Sarah Le
Articles by Sarah Le
Building Cloud-Based Application for Biometric Data
Cloud-based biometric technologies utilize cloud services through a web-based user interface, which can be either a browser or a mobile application. Here, the biometrics is managed by a cloud service provider and is available on demand. In details, cloud-based biometric includes a server, which consists of a biometric template database and all the processing data created during the individuals' identification and verification. According to Vonage Business, over 75% of business said that in 3 years, almost half of their applications will be deployed in cloud environments. As this technology becomes popular, the need to make this technology more mobile and more accessible is becoming clear. Therefore, this growth leads to a push for cloud-based biometrics for greater efficiency and mobility all over the globe. There are many possible ways the cloud can help biometrics to meet different clients' needs. Firstly, regards of large companies, it requires an efficient way to organize and manage its large amount of data. The reason is because sheer CPU power is no longer enough to manage the petabytes of information that biometrics identity systems require. Therefore, large-scale cloud-based applications will be created immediately, which could store the massive amounts of biometrics data. Moreover, most large companies today also face a big challenge in order to migrate their massive databases to cloud computing applications, says CloundTimes (2014). However, this can be solved easily with the powerful virtualization available through virtual servers and cloud hosting providers. Besides the implementation of cloud computing in large companies, government will be the next leading sector across the wider economy. For example, US federal government has had early efforts at shifting IT to the cloud while the UK government created "G-cloud," which is to be a government-wide cloud computing network. In details, many government agency officials expressed their confidence about the high level security of cloud computing applications for biometrics in large-scale terrorist watch programs. It also enables government agencies to dramatically shorten their cycle time for accessing an individual's entire history. Therefore, this would help to reduce the use and drainage of government resource as cloud data management systems tend to reduce workloads significantly. Furthermore, in terms of private sector, especially in defense-based corporations, cloud systems would serve a similar function. With nature to work with security-sensitive data, cloud applications plays a key role in managing data and information connected to security clearance. Moreover, all data are allowed to be accessed in one place, hence complicated information processes are seamlessly streamlined. In other words, cloud computing has changed a lot of things and it can do the same for biometrics too in a positive way. They are more advanced, secure, and cheap and load with high-tech utilities. Based on the analysis above, it is clear that cloud-based biometrics has the potential to achieve a lot. However, there are some risks that clients have to be considered. In details, cloud computing can be threatened by "hacktivists" who have brought down significant websites as well as major financial institutions. Given example of Amazon website, hacker can log in to the customer's account in order to control their email although they already requested Amazon to change the password. Moreover, some financial institutions such as Visa, MasterCard, Bank of America, Chase and PayPal can also face the issues of losing personal and credit card information of customers.
Hotel Business Put At Risk after POS Hack
In June this year, 20 hotels run by HEI Hotels and Resorts, including Hyatt, Marriott, Starwood and Intercontinental were affected by the malware which targeted payment card information of customers. According to privately-owned HEI, hackers were desired to target POS (point of sale) systems and steal card data used by customers to make payments. In details, the malware was active to have accessed to customer names, account numbers, payment card expiration dates and verification codes. According to a spokesman for HEI, Chris Daly, hackers potentially target cards used at lobby shops, restaurants, bars, spas and other departments within the premises of the affected hotels. During the period the malware was active, the total transactions estimated to be influenced are nearly 20,000. In other words, there are a growing numbers of vulnerabilities in POS security when people use credit card for payment. With the advantages of lightweight, handy and easy installation, POS machines are equipped in most supermarkets, hotels and commercial centers around the world. However, POS machines are not enough safe due to many security loopholes. Heid – chief research officer at Security Scorecard - explained that POS systems became vulnerable to cyber-attacks for the same reasons any Internet connected system would be vulnerable to attack due to outdated software, weak passwords, incorrect configurations, and/or malware infection. Typically, the attackers often try to spread malware by tricking people to download them through email or strange links, and were interested in obtaining logins and passwords, as well as what is presumed to be credit card track data. Attacking a single vulnerable device and less secure area of the network is a common and effective method that hackers often use. According to Strand, a single POS machine can provide a hacker with data on thousands of credit cards over a few days, weeks or months. Moreover, in holiday time, when hotel has the high number of visitors, POS vulnerabilities' systems are easier to exploit. In details, POS breaches impact both the customer of the affected service providers, as well as the individuals using payment cards to conduct transactions. Once hackers track successful the data of credit card owner, it can be cloned onto a new card and used by the attackers. They can reset a password on the account, check the account balance, change the PIN number, and make withdrawals. As a matter of fact, these issues lead to an urgent need to integrate sophisticated technology such as biometrics with a POS solution. Biometric POS systems provide accuracy and security that brings numerous benefits to the hospitality industry. In details, personal traits scanned by biometrics are difficult to lose, forget or copy. For this reason, it is considered to be safer and more secure than other traditional POS. Moreover, this also prevents impersonation and eliminates any possible disputes at the time of final billing regarding the use of these paid services. Therefore, adoption of biometrics for POS solutions within the hospitality industry is increasing thanks to these advantages. Currently fingerprint recognition is now dominant the mainstream biometric modality of many POS systems but as other biometric technologies have evolved, many end users are also choosing other stronger secure biometric modalities such as palm vein, iris recognition thanks to the inherent benefits that are included such as lower false acceptance and false rejection rates.
Biometrics on Smartphones to Change Our Life for the Better
To date, the world is more connected than ever before. According to a report in Biometricupdate, the number of total smartphones users worldwide will surpass 2.5 billion in 2016, which is equivalent to 33.8 percent of the world population. In other words, the rapid growth in the availability and incorporation of mobile phones in almost every aspect of our lives creates extraordinary opportunities but brings with it unique challenges: personal data security. For years, the password has used to secure authentication, but now they are losing the market due to some drawbacks as easier to hack and harder to remember. Therefore, companies need to find new alternatives to solve these dilemmas, which is the biometrics. In details, biometrics has sufficient capabilities to replace passwords because their technology has proven to be much more convenient and less time-consuming than the old. Due to these benefits, the combination between mobile phones and biometrics is more popular in the mass market, allowing the technology to become widely accepted. According to Gartner, currently, at least 30% companies from all over the world use biometrics on mobile devices. Moreover, Biometricupdate predicted that for the next 4 years, biometrics will be embedded in 100% mobile devices, which help them to become ubiquitous. In the past, biometrics is used in government, the military and law enforcement; but now, biometric identification has exploded and rapidly spread to the commercial sector, permeating virtually every corner of our lives as a more secure method of proving individual identification. In details, biometric smartphones will change access control, financial transaction authentication, personal data security, and many other areas of our lives. In other words, the use of biometrics on smartphones is changing our lives in different ways. Firstly, people feel safer due to the high level security of mobile phones integrating biometrics. Usually people have a tendency to store sensitive or confidential information in smartphone and use it for daily activities. Meanwhile, most people are reasonably concerned about the security protection of using passwords. In details, password are not trustworthy authentication tools because they can typically be easily guess or stolen. If a password is shared, there is no credible process to verify the identity of a person accessing the device. In contrast, biometric technology ensures that only the authorized user of the device can access it by their unique characteristics. Moreover, all this process only takes a few seconds. In other words, by incorporating biometric technology solutions into mobile devices, manufacturers have reduced many of the inefficacies and insecurities that are associated with passcodes and passwords. Therefore, it is almost a certainty that within the next few years, biometric identification will become a standard feature in every new phone, including three key modalities: fingerprint, voice and iris. Moreover, mobile payments are also predicted to skyrocket over the next five years, which are achieving $750 billion by 2020 (Biometric Research Group). Biometric payments are defined as a Point of Sale (POS) technology, which uses biometric authentication system to verify users by taking pictures (facial recognition), fingerprint or iris. Therefore, people do not need to bring cash, checks or credit cards when they go out. The rising use of biometric identification for financial service transactions has already begun to spread rapidly around the globe. Goode Intelligence predicts that by 2020, bank customers will use biometrics as the predominant identity authorization method to access bank services. As more banks, companies such as Apple and PayPal also showed their interest to implement biometric based payment solutions.
Iris Smartphone to Help Build a Digital India
As India is going to finish its 1.2 billion people biometric enrollment, Indian Government is paying more attention into the authentication market where myriad of applications to be deployed such as: time attendance, benefits distribution, SIM issuance, mobile payment, healthcare, etc. At the same time, mobile penetration in India currently is estimated to cover around 71% of the total population and expected to reach 500 million smartphones in the next 4-5 years. Increasing internet usage on mobile, introduction of low end smart phones has made mobile a convenient and essential channel for public services delivery. Hence Indian Government is pushing biometrics on the smartphone which can work with national authentication framework. As RS Sharma, the secretary of Department of Electronics & Information Technology said "Such mobile-governance will bring countless people, who are otherwise left behind, in to the system using technology." Currently, fingerprints and iris recognition are the two primary biometric modalities being used. However, as proven in many PoC (Proof of Concept) and field test reports done by the Standardization Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate, iris recognition prevailed over fingerprints in accuracy especially when applied to poor populations engaged in heavy manual labor. The failed authentication rate stood at only 0.79% for single-eye cameras and 0.60% for dual-eye cameras, for about 5,000 residents of Karnataka's Mysore district in 2012. Moreover, the rapidly falling price and advancing technologies of iris scanner makes it a viable option for authentication mobile/tablet over fingerprint. As ambitious as its UIDAI program, Indian Government - Department of Electronics and IT (DeitY) particularly, once said to enforce all mobile phones sold in India to provide iris scanners. The project has been started for several years now to prepare the scheme for IRIS Authentication Devices Certification. In such large-scale biometric application like UIDAI, many requirements have been taken into account in order to meet the goals of UIDAI. For example, the iris built-in camera is required to perform outdoor regardless the direct sunlight and to have the liveliness detection capability as well. In May, the real-field FRR test has been done with around 5,000 test population. Moreover, in the early of 2015, the union government under its "Digital India" program has decided to use the Aadhaar number for the mobile banking purpose. The Aadhaar number would be linked with the mobile number as well as the bank account number of the individual. "Aadhaar number, mobile number and bank account number - these are the three important pillars of Digital India program. We will link all of them together to provide a flawless solution, where people can easily do transactions using their mobile phones," said Sharma, the secretary of Department of Electronics & Information Technology at the 18th National Conference on e-Governance. In fact, iris embedded mobile device with two strong authentication factors: biometrics (what you are) and mobile (what you have), appears to be a secure, sophisticated and convenient ways of creating, managing and applying digital identities. Nowadays, massive amounts of data are likely to exist on mobile devices. People use them more than any other platforms to access data and services. In the near future, researchers expect identity credentials such as: bank card, driver's license, medical card, passport, etc. will be all embedded into mobile devices and become digital. At that time, Indian Government would have been the leader in bringing iris smartphone into such applications.
Biometric Card - The Future of Personal Identity
Biometric identification card is an innovative form of e-ID card which is no stranger to people all around the world nowadays. According to Acuity, there are twice as many National e-ID issuing countries as those issuing traditional National IDs in 2013. While e-ID card only contains identity information printed on the surface such as personal details and a facial photograph, with an embedded smart chip to store the information printed on the card, biometric card also contains the holder's biometric data such as: fingerprint, iris patterns, etc. Biometric card has been widely deployed in many industries from government to commercial sectors thanks to its convenience, security and cost saving ability. Due to the unfortunate rise in terrorism and immigration crisis, many Governments have invested in technologies to improve the security in which biometrics is playing a key role. Consequently, over the last few years, biometric recognition has been used for identification programs in many countries around the globe. One of the largest biometric-based nation ID card projects in history is the Indian Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) program. Its ambition is to biometrically enroll over 1.2 billion residents including their 10 fingerprints and two iris scan patterns. Up to date, more than 960 million Aadhaar numbers were issued. This biometric card has enabled Indian with many government schemes such as: pension, healthcare, insurance, etc. especially those are deprived or living in rural areas. Besides, using biometric card also helped to eliminate identity fraud and bogus activity which leads to a high cost saving. As recently reported by World Bank, Aadhaar ID has saved Indian Government about USD 1 billion a year by reducing corruption and leakage for the Indian government. As its proven ability as a unique identification tool, biometric technology is also implemented in many different sectors that require accurate identification for convenience and security such as healthcare, immigration, border control, election, banking, and the finance sectors. For example, in early 2015, UNHCR's new biometric identity management system (BIMS) has completed building the successful use of biometric card across a number of UNHCR operations globally such as: Malawi, Thailand and Chad. The program's key purpose is to ensuring protection and the solutions for refugees. Unlike previous UNHCR biometric systems, BIMS captures and stores all fingerprints and iris scans from refugees. Capturing these multiple characteristics, rather than relying for example only on fingerprints, allows for more complete coverage of the population and, thus, more accurate identification. The biometric cards have helped those refugees receive their aids as well as prove their identity in a new country. In bank and financial sector, biometric technology has risen to become top choices regarding the security level it brings. With 12.6 million victims of identity fraud in 2012, privacy and security concerns are highly increasing. The addition of biometrics can ensure and protect the identity of the cardholder. When users come to the ATM booth for any transactions, the cardholder's biometric data will be compared with the card owner's - the one stored in the bank card's smart chip to identify if they are the same person and then process the transactions. In 2014, MasterCard and Zwipe have unveiled credit Card with fingerprint authentication technology as the replacement with the traditional PIN entry. In some countries such as India and Nigeria, bank accounts are linked with biometric civil ID cards which enable citizens with more convenient and easy accesses to government financial subsidies. As biometric technology is still growing and developing, we'll be waiting for its broader uses in various sectors with robust deployments in the future.
Will Biometric Define the Future of Mobile Banking?
Mobile banking as defined is a service provided by a bank or other financial institution that allows its customers to conduct some financial transactions remotely using a mobile device such as a mobile phone or tablet. In mobile banking, biometrics is one of the most interesting new trends. It seems to be a milestone when considering the future of mobile applications. Biometrics Research Group estimated that the biometric security will be worth $1.8 billion by the end of 2015, up from $900 million in 2012. This growth is driven by the need to combat identity theft and increasing fraud cases. The researchers also believe biometric technologies have the potential to reduce operational risks for financial institutions by at least 20% over the next 10 years. Following the technology innovation trend, some financial institutions have already begun the switch. And thanks to Apple and Samsung's fingerprint recognition embedded smartphone and some huge identity breaches as reported recently, the transition has been urged more aggressively. Some of the first leads to offer the feature should be listed are J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Montgomery County Employees Federal Credit Union, West Jordan, Emirates NBD, U.K.'s Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest, South African financial institution Standard Bank, etc. Most of them use Apple Inc.'s Touch ID authentication for their mobile app which allow users to sign-in with a simple touch of a finger. However, some other financial institutions have also experimented with other modalities such as voice, facial or iris recognition for their apps. Chief security officer of The United Services Automobile Association (USAA), Gary McAlum said: "We believe the legacy forms of security authentication (e.g., user id and password) are becoming increasingly obsolete in today's cyber threat environment" when USAA began to offer facial and voice recognition to its 4.1 million members and then expanded it to include fingerprint authentication through Touch ID. According to a recent report from research and consulting firm Aite Group, by the end of 2015, 6 of the largest 19 banks in the U.S. will enable biometrics for mobile banking. The most common use for biometrics in mobile banking is authenticating users at the login, while transaction confirmation and digital document signing are also seen as a possible use for the technology as a survey done by Mobey Forum. Although there are drawbacks to each biometric modality, banks are still figuring out the best way to deploy and utilize its benefits. As Steve Ellis, head of Wells Fargo's new Innovation Group indicated: "That's why we think you need more than one" authentication method. From users' point of view, biometrics will not only simplify the mobile banking platform, boost its security but also enhance their experience of advanced technology. It is no doubt that if banks desire to remain competitive on the market, they should anticipate customers' expectations and needs. And the key point is to combine technology innovations with clients' convenience and payment safety which biometrics appeared to be the ultimate solution. Besides, banks have also sought for a mobile solution to conduct banking services in villages and rural areas where bank branches and ATM machines are not always available. People in these areas will be enrolled biometrically to create an account. Before an actual transaction is executed (e.g. Deposit, Withdrawal, Transfer, etc.), the biometric verification will be performed. In the future, the financial sector, especially mobile banking would definitely see an increased presence of biometric applications. Although there are still some concerns regarding the security and safety, as more investment in technology development, biometrics would become the new era and the definite change for authentication in mobile banking and in the world as a whole.
Is Biometrics Safe For Human?
Biometrics has become an emerging technology thanks to its security feature regarding the identification of individuals by means of metric measurement of human characteristics. Biometrics is often categorized into physiological and behavioral characteristics. Physiological characteristics are related to the shape of the body such as: fingerprint, iris, palm, veins, face, etc. Behavioral characteristics are related to the pattern of behavior of a person like typing rhythm, gait, voice, etc. Based on those modalities, many important applications have been developed to serve the government and commercial purposes such as: national ID, border control, banking, m-payment, etc. One of the most promising biometric modalities is iris recognition due to its accuracy and stability. Except for DNA, iris recognition is the most accurate method of biometric recognition. Iris is a flat, ring-shaped tissue behind the cornea of the eye and its color defines the eye color. Iris contains complex random patterns which are unique, stable, and can be seen from some distances. Iris recognition is an automated method to capture iris images at a comfortable distance that uses video camera technology with near infrared (NIR) illumination LED, not laser light which is usually confused with. The process only takes up maximum 3 seconds. Since iris scanners are being installed in many applications such as mobile, laptop, time & attendance device, etc., there is a growing concern about the possible use of LED illumination that might pose a potential threat to the human eye. LEDs have been broadly deployed during the past 20 years due to their efficiency and low operating costs. In order to guarantee that ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) light output from LED device do not exceed safety levels, products containing LED lights around the world required to be tested and certified. The standard requires that all LED and luminaires must have their output tested and recorded from 200-3000nm by a certified laboratory to prove that the light does not exceed safety output thresholds defined by a certain luminosity at a given distance. Accordingly, iris devices that use NIR LED with wavelength from 700 – 900nm to capture iris image is completely safe for human eye. The amount of this light is no more than one that would be received by walking outside on a sunny day. However, testing and documentation are required when it comes to safety issue for users all over the world. Currently, there are 3 optical safety standards which are addressed by international guidelines including: CIE S009-2002: Photobiological Safety of Lamps and Lamp Systems ANSI/IES RP27: Recommended Practice for Photobiological Safety for Lamps and Lamp Systems IEC/EN 62471: Photobiological Safety of Lamps and Luminaires Today, Europe, Canada, and parts of Asia require that all lights to be tested and documented to the IEC62471 standard. Additionally, in the US, American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) also established the Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) for chemical substances and physical agents and Biological Exposure Indices (BEIs) which is usually used as a safety reference in many test reports. There have been numerous tests and reports that were conducted to set standards and guidelines for LED light which causes major safety concerns for users when facing iris scanner. It's obviously shown that NIR is non-intrusive and totally safe. And the fact that iris recognition technology has been widely used by many governments around the world such as: the US, India, Canada, the UK, etc. and NGOs like United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or in many other commercial projects. Nonetheless, it is highly recommended that the iris scanner provider have the mentioned international certificate, and tested by certified laboratory. Just a little note for anyone who is still confused iris recognition with retinal recognition, please check out our previous blog article Retina vs. Iris Recognition: Similarities and Differences
Biometric Attendance System: Iris versa Fingerprint
Benefits of Biometric Attendance System Biometric attendance used to record employee's start and end times, is popular in organizations where security is an issue or where employees might falsely record time worked. Because biometric technology is more costly than other forms of time clock identification, it is important to evaluate the return on investment biometric devices provided based on two key benefits: eliminating buddy punching and establishing security access. With buddy punching, an employee either types a tardy employee's PIN or swipes the employee's badge earlier than he arrives to work or after he leaves work. The organizational costs of this kind of time theft can be enormous. The company loses money a few minutes at a time compounded across departments and locations. Biometrics makes it almost impossible for employees to defraud a time and attendance system. With establishing security access, the biometric system works as a security access monitor to grant or deny access to restricted areas. The cost of purchasing and maintaining magnetic or proximity identification cards, which do not prevent fraudulent access, can be eliminated. According to Biometrics Research Group, Inc. analysts, the market for worldwide workforce management software was US$10 billion in 2010 and is forecast to reach US$18 billion by the end of 2015. The market for all biometric workforce management solutions such as cloud-, software- and hardware-based will reach US$600 million in sales by 2018. Fingerprint versus Iris Recognition in Biometric Attendance Fingerprint is widely accepted by civil law enforcement and forensic government applications and provides a relatively low false rejection rate and false acceptance rate when used in populations with a low incidence of "outliers" groups. Besides, fingerprint has a wide range of vendors and solutions and ability to enroll multiple fingers. However, comparing to iris, fingerprint is not as accurate as iris recognition. Fingerprint false accept rate varies by vendor, and is approximately 1 in 100,000 while iris recognition false accept rate is 1 in 1.2 million statistically. Iris recognition had no false matches in over two million cross-comparisons, according to Biometric Product Testing Final Report. Furthermore, the large number of players means no fingerprint standards exist whereas iris recognition has one core standard, which is flexible and open to all partners, and has been the foundation for Oki, Panasonic and LG hardware solutions. Additionally, based on occupation, trauma or disease, individual fingerprints may be obscured, damaged or changed. This means some people may need to enroll multiple times over the course of their lives. In contrast, the iris itself is stable throughout a person's life, approximately from the age of one; the physical characteristics of the iris don't change with age. Moreover, when using iris recognition system, the users do not have to directly expose to equipment; hence, it doesn't contain the risk of disease transmission which has become a serious concern in Africa where the Ebola epidemic broke out for the past year. Moreover, iris scanning has been proved totally safe to human as it does not use any lasers, bright lights or hazardous technology. Taking an example from mining industry in China where the working environment is really dirty and harsh, with iris scanning, the employees can easily integrate with attendance equipment just by looking into a camera for a few seconds and then, a video image is taken, which is non-invasive and inherently safe. Finally, iris recognition carries extremely low maintenance costs and offers seamless interoperability between different hardware vendors; the technology also has the ability to work well with other applications. The possibilities of biometrics for employee authentication are endless. Experts attest that biometric technology is likely to be used increasingly in transactions requiring identity authentication since it virtually eliminates the ability to duplicate biometric characteristics. In time and attendance, biometrics improves the ease-of-use and accuracy of timekeeping systems while bolstering corporate security and enhancing employee privacy. Iris recognition, in particular, is moving from a niche component of high-end security systems to broader commercial and consumer applications. Technology advances in processing power, camera resolution, and illumination are making iris biometrics viable for a wide range of used cases.
Biometric Micro ATM-A Revolution with Biometrics in Banking
According to World Back, roughly 2 billion people around the world do not have access to formal sources of banking and financial services, or more than 50% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) worldwide lack adequate access to credit. However, financial services to poor and rural people have many limitations including lack of security and high operation costs. As a result, microfinance was developed as a cost-effective and sustainable way of expanding outreach of the banking system to the rural area with the goal of setting financial inclusion and equality. Microfinance is defined as financial services such as savings accounts, insurance funds and credit provided unbanked and under-banked population in remote areas where bank branches and ATM machines are hardly found. One of effective tools to reach deeply into rural areas is micro ATM. Micro ATMs which is similar to a POS (Point of Sales) has its functions like a normal ATM such as: cash withdrawal, cash deposit, balance enquiries and other functions based on each Microfinance Institutions (MFI). It provides many benefits such as: ease of payments at doorstep instead of travelling long distances, minimized queuing leading to operational efficiencies at Banks, accurate and fast transaction, eliminating middlemen, etc. However, one of the problems restricting the growth of micro ATMs is the security vulnerability or in other words, how can the machine recognize it's the right person to allow the transaction. As technology evolves, biometric micro ATMs - a micro ATM which is integrated with a biometric modality for authentication like fingerprint, face, hand, or iris recognition, is emerging as a cost-effective and ultimate solution for the micro finance's development. Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) is one of greatest examples of this deployment. In 2012, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has launched a biometric micro ATM device that would enable beneficiaries like workers with Aadhaar to withdraw money near their doors through core banking system. The micro ATM will be connected to banks across the country. This would enable a person to instantly deposit or withdraw funds regardless of the bank associated with a particular Business Correspondent (BC). This hand-held device will be based on a mobile phone connection and would be made available at every BC. Customers have to get their biometric identity authenticated first before performing transactions like withdrawing or putting money into their bank accounts. This money will come from the cash drawer of the BC. Essentially, BCs will act as a bank for the customers and all they need to do is verify the authenticity of customer using customers' unique identification. The fintech industry, which is lowering costs for banks to receive information and data about clients, is providing alternative channels to reduce service delivery costs (cell phones, cards, and internet). As reported, a tribal woman from a remote village in India pressed her finger on an Aadhaar-enabled micro ATM to get her old-age pension in cash. Not only her, but hundreds of old-age pensioners of this village collected their pensions in the same way with the help of the Aadhaar-enabled payment system. Biometrics has opened a new gate for those with illiteracy and regional languages barriers to financial equality. It also acts as a second level of authentication thereby, enhancing transaction security. Microfinance has changed dramatically in the past 10 years. Fast forward to today, the microfinance industry is entering its most interesting phase of development. The sector is becoming fully integrated into the mainstream banking and financial services industry. One of the key factors driving this change is the technological innovations and the digitalization of payment services. Mobile banking/ micro ATM and biometrics offer one of the most promising options for providing financial services to the unbanked population. In traditional finance, usually developed economies bring experiences to emerging markets. Fintech provides an opportunity for developed countries to learn about innovations, such as digital finance or mobile banking, from emerging economies. As said by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim: "Universal access to financial services is within reach – thanks to new technologies, transformative business models and ambitious reforms."
Biometric identification Boosting Automotive Security
Today's vehicles are highly complex in terms of both features and user interfaces. Biometric identification system is an effective solution to personalize vehicles for each driver and allow him to access to confidential information stored in the vehicle's database. Utilizing advanced biometric technology, biometric driver identification optimizes the settings of the vehicle's active driver assistance and accident prevention systems specifically to suit the identified person. With the ability to recognize the true driver, biometric driver identification can enable security of car network preventing from hacking and feature driver behavior-based algorithms for safety and performance. The utilization of biometric driver identification can blend nicely with the existing vehicle security systems and offer a higher degree of multi-level protection. Additionally, the recognition system can be integrated into intelligent vehicle systems with purpose of achieving safer driving. There are a few biometric systems for cars making their way to the market already. In 2011, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation showed how far biometrics can take the car of the future at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show with the EMIRAI concept. The car recognizes the driver's face using a camera, and then also takes the temperature of the driver's face with an infrared ray. A sensor in the seat measures the driver's heart rate. Recently, Dr. Kim, CEO of IriTech, stated in an interview with Findbiometrics that several auto manufacturers have contacted the company for iris identification inside the car. With iris identification system, it can help to authorize a valid driver and utilize Bluetooth or other systems to ensure full security for inside the car. The constant evolution of driver assistance and information systems brings ever-increasing driving comfort and safety. Biometric driver identification can optimize the schemes of the vehicle's active driver assistance and accident prevention by imposing specific restrictions for drivers. With the help of the driver profiles, the on-board accident prevention and assistance systems can even cater for different driving styles. Besides, through anti-theft protection feature, the identification system can send a message to the owner's mobile if it cannot identify the person in the driver's seat. The owner has several options to solve this sensitive breach by immobilizing the vehicle via "remote control", authorize use on a case-by-case basis, or notify the police. Furthermore, the biometric access also raises the possibility of personalizing the driver experience, such as personalized settings for seat position, as well as inside temperature and entertainment. Specially, recent technological progress in diversity, sensitivity, data capacity and miniaturization of biometric and biomedical instrumentation sensors and devices are enabling the general public to have more real-time access to personal health status as well as enjoy more security for their personal electronic devices. The availability of biometric has implications in many markets and significant potential to increase driving comfort and safety when embedded into appropriate algorithms related to vehicle design and performance. For example, a vehicle that senses that the driver has an elevated body temperature and has increased his respiration rate significantly may automatically open windows or increase interior ventilation to improve comfort. There are many benefits to safety car transport operations using biometric tracking technology. Monitoring each driver with unique biometric data can not only secure the safety and overall health of the driver, but also provide management with rich data to enhance company-wide decision making and individual performance evaluations. It was noted that on a macro level, the car carrying industry could make use of biometric tracking data to reduce overhead by warning of excessive fuel consumption, identifying billing anomalies, reducing overtime expenses, and easily detecting any unauthorized use of a vehicle. Additionally, the identification system can be integrated into intelligent vehicle systems with purpose of achieving safer driving.
Biometrics to Ease Security Intense in EU
Biometrics can be broadly defined as the use of personal traits to identify, or verify the claimed identity of individual. Fingerprint, iris, face, and voice are all examples of characteristics that have been used to identify us in this way. A biometric-based border control system includes (1) biometric passport & travel documents which contain traveler's biometric data to track and manage their flow; (2) nation-wide biometric database integrated in the entry-exit systems. Passport owner's information will be kept in an electronic chip, every time he goes through the border check, this information will be compared with the passport holder to identify if they are the same person. The system is considered more secure, quicker and more accurate than the paper passport since it uses biometric and contactless smartcard technology which is hardly counterfeited and tamper resistant. In 2004, following the tragic events of 11 September 2001, the European Council has first introduced biometric recognition technology in passport and travel documents in order to enhance the security, combat fraud and falsification more effectively. Since then, many EU national governments such as Netherlands, France, the UK, Germany, etc. have already begun the use of biometric modalities for automated border crossing systems at selected airports as a risk-management tool with potential for improving security and facilitation to participating travelers. According to Frontex, traveler usage of the Automated Border Control (ABC) system in Portugal has been growing rapidly with an estimated 1.4 million users in 2013 (growth from 1 million in 2012). Also in Finland, there are 33 eGates in total as of 2013. The system not only brings the security benefit but also enhances the overall traveler experience by providing faster processing times. Simplified and fast checks will be cost–effective, more predictable, convenient and user friendly. Recently at the end of 2015, due to the terrorist attack which massacred 130 people in Paris, EU national security concern is getting intensive than ever, especially in Schengen area where people are allowed move freely between states without being subjected to passport checks. According to the media, one of the terrorists impersonated as a Syria refugee and entered Greece in October. From there, he moved to many countries and eventually made his way to Paris for the attacks. Many Schengen border countries such as Greece has failed to control & register the major immigration influx and let them in through their border control. This has led to a constant threat of IS member to start the attack in the region. In such situation, many biometric solutions have been brought up as an effective way to strengthen the border control security for all asylum seekers, including implementing biometric registration and identification. Sweden Prime Minister has proposed to implement biometric passport controls at the external borders of Europe's passport-free Schengen zone in order to maintain the principle of free movement within the Schengen area in the absence of internal border controls. On the other hand, France has called for EU-wide rules requiring all travelers to provide biometric data for border checks as they enter the Schengen area. As Euobserver explained, smart borders which was proposed by the European Commission in 2013, was temporarily shelved following concerns over its billion-euro price tag and law enforcement access, and now has been the subject of a public consultation. Furthermore, Turkey is preparing to issue biometric passports to its citizens as part of an agreement with the European Union to help them manage a major influx of refugees. No matter how biometrics technology may be applied in the ABC systems, it will surely bring positive impact and benefits to the border control process. The system will automatically verify the validity of the travel document and then authorize the document's rightful holder to cross the border. It will also detect signs of falsification or counterfeiting. A biometric check provides enhanced confidence about the authenticity of the travel document. In the future, ABC systems will potentially have a critical impact on airport infrastructure and help ease the current security intense in EU.
Iris Biometric to Manage Global Workforce
Biometrics such as iris, fingerprint, and facial recognition are getting more attentions over the world. More businesses are adopting biometric technology as a critical tool for individual identification in different industries like: automotive, ATM, point of sales, etc. Biometrics for workforce management – especially time and attendance - is a rapidly growing trend not only to accurately identify employee but also streamline the traditional, old management solution, hence increase the transparency, productivity, and help saving costs. According to Technavios, the global biometric workforce management is expected to record a CAGR of more than 17% from 2015 to 2019. Also, analysts from Biometrics Research Group, Inc. forecasted that the market for all biometric workforce management solutions such as cloud-, software- and hardware-based will reach US$600 million in sales by 2018. The market is mainly driven by the need for organizations to adopt biometric workforce management to replace traditional security systems which include PINs, passwords, credentials and keys. According to researchers, buddy punching accounts for 2.2% of gross payroll losses, and employers lose about 4.5 hours per week per employee in time theft. A white paper published by Circadian Technologies estimated that unexpected absenteeism cost businesses up to $3,600 per year per hourly employee and $2,650 per year per salary employee. Deciding to eliminate these abuses is an urgent task for enterprises in order to ensure employee accountability and improve productivity within organizations; especially for global enterprises with branches all over the globe and a rapidly evolving workforce, it is imperative than ever. Taking an example from Averda, Lebanon's leading provider of processing machinery for consumer goods. Founded on 1964, Averda has more than 10,000 employees with 11 branches in Middle East, Europe, and Africa. With such a large number of employees working in 11 different locations, managing employee's time and attendance effectively has become a challenge for Averda. Besides, as a waste management solutions provider, its workers have to wear gloves most of time and although fingerprint is a very popular modality but it is not a top choice in this case. After searching for different time & attendance solutions, Averda has come up with the decision of selecting iris biometric-based time and attendance solution to track its employees which is more accurate, stable and completely contactless compared to fingerprint. The system includes iris scanners along with a time and attendance software called IriTracker Enterprise. Averda installs IriTracker Enterprise on the server at its Headquarter which features enrollment/register of new employees, distribution of the new enrollment into Database & Clients and the logging of all attendance records. At each office, iris scanners are connected with PC/ laptop or an Android tablet/ phone for enrollment and attendance. Besides, Averda also uses a device called Ethernet time & attendance which includes a BeagleBone board and iris camera module. It is mounted in front of the entrance and acts as an attendance device. Those devices are installed IriTracker Enterprise Client software which is a GUI (Graphic User Interface) application working with the server at headquarters. As a simple demonstration, an employee walks in the office; he will first have his irises and personal information registered; the information will be transferred to headquarters' database for storage and later verifications. Next time the employee walks in, his iris will be scanned for attendance record by an iris scanner or an Ethernet device. If the employee wants to check in and out by his own Android device, he can install IriTracker software into his Android tablet/ phone and plug iris camera in to verify his iris. It's fast, simple and convenient. Averda is one of those cases that deployed biometric workforce management successfully and it's expected that there will be more businesses who realize the benefits of using a biometric attendance system in order to eliminate time related abuses and maximize employee productivity. In the near future, biometric time and attendance system will become an essential part for organizations to ensure operational efficiency.
Retina vs. Iris Recognition: Similarities and Differences
Besides fingerprint and facial recognition, eye scanning is one of the most highly mentioned biometric modalities these days. As the security market rapidly increases, it is expected that eye recognition solution would grow fast at a CAGR of 23.40% between 2015 and 2020, reported by MarketsandMarkets. The recognition of retina and iris are known as eye-based identification which means they rely on unique physiological attributes of the eye to identify an individual. However, there are certain differences in the way they work. Retina is the thin layer that is on the inner back of the eye. It is a complex structure of blood vessels that even identical twins do not have a similar texture, thus, it is unique for each person. However, the retina patterns can be changed in case of diabetes, glaucoma or degenerative disorders of the retina. A retinal scan is performed by sending out an unobserved low-energy infrared light beam into a person's eye as they look into the scanning device. This beam of light traces the systematized path of the retina. As the blood vessels of the retina are more light absorbent than the rest of the eye, the amount of reflected light varies during scanning. The result received is the pattern of those variations. Quite different from retina, iris is flat, ring-shaped tissue behind the cornea of the eye. The iris contains muscles that adjust the size of the pupil and regulate the amount of light that enters one's eye. The color of the iris defines the eye color. For some people, retina scanning is often confused with iris recognition. Iris recognition is an automated method of biometric identification that uses video camera technology with near infrared illumination (NIR) to capture images of the detail-rich structures of the iris. The images are turned into digital templates and stored in a database. These templates provide a mathematical representation of the iris, or in other word, it represents a person identity. Although retina scanning and iris recognition have some aspects in common such as: low false acceptances and false rejections rate (1 in millions), high reliability (even identical twins do not share the same pattern of iris or retina), quick verification, etc.; there are apparently typical differences between these two modalities. Stability: while the accuracy of retina scan can be affected by diseases; the iris texture remains extremely stable because it is internal and protected, yet externally visible part of the eye. Invasion: while iris pattern can be captured with NIR from a distance which is totally safe for human eye; retina scan requires a very close encounter with the scanning device by using a beam of light deep inside the eye which is considered to be invasive. For those reasons, iris identification technology is more widely accepted and deployed in different industries. Up to date, roughly 1 billion of people around the world have been enrolled in iris recognition systems for security and convenience purposes such as: national ID, border control, finance and banking, etc. Many governments already used the technology as a means of highly secured identity management and it's expected to soon enter the massive commercial sectors such as: automotive, mobile and internet of things.
Highlights of Biometric Deployments in 2015
In 2015, we have witnessed breakthroughs and initials in the field of biometric technology. As a new year has started, let's take a look back of notable developments and events in last year to see an overall picture on how they have affected the adoption of biometrics in major vertical sectors and how they have affected our way of living. Banking and finance It's not very surprised that banking and finance is one of the most interesting sectors in 2015, which is predicted earlier to be second only to Government sector in driving biometrics. After the launching of Apple Pay, two other major mobile payments services have been launched is Samsung Pay and Android Pay. Also, according to a recent report from research and consulting firm Aite Group, by the end of 2015, 6 of the largest 19 banks in the U.S. will enable biometrics for mobile banking. It is obvious that using biometrics would enhance customer experiments and transaction security greatly. Banks and financial institutions also need a way to combat identity theft and transaction fraud cases. As reported by Goode Intelligence, today, millions of customers (120 million plus during 2015) are using mobile biometrics on a daily basis to provide secure and convenient user authentication and transaction authorization. The report predicts that this trend is set to continue and accelerate. Mobile devices One of the most important leverages for the mobile payment mentioned above is the innovations of mobile devices or wearable devices in general. In 2015 we have seen iris, fingerprint, face, voice and multi-modal authentication built-in devices available to consumers across the globe which enables the ultimate access for users to their personal data. According to FindBiometrics, nary a week went by without at least one announcement of a new smartphone featuring some kind of biometric security. The 2014 report of Acuity Market Intelligence projects that by 2020, global mobile biometric market revenues will reach $34.6 billion annually. Acuity Market Intelligence also forecasts that rising demand for smartphones, tablets and wearable mobile devices that incorporate biometrics will drive a global market of 2.5 billion users with nearly 4.8 billion biometric devices by 2020. Border control Another sector is getting much attention from both citizen and government in 2015 is border control and immigration, especially when the "biggest refugee and migration crises since World War II" and the Paris terrorist attacks occurred. National security concerns become momentum for the government to strengthen the border control and immigrants accesses. For those reasons, many governments around the world have already adopted biometric based systems. Besides, advanced technology used in airport control, passport and visa also did a great help to customers in terms of enhancing travel experiments. According to a report by Visiongain, the use of biometric security for border control has generated $16.4 billion of revenues in 2015. In this year, we also see some governments have agreed to share biometric data in order to detect suspected terrorists. Generally speaking, 2015 is quite vibrant for biometric market and we're really looking for an even more interesting year of 2016 ahead with more biometric fintech innovations, massive consumer price point multi-modal mobile devices, or in other words, a more secure and convenient living environment.
Liveness Detection for a Robust Biometric Solution
Biometric authentication system provides additional security over traditional methods such as passwords, credentials, but it can also have vulnerabilities. One of the most common forms of attack on biometric system is called "spoofing", in which one person or program successfully impersonate as another by falsifying data and thereby gaining unauthorized right. Artificial fingers, high resolution iris image, a photograph of the authorized user, or an audio voice recording are examples of spoof attacks against various biometric systems. Moreover, our faces and irises are visible to everyone, and when we talk or use phone driven application, our voice can be recorded. Even our fingerprints and DNA are presented by anything we touch in anywhere we go.Researchers and institutions have reported that fingerprint and facial recognition systems can be easily spoofed by using fake fingers made of gelatin and a high quality video of a person's face. It's proved that there are real threats of spoofing biometric systems. Although biometric-based systems, using fingerprints, iris, facial, recognition, are only just now entering the mainstream, they are expected to be common in the next few years. As soon as they start to be used to protect bank accounts or benefit systems, fraudsters will begin to look for ways of cracking into them, according to Bori Toth, biometric research and advisory lead at Deloitte & Touche. Currently, only researchers and institutions that are doing the spoofing, but soon we need to take serious actions to enhance the biometric security.Liveness detection can be simply defined as the ability of a biometric system to distinguish the difference between the spoof and a real person. Securing automated and unsupervised biometric system is one of the most critical and most challenging tasks in real world scenarios. There is a variety of ways to detect liveness by utilizing the properties of living body such as: blood flow, precipitation, pulse, blood pressure, thermal, hippus (pupil movement), saccade (eye movement); or by utilizing bodily response to external stimuli that requires user involvement such as: blink the eyes, smile or speak a phrase at a specific time. Recently we've seen numerous innovations in anti-spoofing tech, particularly with the advent of new kinds of fingerprint tech to prevent false acceptance and increase security for examples: Apple's patent Doodle - a method of distinguishing between "push" and "pull" swipes from the finger to capture a larger more comprehensive image of the finger, besides just ridges and valleys; or other patents by Atos IT Solutions and Services for face recognition spoof prevention, etc. Researches and competitions have also been established to set up standards, develop countermeasures to fend off spoofed biometric identifiers, and prime biometric recognition for widespread consumer use around the world such as: Clarkson University's Center for Identification Technology Research, European Union funded TABULA RASA consortium.Although biometric authentication systems can be susceptible to spoofing attacks, different sophisticated anti-spoofing technologies can be developed and implemented that may significantly raise the level of difficulty of such attacks. Liveness detection is a key aspect of a robust biometric solution which will enhance security, reliability and effectiveness of the biometric system.
Protect Your Digital Life with Biometrics
Increasingly, we're living double lives. One is our physical, everyday existence and the other is our digital life. Digital identity as defined by Techopedia is "an online or networked identity adopted or claimed in cyberspace by an individual, organization or electronic device". In other words, those are characteristics or data attributes such as: username, password, date of birth, search activities, medical history, etc. that you use to prove yourself on the internet. Digital identity is really a bridge to our human identity and it's used in spectacular large numbers every single day. Beginning with simple usernames & passwords that we use to log into public websites, now we only need to gather initial information and use it across the internet for example using Facebook accounts or Google accounts to log on instead of creating a new account. According to BCG analysis, the amount of available data is expected to grow exponentially to roughly 7 zettabytes (1 ZB = 1 trillion gigabytes) and the global data transaction is also predicted to reach 7.91 zettabytes by 2015. However, as the growing of data explosion, we also see many breaches of our data and so many compromises of our security. A recent study by Javelin Strategy & Research stated that around 12.7 million Americans were hit with identity fraud in 2014 with financial losses totaling $16 billion. Especially in healthcare, in less than 1 year, we have witnessed a record number of data breaches in the US. Roughly 96 million records were stolen in just 3 high‒profile cases alone ‒ Community Health Systems (4.5 million), Anthem (80 million), and Premera (11 million). Besides, the digital trends of moving to the cloud or connecting everything together by the internet (IoT) also bring many security risks. These days, more and more users have had a better awareness of keeping their information secure and started to require providers to add better security layer. As a Gallup Survey research on steps that Americans would take to prevent identity theft, biometrics is the clear winner. And 79% of the respondents saying they are willing to use iris scanning for authentication. Biometrics which includes fingerprint, iris, face, palm, etc. would help to add a protection layer into the existing system. Control personal information by biometrics is the key to allow us to manage our own info and only provide what is needed, create some sort of anonymous identification, combine strong authentication (biometrics) with anonymity, increase privacy and provides user-centric control over PII (personally identifiable information). Moreover, massive amounts of business data are likely to exist on mobile devices such as smart phones, tablets and thumb drives. People use them more than any other platforms to access data and services. In the near future, researchers expect identity credentials such as: driver's license, medical card, passport, etc. will be all embedded into mobile devices and become digital. By the means of mobile devices and biometrics, digital identity will be secured, leads to a convenience, transparent, user-centric ecosystem for finance, healthcare, E/m-commerce, telecommunication, etc. to grow.
Biometrics to Secure the Internet of Things
The "Internet of things" (IoT) is a hot topic of conversation both in the workplace and outside of it. Basically, IoT is a concept of connecting any device to the internet (and/or to each other). This includes almost everything from mobile phone, washing machines, baby monitors, cars or even a jet engine of an airplane. Imagine you're heading home on your car after work and your smart gate receives notification to open when you're meters from home. We can see the new rule for the future is going to be, "anything that can be connected, will be connected." IoT certainly opens the door to virtually endless opportunities but also to many challenges. Security vulnerabilities are big issues that are usually brought up in conversations. With billions of devices being connected together, what can we do to make sure that our information stays secure? Will someone be able to hack into one of your devices and thereby get access to our entire network? It's obvious that traditional approaches of user authentication are now inadequate and ineffective in the IoT era. Taking an example, the use of two-factor authentication (2FA), which typically combines a password with a second layer of protection, has gained popularity. However, they are cumbersome, time consuming, easy to forge and potentially stolen or lost. Recently, Gemalto has revealed that the largest breach in the first half of 2015 was an identity theft that exposed 78.8 million records, representing 32% of the total data records stolen. As the malware and other attacks become more sophisticated, a new method is highly needed in granting physical access securely and conveniently. A new player is biometrics which is gaining its reputation in the security game. And thanks to technology giant Apple, biometrics has entered massive market. Frankly speaking, biometrics is who we are and it cannot be stolen or lost. Besides, people don't have to carry it all around or remember it, what can be more convenient? Biometrics in IoT will not only unlock bank apps, email accounts but also cars, homes and many other things. The analyst firm Gartner says that by 2016, IoT will drive device and user relationship requirements in 20% of new identity and access management (IAM), with new biometrics to emerge as a key role. Earl Perkins, research vice president at Gartner, said: "IAM, as defined today, will bifurcate, with identity management assuming a broader entity relationship management role and access management assuming a broader relationship execution role that replaces or supplements authentication policy and authorization enforcement. Furthermore, the biometric research group said: "We conservatively estimate that biometric sensors, which includes work time management and premise security entry consoles, will total at least 500 million "Internet of Things" connections by 2018." With the evolution of the IoT and the utilizing of biometrics, there will be endless applications giving both convenience and security in different industries such as: smart home, automotive industry, finance, healthcare, etc. which will only be limited by human's imagination.
Numerous Advantages of Biometric Physical Access Control
Physical access control devices and systems play an important part in our life from the simplest single door of your house to a larger scale of organizations and governments. Together with the technological proliferation, there are increasing demands for safety and security. Electronic access control system (EACS) such as: biometrics, card based, intruder alarm, touchpad and keypad, etc. are playing a critical role in replacing the outdated and insecure traditional access control methods like human or locks and keys. According to MarketsandMarkets research, EACS market is "witnessing a positive growth and increased adoption across the globe" and expected to reach $16.3 billion by 2017. While other types of electronic access control methods such as: password, PIN or magnetic stripe appeared to have inevitable vulnerabilities and caused losses to the owners, biometrics emerges as a stronger authentication solution that eliminates hassles, cuts cost, and most of all, provides the highest level of safety and convenience. After all, the biggest mission of a security access control is to ensure the authenticated users only access what they are authorized to. Although one of the earliest biometric systems that have been used at San Francisco International airport produced more than 50,000 verifications on high volume days in 1991, the adoption has just become more popular since the terrorist attack on September, 11th 2001. The physical-based biometric systems using unique human features like fingerprint, retina, iris, hand geometry, etc. can provide accountability and accuracy for the system. Commercial enterprises and government agencies that have increasingly deployed biometric access control can gain numerous benefits over the effective investment. For Organization Theft, tampering, sabotage, etc. are aching problems that organizations are facing, especially when employee theft is increasing these days. According to the National Retail Federation report, 60% all inventory losses are actually caused by employees and about $33 billion in revenue lost in 2013 due toemployee theft. Biometric security systems which authenticate the identities of individuals to grant their accesses to critical and sensitive areas, facilities or resources can minimize these issues by adding extra layers to the security system. Biometrics integrated into sophisticated security systems can make it much more difficult for culprits of sabotage or theft. More than that, having a biometrics system in cases that can scan through large groups of people is the way to go as it reduces processing time, resources, and human errors. For Government The situation becomes more complicated when it comes to government issues. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects that the global travel will grow 4.1% per year, from 3.3 billion passengers in 2014 to 7.3 billion in 2034. It is required that airport operations and processes have to be innovatively improved in order to ensure passengers' safety as well as the national security. In this case, biometric identification system scans travelers at the airports and matches their identities against the database of terrorists stored in their systems, thereby, identify possible attacks and mitigating the security risks. Besides, access control to these airports' sensitive facilities can be further improved by using biometric-based ID card for example E-Passport or E-Visa by collecting biometric information for visa/ passport issuance and verifying travelers' data when they enter. On May 2014, two of the world's busiest airports, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson and Chicago O'Hare, announced the introduction of biometric Automated Passport Control (APC) kiosks which resulted in the prediction of global automated border control market to grow 22% CARG from 2014 – 2018 by Acuity. Apparently there are undeniable benefits that biometric access control can bring: highest security, convenience, cost effectiveness, reliability, etc. In the next coming years, the access control market which biometrics plays a crucial role is expected to reach $10.4 billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 10.6% between 2014 and 2020, according to "Access Control Market by Product, Application & By Geography – Global Forecast & Analysis to 2020" report.
Can Biometric Technology Secure the Prevalence of ATMs?
Automatic teller machines (ATMs) are terminals which are installed by banks to facilitate cash withdrawal, fund transfer, balance check for customers. ATM allows the account holder to have transactions with their own accounts without the opportunity to access the entire bank's database. The original ATM systems utilize PIN and cards to authenticate users when making the transactions. In fact, with the mushrooming of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in every road, economic frauds through them are getting more complicated day by day. This also increased the high risk level of ATM fraud in banking operations. According to the Huffington Post news in 2013, ATM fraud allowed thieves to steal $45 million in hours. Besides, the banking industry lost $943 million to debit card fraud in 2012, according to the ABA's 2013 Deposit Account Fraud Survey. The security for financial services like ATM banking becomes a great issue. Passing of information faces massive problems due to various types of attacks to the communication link. Many security algorithms are available to protect information from being hacked, among those technologies is the biometric authentication process which adds a new dimension of security for any person sensitive to authentication. In recent years, the importance of biometrics has grown tremendously with an increasing demand of security in accordance with unique identification of individuals. With the development of biometric solutions for ATMs, there is no need to remember PIN numbers; instead, your body like fingerprint or iris will become your PIN number to stringently reinforce the security of your transactions. With ATM supported by biometric solutions, banks having a presence across the country are leveraging this technology to enhance the services and fight frauds. The application of biometrics for ATM banking is gaining majority. Based on the journal "Review Banking on Biometric in the World's Banks and Introducing a Biometric Model for Iran's Banking System" written by Hosseini and Mohammadi in 2012, it is indicated that among the world's banks that use biometric technology, 52% are located in Asia. The second continent with the majority of banks is America that includes 32% of all. Besides, approximately 48% of the banks of the survey use fingerprint in different operations, and iris biometric accounted for 7.43% of market share. There were about 45% of the banks in the world use biometrics in ATM banking. Biometric ATM has gained positive responses from banks and customers. CEO of Barclays Personal and Corporate Banking said: "Biometrics is the way to go in the future there's no question about that we are committed to that type of platform." With the excellent security capacity, Barclays Bank also announced that they will widen the use of biometrics to their million customers in the UK branch network. Not only is biometric ATM being widely used in developed countries but it has been reaching mainstream adoptions in other developing countries like Brazil, Kenya and Nigeria. Moreover, according to the U.K-based consultancy Retail Banking Research, emerging markets such as China and India have seen a spectacular growth in biometric ATM deployments in recent years. These two markets are predicted to have the most rapidly world-wide adoption in biometric ATM in the future. Banking adoption of biometrics is contributing to a booming biometric industry with biometric vendors experiencing a tremendous growth on the back of the escalation of consumer-led adoption of biometric authentication. With the supports of biometrics on ATM banking, banks can provide customers a safer and user-friendly banking experience as well as reduce the frauds from ATM banking operations.