Understanding Biometric Security Solutions

The basic definition of biometric is life-measure. Used in relation for access control and security, it signifies a person's proof of presence. It is possible to check these automatically. Even a driver's license contains such biometric information such as various physical characteristics. It includes description of eye color, height, weight, and hair color among others. The problem is this information is not enough for effective biometric authentication as various characteristics change with time.

Height may change with age for example. A 16-year-old is going to get taller as he or she grows, similarly an elderly person will get shorter with age. Hair color is never a dependable criterion as it is possible to change it easily when desired. Colors change naturally as well. Weight fluctuation is natural and people may wear contact lenses changing the color of their eyes. Effective security and authentication demands biometric data that does not change.

Successful identification methods demand:

• consistent physical characteristics throughout the lifetime of a person
• unique identification of individual
• easily readable and scanned characters via portable, inexpensive devices, with immediate results
• easy checking of data against the actual person securely and automatically
• easy handling of equipments by operators
• willingness of the person being checked should not matter
• use of legacy data as voice analysis or face recognition

Biometric reader in order to be effective needs to be handy, cost-effective, portable, and fast working. Depending upon the physical characters that it uses to establish identity, these can be of the following types:

• Fingerprint identification: fingerprints are present in the fetus from the fourth month onwards in womb. Even when the fingers get longer with age, ridges stay the same.
• Palm vein: this involves the use of infrared beam for penetrating the hand of the user waved over system.
• Hand geometry: this measures and compares various physical characters of hand. Individuality or permanence related to this may not be as the other features, but still it is popular.
• Retina scan: this scans the blood vessels of capillaries located in back portion of eye. This pattern is consistent throughout the lifetime of individual. Scan using low intensity light takes the image of this blood vessel patterns.
• Face recognition: the facial characters can also prove to be a means of authentication. This includes their shape, size and interrelationships. This may be the way for human beings to identify each other but automating the same is not that easy. Such method uses the relative distance for common facial landmarks to generate unique face print.
• Voice analysis: this analyzes the tone, pitch, frequency and the cadence of an individual voice.
• Signature: name signatures no doubt may undergo changes over time or someone may do this consciously as well. Still, this is one of the basic ways to identify an individual.

Using biometrics ensures secure and accurate access. For best quality authentication solutions including biometric scanner and more, please visit the website http://www.crossmatch.com/

About The Author

Benson Hedge is a pioneer in the field of biometric authentication and runs his own organization manufacturing security systems relating to this technology. He also likes to spread awareness about the many aspects related to the industry through the many informative articles he writes.

Crossmatch provides a variety of identity management solutions such as fingerprint biometric hardware, strong authentication software and developer tools.