Biometrics Uses Biology to Prove Identityby Darla Dernovsek
In just a few years, tellers at your credit union might ask you to confirm your identity by looking into a lens, putting your hand inside a box, or placing your finger on a scanner.
Credit unions and other organizations that scan physical or behavioral traits to confirm identity are using "biometrics." Biometrics translates biological information into a series of numbers that can be stored on a database. The numbers that record the physical characteristics are known as a template; mathematical algorithms create these templates.
Some credit union members can use their thumbprints to access accounts at kiosks.
A biometric template can numerically compare the original scan the consumer submits against scans created during future visits. It cannot be used to duplicate the physical trait for other uses, such as "creating" a fingerprint that could be placed on an object. Yet the results of some biometric scans confirm identity with an accuracy surpassed only by DNA.
Moving into the mainstream
Once the stuff of late-night science fiction movies, biometrics now is moving into the mainstream. Tourists who buy multiday passes at Disney World must submit to hand geometry scans, placing their index and middle fingers in a box containing a scanner to ensure the ticket is used only by the original purchaser. Laptop computer users can choose a model equipped with a fingerprint scanner to safeguard personal information. The U. S. government is expected to use biometrics to improve travelers' security by adding an encoded facial photograph to passports in late 2006 U.S.
It's only a matter of time until biometrics gains widespread use, according to Lester Warby III, vice president/chief information officer at Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union. Warby has studied biometrics on behalf of his credit union and as a member of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Technology Council.
Any unique trait can be scanned and stored, including ears, eyes, fingerprints, faces and voices.
"Soon, biometrics will be as common as the telephone, cell phone, and computer," Warby predicts.
Seattle Metropolitan hopes to test biometrics in 2006 by allowing employees to sign on to computer systems with a fingerprint instead of a password. In 2007, Seattle Metropolitan members who want to improve their security at teller windows also will be able to submit a fingerprint to prove identity.
Biometrics also could be used to verify member identity in drive-up lanes, at self-service kiosks, and at ATMs (automated teller machines).
"The potential benefits include never having to remember a PIN (personal identification number) or carry a plastic card that can be lost or stolen," Warby says.
Warby notes that the biometric scan is sometimes combined with information that only the member should know, like a PIN or account number. Combining the two makes it extremely difficult to steal a member's identity.
While some consumers might be apprehensive that personal information stored in a biometrics program might be misused, many will welcome the added security. An example is the laptop owner who wants to store passwords and personal data on a computer's hard drive without worrying that anyone who borrows or steals the computer can use the information to make fraudulent purchases. This biometric data also is protected from potential misuse by organizations that the owner encounters while surfing the Internet or sending and receiving e-mail.
The biometric data "lives encrypted on their laptop, nowhere else," Warby says.
Early adoptersMany biometric scans confirm identity with an accuracy surpassed only by DNA.
A handful of credit unions that serve high-technology memberships already have adopted biometrics to improve services to members. The most common use appears to be verifying the identities of members who use self-service kiosks to move money between accounts, cash checks, and perform a variety of other functions. These kiosks typically operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Members of Purdue Employees Federal Credit Union, West Lafayette, Ind., can use their thumbprints to access accounts at kiosks in five branches, eliminating the need to swipe a card or enter a password. Purdue has been using biometrics since 1997.
Technology Credit Union, San Jose, Calif., uses biometrics to verify the identities of members who seek services from tellers at seven different branches. Barbara Cure, research and development manager, says about 8,000 memberships of Technology's 71,000 members have signed up for the optional biometric service. Participating members range in age from 18 to older than 75, with about 40% of users in the 30 to 45 age bracket.
Credit unions also use biometrics behind the scenes to improve security by verifying the identity of employees when they enter buildings or access computer systems that store sensitive financial data.
Cure predicts that credit union members across the country will get more opportunities to use biometrics once the vendors who serve the financial industry agree on a single set of standards. Right now, different approaches create templates and make them work with different biometric devices. Agreeing on a single standard for performing these tasks is likely to reduce the cost of installing and operating the devices. Biometrics also will get a boost in the industry as financial institutions work toward compliance with FFIEC (Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council) guidelines. �Soon, biometrics will be as common as the telephone, cell phone, and computer.�
Seeking the best scan
Biometrics security is unlikely to be adopted by more credit unions and merchants until costs fall, according to Doug Benzine, CUNA vice president of research and advisory services.
"The only way we're going to see mass adoption before 2010, or even longer, is if security needs or regulators who oversee the credit union industry are requiring it," Benzine adds.
In the meantime, biometric companies continue to debate the best type of biometric trait to use to confirm identity. Any unique trait has the potential to be scanned and stored, including ears, eyes, fingerprints, faces, and even voices.
Benzine favors a scan of the retina of the eye because it's easy and has minimal impact on the user, who simply looks into a lens. Fingerprint scans tend to be popular, however, because the concept of using a fingerprint to verify identity already is familiar to most consumers.
Some older consumers concerned about privacy will be reluctant to use any type of biometrics, Benzine says. Young users probably will be less concerned. Like the young adults who are fearless about computers because they grew up with them, today's toddlers-to-teens set is likely to welcome opportunities to use biometrics to provide security when they perform financial tasks, access the Internet, and make purchases.
Like these young users, Benzine eagerly looks forward to the day when he can leave his plastic cards at home and instead use a fingerprint or eye scan to verify his identity. "I'm 100% for biometrics, because you can't get any more secure than that," Benzine says.
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