The use of biometric technologies in airports, as well as to control access to industrial facilities and to public buildings where authorities are concerned about security risks, is certain to grow. Biometric technologies are not, however, a panacea for the problem of terrorism. Like other technologies, they must be used by human operators and are thus subject to human error or deliberate misuse. In addition, because they operate by comparing a current scan with a scan in their database, they cannot positively identify a person.  They can only verify (within a certain margin of error) that the person is who he or she said they were when they were "enrolled" in the system--i.e., when their original scan was entered. Research currently underway (and bound to accelerate) will improve the accuracy of existing systems and develop new ways of identifying people, but it is not likely to overcome these fundamental limitations.

Links:
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Infosyssec, a portal site for information systems security professionals, has a section devoted to biometrics, including an extensive set of links.

"Are You Ready for Biometrics?" from PC Magazine Online (February 23, 1999).  Although it is over two years old, this site is a good introduction to various aspects of biometrics, mainly as applied to computer network security.

Precise Biometrics, a Swedish firm that offers what it claims to be "the world's first plug and play fingerprint reader for access control systems."

Identix, a California firm that "authenticates people for secure and trusted access" with a variety of products for information systems as well as physical facilities.  See the article on its site on technology and airport security, reprinted from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Visionics, a biometrics identification firm from Minnesota, whose products include FaceIt® face recognition technology and a mobile fingerprint identification system.

Advanced Biometrics, Inc.  Its products include Key Free^TM a device for controlling access by infrared scanning of an individual's palm.

The Biometrics Institute, a not-for-profit organization based in Sydney, Australia, engaged in research, analysis and education for biometric users, vendors and government agencies in the Asia Pacific region.

Biometrics Research Homepage at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering of Michigan State University.

AIM, a global trade association for automatic identification system users and providers.  This site has many useful resources, including several brief case studies of current uses of biometric identification systems.

The Association for Biometrics.  Located in Halifax, UK, this is an international professional and trade association for the biometrics community.

"After the Terrorist Attacks: What Could Biometrics Have Done? What Might They Do in the Future?" from the International Biometric Group, a New York integration and consulting firm that until recently, had been located in the World Trade Center.

"Digital Persona," by Holly Hanke.  "Soon, fingerprint, face and iris scans will replace passwords at the ATM and credit cards at the local grocery store."  A popularized account from the September 9-15, 1999 issue of Metro, a weekly newspaper from Silicon Valley.

Biometrics 2001, a conference and exhibition to be held in London, UK, in late November.