BIOMETRICS

Biometrics

Introduction

Biometrics is an interesting subject, firstly because it is located at the intersection of two powerful contemporary logic, which are traceability and identification of individuals, and also because it assumes an ambivalent. Biometrics is indeed both a threat to the right to privacy of Constitution Fundamental Freedoms, and a means to protect it by strengthening the confidentiality of communications. This ambiguity allows some to argue that biometrics could reconcile security and freedom, and would overcome the opposition between these two widely accepted concepts (Grandy, 2005).

Discussion

Biometrics is a technique for identification using physiological characteristics and/or behavioral. This general definition does not allow distinguishing between the uses, which involve risks differentiated: each technology has its advantages (reliability, ability to discriminate between individuals, or singling out, adjusting to varying terrain, weather analysis, etc.) and its risks. First, some biometric data may reveal health, and thereby be used for purposes other than those aimed at the identification. Then, the CNIL distinguishes between technologies “to trace” (fingerprints, DNA) and others (contour of the hand), there they put us at increased risk of identity theft in the sense that we do not have any control over this feature we are introducing in our environment at every moment (Bolle, 2008).

Biometrics and Effectiveness of Public Acceptance

The biometric recognition technology is making the leap from science fiction to everyday applications used in offices. Our new handheld computer or personal digital assistant (PDA) is equipped with a biometric security system. Inside the iPAQ is a fingerprint scanner and the device which remains locked until the owner's fingerprint is not detected and recognized. This is an example of public acceptance of how biometrics is beginning to take its place in everyday applications. With the current state, of world security, biometrics has gone much further with greater use in airports and other ...