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The Benefits of Biometrics Essay

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The Benefits of Biometrics

By definition Biometrics are automated methods of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic (Campbell, 1995). More and more businesses are now using biometrics as a preferred measure over traditional methods involving passwords and PIN numbers for 2 reasons; The person being identified is required to be physically present at the point of identification; Identification based on biometrics techniques removes the need to remember a password or to carry other identification (Watrall, 10/14/03). The need for biometrics can be found in federal, state and local governments, in the military, and in commercial applications (Campbell, 1995). Enterprise-wide network …show more content…

First, minutiae-based techniques first find minutiae point and then map their relative placement on the finger (Watrall, 10/14/03). A minutia points are local ridges on the finger the make you finger distinct. Second, correlation-based techniques take into account the entire pattern of ridges and furrows (Watrall, 10/14/03). With a three percent false-rejection rate, fingerprinting is still a popular form of biometrics (Watrall, 10/14/03). The next two forms of biometrics are forms that are not as popular, hand geometry and voice identification. Hand geometry uses the geometric shape of the hand for authenticating a user's identity (Watrall, 10/14/103). Voice Identification systems use a neural net that learns to recognize your voice and as you speak, the voice recognition software remembers the way you say each word (Watrall, 10/14/03). The problems that come with each of these are many. With hand geometry because individual hand features are not descriptive enough for identification (Watrall, 10/14/03). This technique is more effective when combined with other forms of biometrics. The problems that arise with Voice recognition can be the system will be fooled when someone has a cold or the voice changes over time. The last two forms are the two that are becoming more popular as new techniques are being developed. Face Recognition and Iris Recognition Systems are two of the most popular forms of

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