An Examination of the Risks Associated with Widespread Deployment of Current Biometric Technologies for Data Security

by Joseph A Pippin, Jr

Biometric technologies have been under development for years. Finger, face, and iris scanners are already in place in both high and low security environments. Over the next decade, many companies are preparing to deploy biometric scanners in everything from cars and pocketbooks to corporate offices and ATMs. The proliferation of a technology that is currently unregulated, non-standardized, and uses questionably secured databases to hold unique, non-secret, and irreplaceable personal identifiers - whether fingerprint, iris, facial scan, or some other - is a risky proposition. This paper looks at the myriad complications and caveats of biometric technology, and should serve to caution anyone, especially decision makers and influencers who manage data access and those who may consider implementing or authorizing the use of biometrics in their data environment.