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[Johannesburg, 18 July 2005] -
An information security specialist has suggested that biometric technology is not likely to play a significant role in the global corporate sector, and will probably remain restricted to niche security applications.Gary Middleton, Dimension Data's GM of security solutions, says biometric technology has not taken off during the last few years, even though the biometrics market has already matured.“We have been looking at the biometrics market for years, and it's been dogged by a reputation that it is not that accurate, and it's also seen as a bit intrusive,” he says, adding that people have been found to be uncomfortable with face and fingerprint recognition devices.Middleton argues that, in terms of biometric deployment and implementation, there is currently no large-scale organisational roll-out among global companies, based on Dimension Data's research on security practices across five continents.“I don't think it will go anywhere, apart from maybe some niche applications, such as in manufacturing or even low-end banking,” he says.Corporates, Middleton maintains, are more likely to adopt a multifunction smart card and password system to secure their desktops and environments.He says cost could also be a prohibitive factor in a large-scale corporate biometrics implementation.Gartner, a provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry, has also concluded that there is limited scope for widespread biometrics applications.“Government applications, such as national and international ID cards and passports, have done much to raise the profile of biometrics in recent months, even though these applications are unlikely to be widespread for another five to 10 years,” Gartner says.Privacy concerns“Many citizens are worried about the potential for invasions of privacy and about the use of databases to store sensitive personal information. A bigger concern, though, should be the security of registration and issuance processes.”Gartner states that widespread adoption of biometric systems to verify identity is severely hindered by problems such as high costs, variable accuracy and reliability, and a lack of defined technical standards.“As a result, organisations assessing authentication technologies for network access tend to choose tried-and-tested, cost-effective products like one-time password tokens and consider biometrics only fleetingly.”Gartner has suggested that organisations considering the implementation of biometric technology to verify users' identities should use it in conjunction with other authentication methods, such as smart cards.The research house also says organisations opting to use biometrics together with smart cards – or other authentication methods – should expect high costs and a complex integration task.“The security of an inconvenient biometric system is likely to be compromised. An organisation should ensure its chosen biometric technology makes peoples' lives easier. Organisations should assess other authentication technologies, such as smart cards and one-time password tokens, if the drawbacks of biometric systems appear too great.”
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