Ok maybe that was a too valiant of a use-case for this technology. Let’s try something simpler: You iPod! Just imagine, you can soon set up your iPod to utilize the same technology that dolphins have been using since the dawn of time. When you set it up the iPod will send a pulse wave into your ear, the wave bounces back, and it will measures the caverns of your ear. Since no two ears are the same it will only unlock for that special person who owns it, i.e., you. Over the top? yes. Does it really keep people from stealing your iPod? Nope. Would the thief maybe come back and say “excuse me, I just jacked your crap, but it doesn’t work here you can have it back now”… I don’t think so. But you can sleep easy at night knowing the perp will never be able to enjoy all those Michael Bolton singles you’ve been stuffing into that little iPod.

According to an article in the Australian News Digital Media the new technology sends a pulse into the user’s ear and because the contours of the ear canal are as unique as a fingerprint this will allow the device to become unusable if there is no acoustic match. I guess Australian thieves will have to go Reservoir Dogs on their victims from now on (I know “Stuck In the Middle With You” is playing in your head right now” LOL).

In our post 9/11 world it is easy to see how such biometric measures might quickly be adopted by the security apparatus for our protection. The article itself points out that the researchers who developed the technology thought it could also be applied to bank accounts and passports, making identity theft far more difficult while at the same time increasing the possibilities for violations of what many of us think as our own “private space.” In fact the body itself is quickly becoming an organic identification card. Our eyes, the windows to our souls, might now also be an entry way to our bank accounts. At the touch of a screen we might be adding to a behavioral profile that makes the current intrusions into our sense of privacy seem like stone-age technologies. And now we have a new hobgoblin of intrusion to worry about. Every time we pick up a phone we might wonder if the ring tone is actually mapping the biometrics of our ear cannel for Big Brother. “Friends, Romans, Countrymen give us your ears…” so that we might know exactly where you are and who you are talking to.

Of course, this will only add to the paranoia of the conspiratorially minded. Those who believe that all this talk of security is just an elaborate ruse to justify further government intrusion into our lives will see this latest invention as yet another springboard into their delusions of an omnipotent government who monitors our every move. This is the nightmare view of government that we have seen already in Spielberg’s Minority Report and in the last year’s Eagle Eye to name just two of the many cinematic examples. So we have the tension of post 9/11 world: its either security or privacy, life or liberty. Which one is more important to our pursuit of happiness? Let freedom ring indeed. “Hello?”

With the passage of the Identity Cards Act 2006, the transition to biometrics-based identity cards began. Government officials were pushing for the new identification cards and the use of biometrics data based on issues of national security and to decrease fraud. All new passports, as well as passports that were up for renewal, were to be issued with the new identification information. All new cards with biometrics data would include ten fingerprints, an iris scan and facial scan (known to us old schoolers as as “photo”), as well as all past and current UK-based addresses linked to the person.

The identification document is also slated to be usable throughout the Eurozone. By the way, some clarification for us “yanks”… Eurozone, not to be confused with Autozone where I can pick up some nice cool gear for my ride, is a currency union of 16 European Union member states which have adopted the Euro as their sole legal tender. This list currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

There was controversy over the compulsory nature of the cards. In addition, the creation of the National Identity Register caused unease among privacy experts as well as activists who were concerned about the security of such data, particularly with so much sensitive and identifiable information now available on the cards. In addition to the threat of identity theft, critics also charged that the cards would allow the government to spy on its citizens. Additional criticism came from citizens who were concerned about the cost of implementing such an ambitious program which supposedly is in the billions of pounds (sterling, not the fat kind).

Well… last week Home Secretary Alan Johnson unveiled the final design of this controversial national identity card and said the card will be offered to members of the public in the Greater Manchester area from the end of this year. The £30 ID card will be launched nationwide in 2011 or 2012, and will not be compulsory… for now… LOLz! hehehe

In Israel, every person that is a permanent resident is required to carry an identification card (except for those who are younger than the age of 16). This card is printed in both Hebrew and Arabic. If a police officer requests to see the ID, the person must be able to produce the card. There are fines for people who are unable to do this, although the fine can be rescinded if the person follows up within five days to rectify the issue.

There is currently a movement in the Israeli government to improve the security of these identification cards by using features that are based on biometrics.

Some data that the government is interested in embedding into these cards include fingerprints and facial features. However, some roadblocks have emerged in the discussion about implementation. There is particular concern that the technology yields an error rate that is much higher than is acceptable. While it is acknowledged that the identification cards can decrease the amount of fraud that comes from identity theft, some feel that errors that come from biometrics-based cards could lead to false accusations or time wasted on investigating the errors.

With opposition coming from privacy advocates, who are concerned about the potential abuse of personal information that is embedded in these identification cards, the Israeli Interior Ministry is working to hold more sessions about the possibilities of biometrics-based cards, particularly in regards to security.

Kadima party MK Meir Sheetrit has gone on record to reject criticism of the Biometric ID Card law by saying the bill is crucial to Israel’s security and pointed to the estimates that said there may be up to 350000 people currently in Israel have fake ID cards.

There will likely be more discussion about the use and storage of the personal data to ensure that people’s identities are safe in order to get better acceptance by the people.

Why? Up until recently, Mexican citizens used voter ID cards as a form of identification and that’s not exactly the panacea of identification technology. Each citizen also has an 18-character identification number, similar to a social security number that is used in the United States. Even though the voter ID cards were sufficient for most purposes, the recent violence in Mexico is leading the policymakers to look for other ways to crack down on illegal activity. Earlier this year, the Mexican state of Tamaulipas began an initial testing program of the biometrics cards.

This effort parallels an initiative in the United States government, called REAL ID that you’ve probably heard of, which will likewise require biometric information from US citizens. Real ID on the other hand has been on a rockier path. While proponents in the U.S. push that the REAL ID will help combat illegal immigration and reduce the presence of undocumented workers, privacy advocates see things differently.

To compound the matter more, Mexico’s government is not renowned for its transparency or its accountability, so one wonders how the average Mexican citizen feels about giving any additional power to the government. At any rate, one thing is certain: lines at the Mexican version of the DMV will undoubtedly be longer, since not merely a photograph but now highly detailed biometrics will be required-several more scans ostensibly for the purposes of security and identification.

Now back to the card: The old voter ID cards have a photo, signature, and one fingerprint (ink). The new ID cards will sport multiple fingerprints, and potentially include face/photo and iris scans. The information will be stored on a magnetic strip. The old voter ID cards will still be accepted until they are replaced with the new biometrics-based cards.

Well… that’s not too hard to believe and let me tell you why: According to an old DOJ study of the prison system from back in 1999, the approximate ratio of corrections officers per inmate is 1-to-4.3. So if you have a jail with 400 inmates, you’ve got about 100 staff members to keep track of and that is not an easy task.

Biometrics is probably the way to go, but since folks in jail may not be the nicest people to deal with, the potential for spoofing biometric credentials lurks its head ugly and we’re not talking simple spoofing either but rather the gorey hypothetical scenario where the actual “original” credential(s) may be stolen/removed (remember the movie Demolition Man?). It will however lower the probability of an inside-job escape, or some other form of non-violent escape. As prison spokeswoman Dina Tyler said, “There’s always a human element”.

The state is going to spend about $500k to install fingerprint scanners, starting at the Cummins Unit, the jail where the two inmates escaped from. New hardware should be hitting the ground as early as the first few weeks of August.

Airlines that offer special security lines for their elite fliers are looking to cash in on Clear’s downfall. For example, United Airlines is hoping to capitalize on their “Premier Screening” line for fliers who may not be part of their Mileage Plus elite fliers. Information about United’s program here.

The bigger issues that remain unresolved are the involvement of the TSA prior to the shutdown of the program and what will happen with all the passenger data collected thus far, especially the biometrics data now seems to be unnecessary under the “Registered Traveler” program. Some travelers are upset and claiming that their data was unnecessarily collected when it became clear that the data did not fundamentally change the way that the program was run. Instead, some felt that the program was a glorified identification program that unnecessarily collected biometrics data. This biometrics data is now floating out in space, as the company closes down operations. For some of these fliers, the thought of having another company buy sensitive biometrics data is unsettling at best and worrisome at worst. New identification programs will continue to emerge but the exit of Clear leaves many questions answered.

Savvy enough hackers with RFID readers and good enough antennae can even steal your identity from a distance of several dozen feet, and from practically any direction. This has been been demonstrated by bargain-basement hackers on Youtube and elsewhere with about $250 of basic equipment purchased on eBay and some basic know how. Thanks to the Internet, this information is available at really no charge for anyone willing to look. It’s virtual pickpocketing of your identity, and even worse can go virtually undetected and is virtually untraceable. After the hacker (or more likely, one of their skeezy independent businessman henchmen) might bump into you in an airport or other public place, and after collecting thousands upon thousands of these ID’s over time can sell them over the Internet months or even years later. Even suppliers of RFID chips are concerned. An executive for Gemalto Inc., a major supplier of microchipped cards, says placing RFIDs in driver’s licenses and passports makes them vulnerable “to attacks from hackers, identity thieves and possibly even terrorists.”[1] Clearly not enough is being done to ensure these standards or the media being issued to our citizens are secure enough or to ensure all the major kinks have been worked through. As for now, we’ll stick to our laminated driver’s license from 1985 until they pry it from our cold, dead hands.

References:
[1] http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/today/index.ssf/2009/07/government_officials_say_rfid.html
[2] http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090711/ap_on_bi_ge/us_chipping_america_iv
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9isKnDiJNPk

While in a “smallish” country like the US with “only” 300 million people its tough enough to even conceptualize a biometric system that can handle a population this large. In India, the massive population of over a billion people is going to be really pushing the envelope under their new ‘Unique Identification Card’ scheme whereby they are planning on establishing the identity of each and every citizen through the use of a smart card containing biometric information for a given individual.

Considering the large scale complexity of such an endeavor selecting a proper modality of biometric identity is a challenge in itself. Lets look at the obvious choice: Fingerprints! Good ol’ reliable fingerprints! Everyone’s got one right? Wrong! It has been noted that due to the rugged physical work for most Indians especially in rural areas, many Indians have their fingerprints physically sanded off over time. This is a known phenomenon and has even been observed in the case of cement/masonry workers in western nations.

Well what about retina recognition? Again you hit a snag where eye diseases are common and poor health care makes this not a good choice either. To a certain extend, even iris can be problematic especially in cases of severe eye diseases or injury.

Fear not… we still have VOICE! You may think that Indians are one of the most chatty and always the ready to speak type and hence voice recognition is possibly another option. This has potential, right? Mayyyybee! One thing to keep in mind is that there are almost 800 languages and dialects spoken in the country, so while 1:1 verification is probably doable, any sort of common training set for anything beyond 1:1 can be tricky… even prompting the user for the 1:1 can be a challenge. Just think of it: what language do you present the challenge/response prompt in?

Well… lets see whats left… Face recognition! Maybe… however, many women in the villages cover their face for religious and or modesty reasons and would never lift their veil to strangers.

So, how are Indians going to manage this tremendous challenge to provide biometric identification to their citizens? There is still hope in the traditional Indian ‘Jugaad’ technique, meaning somehow combine things to make them work. So maybe a dynamic combination of modalities (note: we’re *not* talking biometric fusion here) different biometric sensing approaches can be employed dynamically according to physical need or simply to suit different regional and personal requirements. The IT corporate wizard Nandan Nilekeni, former CEO of Infosys, the number one Indian IT czar has been roped in to provide leadership to this project.

Read more about it here:

http://www.india-server.com/news/unique-id-project-to-get-rs-100-crore-8139.html

So now a question for the wise: How do they know the gallery print (the image established prior to the test) is the real deal and not an impostor also? The GMAT candidates in France surely don’t have an established longitudinal database of palm prints over the years that can be used to verify the authenticity of a given candidate. Well I suppose any effort helps in establishing a better lock on the authenticity so kudos GMAC! It’s good to know that the good people at the Graduate Management Admission Council are not afraid to use biometrics to protect the security of their test and save the world from the potential threat of dumb upper graduates, because we have enough of those running around already.