What is Biometrics?
Biometrics – an automated system to verify someone’s identity by looking at physiological or behavioral
characteristics – is becoming very popular. Linking physical characteristics to identity is nothing new; crime
investigators have been dusting for fingerprints for more than a century. Biometrics just sophisticated
technology to this idea in order to identify someone.

How does it work?
We will take the most popular kind of biometric technology - the finger scan - as an example. Employee X
works for an insurance company which has installed biometric technology to control network access. To
register with the system, Employee X submits his fingerprint by placing his finger on a special silicon surface.
The system then creates an enrollment template – a record of Employee X’s fingerprint. Each time Employee X
has to access the network, he places his finger on the same sort of surface, usually built right in to his mouse
or keyboard. The system creates a template of that submission, compares it with the enrollment template. If
the match is acceptable – bingo – Employee X is in. It takes just a few seconds. The finger scan isn’t the only
kind of biometrics, though. Other kinds include iris recognition, voice scan and hand scan.

Why do we need it?
If you’ve ever left your network password on a note stuck to your computer, you well understand the need for
biometrics. Apart from what’s known as “logical” use – using a finger scan or another technology to determine
if a user is allowed to access information – biometrics can also give appropriate people access to a secure
building or area. Biometrics isn’t just for inside company walls, either. Banks are looking at the technology to
replace cards and PINs at ATMs. There’s potential for using biometrics to verify payment in online purchases.
The use of biometrics technology is on the rise and it is receiving more and more acceptance.