growing potential of biometrics over the last few years, particularly since biometrics companies have been generating great enthusiasm from exhibitors and visitors alike at major security stage events, such as the IFSEC show in Birmingham, UK. Even so, it is still a surprise to most that research into biometric technology has been going on for well over 20 years, and that it is already an established and independent industry in its own right. The first commercial biometrics system was actually available in 1984 and involved fingerprint ID. (That is factually available… not just in the HG Wells book of the same name!). It is only in recent times, with the very real threat of wide spread terrorism, that the publicity for biometrics has been generated, by growing interest at governmental and large corporate level. Bad Press As a result the general public have been made gradually more aware of the research, and have awakened to the imminent availability and progress of the technology. That of course, coupled with the sometimes unpopular press brought to the industry by the media and such films as “The Minority Report” and “The Matrix”. Unfortunately, this spasmodic and often inaccurate and fictional, flow of limited information has already generated a deep suspicion and a feeling of the approach of a “Big Brother is Watching You” regime and a threat to personal privacy amongst the public. This is hardly surprising, since this is all the public currently have to base their opinions on. For the biometrics revolution to succeed, the industry itself and the governments concerned have to convince their nations otherwise, since the cooperation of the users is an essential and critical element to any biometrics system implementation. Issues to Resolve The issues at stake are not only of the old predictable “resistance to change” genre, but also the different stigmata that are already associated with diverse types of biometrics. For example, fingerprinting is associated with being a criminal or having a criminal record. But there are also social and legal issues too, such as privacy laws, human rights laws, integrity, potential misuse of records, and consent for use, as well as technical issues such as acceptable levels of reliability and accuracy, testing, agreed standards, interoperability of equipment, and so the list goes on… In the meantime, whilst these issues are being addressed the existing live systems will hopefully iron out any problems, highlight previously unseen additional benefits and create the tried & tested historical data that will improve future product development, and help to support the argument for further implementation. Biometrics in use Successful systems currently in operation, that were used as discussion case studies at the recent Biometrics Exhibition and Conference in Westminster, London, include the Bornholm Trafikken Ferry service in Denmark. They introduced a, voluntary fingerprint based, biometrics solution for check-in, ticketing and payment. At the time of the Biometrics Conference, 25% of their customers had agreed to take part, and as a result check in time had been reduced to less than 15 seconds, whilst also generating a substantial cost saving for the company. The Hanover Zoo, claimed to be Europe’s number 1 theme park zoo, has also turned to biometrics for a solution to their entrance problems that can amount to up to 1,000 visitors per hour at peak season. They receive almost a million visitors each year. Their solution involved a Personal Season Ticket for entry to the zoo using facial recognition techniques. At the time of the Biometrics Conference they had enrolled almost 73,000 visitors on to their scheme. National ID Schemes The previous working examples of Biometric solutions are perhaps far less obvious applications than those expected such as National ID cards, Visas or Passports for example. Many national and governmental projects are being implemented in other areas of the World, such as parts of the Middle East where their legal systems allow immediate implementation, as there are no or very few legalities to overcome with human rights issues and privacy laws. Biometric ID card projects, involving people being issued with a card containing their unique biometric information are at various stages of development all over the Middle East, including Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and in Yemen half of the population have already been issued with their cards. Many of these projects are being planned in stages so that gradually over a given time the whole population of the country are enrolled and will receive their cards. However, a most ambitious plan to enrol all 60 million of the population of Nigeria in one month took place earlier in 2003, and surprisingly an impressive figure of 52 Million registrations were recorded between mid February and mid March 2003, as quoted at the recent Biometrics Conference organised by Elsevier. From Research to Commerce – A Critical Step Until now the industry has been predominantly pure biometric research and investment based, mainly through combined government and university programmes in numerous countries worldwide, all working towards the goal of developing efficient and accurate biometrics systems. The main differences today, since the preliminary research of the early eighties is that the products are now a reality, the costs have inevitably fallen, permitting access to the technology to a wider range of potential customers, and the demand has become widespread. In addition, the companies themselves have had to become commercially oriented and aware rather than only research based, as the final fruition of their work is of course to take their developments to market. It has been a tough time, where numerous biometrics companies have fallen by the wayside as resources, investors and funds have gradually dried up, with no source of revenue to support them until the product is fully developed. As we have already discussed many live systems are now in place around the World, with many more pilot schemes in the pipeline, for both governmental use and commercial use. In spite of this, many companies continue to fold since the majority of the new contracts are awarded to a small number of well-financed key players that have prepared themselves well for the economic climate of their industry. Some of the more resourceful companies have created themselves an income by cleverly marketing bi-products of their research, completely outside of the biometrics sector, to help fund the development of their main project. Industry Standards As a result of the implementation of these new biometrics systems it has become apparent that some industry standards and interoperability are essential for the advancement and cohesion of the industry. It is only recently, in the last couple of years, that the highest level of technical biometrics specialists from all continents have come together and pooled their development information with the aim of creating common international best practice guidelines, product standards, parameters and terminology for this still very young industry. The International Standards Organisation, ISO, has formed a new committee, called SC/37, for this specific purpose. Market Predictions This is an extremely important time for the development of the industry, as it is predicted by the International Biometrics Group that in Europe alone there will be around 155 Million users of biometric products for such purposes as Visas, Passports and Asylum alone by the year 2007. There are various market size predictions and published statistics around, in terms of monetary value, which are based on estimates made by professional organisations such as the IBIA (International Biometrics Industry Association), the IBG (International Biometrics Group) and Frost & Sullivan, all of which quote market sizes in terms of varying figures of 400 to 600 Million US Dollars today, but predicting a spectacular growth to 2 to 4 Billion USD by the year 2006 or 2007. The diagram below is the forecast by the IBG. A World of Opportunity In terms of applications, other than those already mentioned for ID cards, Visas and Passports, there are numerous almost seemingly endless opportunities for biometrics integration into new and existing systems for security and access control. The potential of the technologies involved will certainly not be realised until the usage becomes more widespread and new innovations are developed combining biometrics with other technologies and industries. Revolution or Revulsion? It seems that in spite of all the problems that must be solved, the benefits for such a wide range of applications will probably outweigh the objections by far. In today’s world we live at a rate of knots where speed, cost, ease of use and efficiency is of the essence. So the bet is, that if someone offered us something new, that would claim to make our lives so much easier and save us time and money, such as not having to remember our various PIN numbers and passwords, not having to carry a particular key, credit card, passport, driving licence, ticket or not having to worry about losing all or any of those things, then chances are, assuming all the other issues were resolved, that probably we would jump at the opportunity! Complex Route to Success This very brief glimpse into the biometrics arena demonstrates that there is much more to the industry than just the products themselves. It is a complex industry and, as we have seen, with complex issues to resolve. The experts predict a glowing future, and they seem to be prepared, know the issues, and are not expecting the path to be straightforward. There are currently hundreds of projects on the drawing board or ready for tender, and the world is watching with interest as the demand for biometrics starts to grow. In Part 2 of our Biometrics Technology Academy series, on SecurityWorldHotel.com/UK, we will take a look at what Biometrics really are, the different types of biometrics available and those under research, along with a brief look at some other technologies that can be readily combined with Biometrics.