In light of the recent wave of terror attacks in the UK, Turkey, and Egypt, biometrics technology is increasingly being discussed as a means to tackle terrorism, not to mention fraud and theft.
The Pentagon is developing a radar-based device that can identify people by the way they walk, for use in a new antiterrorist surveillance system.
Biometric identification technology seemed like a sure and swift solution to homeland security problems in the aftermath of last year's Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but today it seems less sure and a lot less immediate.
A series of exposes and tests have exposed the shortcomings of systems that use face recognition, iris scanning and fingerprints to improve security. Experts have found that the systems can be fooled using very simple techniques.
A German technology magazine exposes simple exploits for defeating common biometrics security devices.
Biometrics vendors are doing their best to supplant passwords as the chief form of computer security, but Government Computer News Lab tests indicate that many of their products are not quite ready. Some developers have continued to improve already good devices, but others need to go back to the drawing board.
A national biometric database in place of our current flawed identification systems could prevent the loss of liberty and autonomy by providing a trusted source of information for identification.
Dana Hawkins takes a critical look at the surge in biometric security mechanisms.
Iris-scanning and face-matching technologies don't work nearly as well as their manufacturers have claimed, the Department of Defense has discovered.
High-tech identification devices could produce reams of data on law-abiding citizens -- but may be useless in fighting terrorists.