biometrics
Latest
New methods surfacing to rat out hostiles at airports
It seems that flying the not-so-friendly skies is becoming quite a hassle these days, as airport security is getting beefed up even more to account for the recent scare in the UK. Having to suffer through countless checkpoints as if you're guilty until proven innocent definitely flies against what we freebirds are used to, but apparently that's the price you pay if you want some sense of security while cruising the friendly skies. One company is trying to take lemons and make lemonade by offering up sophisticated filtering and detection systems that can supposedly distinguish a highly explosive Pantene bottle from your average (i.e. non-destructive) bottle of shampoo, while another outfit is lobbying to get its "intention analyzer" booth installed in commercial airports. Guardian Technologies is in talks with the TSA to get its PinPoint imaging software integrated into airport X-ray machines, which can reportedly analyze the density of liquids and determine the difference between "organic and explosive" substances (The timing here is somewhat intriguing, eh? Reminds us of how Parallels came hot on the heels of Boot Camp). The software transforms its density measurements into colorized images which provide an easy visual for spotting harmful materials, even through innocent-looking containers. Meanwhile, Suspect Detection Systems, Ltd. is also in cahoots with the TSA as it looks to install a number of "booths" in airports to rat out potential felons; any suspicious individual could be asked to answer a series of on-screen questions (such as "are you smuggling drugs?") while placing their hand on a biometric scanner within the booth -- the built-in algorithms analyze the heart rate, blood pressure, sweat quantity, etc. (think snazzy polygraph) to determine if the subject truly has an ill will or not. The Israeli-based company expects the $200,000 machine to accurately select "90 percent of potential saboteurs," while inconveniencing "only" 4 percent of non-thretening travelers. We're not sure which is more disturbing about this scenario: the fact that one in ten cool and collected terrorists can slip through undetected, or that millions of innocent travelers will be scrutinized for nothing. Regardless, with hijackings and terrorism becoming a seemingly growing threat, we can probably expect that these off-the-wall security measures will impact some of us just trying to catch a last minute flight, but aside from the impending aggravation, we're all better off safe than sorry.Read- Interrogation booth [subscription required, via Boing Boing]Read- PinPoint imaging [Via The Inquirer]
MacBook Pro with biometrics
The first thing I do whenever I get new Apple gear is think to myself, 'How can I void the warranty?' Usually I just dunk the machine in a vat of butter milk, but edahc is a little more creative than I am (and handier with a dremmel it would seem). He installed a fingerprint scanner in his new MacBook Pro, and documented the whole process in case you're as paranoid and handy as he is.Let us know if you try this yourself.[via Digg]
PlusID by Privaris does biometric security on a fob
If you, or your employees, are getting sick of carrying an ever-growing array of passwords and keycards, Privaris is hoping they have a solution for you. The plusID system uses biometrics to read your fingerprint -- not your face, brain or heart -- with fobs that communicate via RFID with many existing security systems, such as HID, Indala and Kantech. The plusID75, which begins shipping in August, is USB and Bluetooth compatible, uses a "tamper-resistant secure processor" that stores data right on the device rather than in a centralized database and will go about 1,000 uses before needing a recharge. A lower-end model, the plusID60, also appears to be available on the product page, lacking in the Bluetooth and one-time password implementation, presumably so it'll take up less budget space. Of course we'll still have our reservations about transmitting sensitive data with these, at least until we've heard some reviews -- or the CIA starts using them to get into their underground labs, or better yet, their guns.
NEC announces super-sensitive fingerprint scanner
With fingerprint scanners having become almost a commodity item nowadays-- we've already got a hard drive and thumb drive on biometric lockdown -- it looks like we may now be in for a sensitivity war (oxymoron?) among these devices similar to the ongoing megapixel escalation in digital cameras. Even though it's probably still vulnerable to Play-Doh-equipped hackers, NEC's new external USB reader offers an impressive 800dpi in its 15-millimeter wide sensor -- it seems the best you can do today is around 500dpi -- which at the very least will marginally speed up your web surfing, thanks to its slim 0.0001% chance of misidentifying a print. This "reading precision of the worldwide highest level" (thanks, machine translation) won't come cheap, though, as the pocket-size PU700-20 will cost about $250 when it ships on August 1st.[Via Digital World Tokyo]
BioCert ClipBio Pro 1GB biometric flash drive
Last time we heard from BioCert, it was regarding that there Guardian biometric fingerprint door lock. Now it looks like they're back in the game with the ClipBio Pro 1GB biometric flash drive. Yeah, it's more of the same when it comes to integrated-biometric personal data storage, but their fingerprint reading piece will only set you back $130, which ain't too bad for a gig of room (sans whatever space is required for that bundled iQBioDrive security software).[Via Mobility Site]
Tokyo train station gets facial scan payment systems
First they want to scan our brains for passwords, now they want to scan our faces as train passes? Privacy advocates, get on your tin foil hats facemasks, we've received report that Tokyo's Kasumigaseki Station will be shutting down their totally antiquated FeliCa RFID / NFC payment systems for an hour or two daily for a couple weeks, and switching on biometric cameras that snap faces, match them to train passes, and grant entry (or deny it if your train fare's depleted or late, or you, you know, are a terrorist). Despite lawyers calling it of questionable or outright dubious legality, it's gonna happen over there alright -- at least at Kasumigaseki Station -- so if you're in Tokyo and use this station, we have two suggestions: first is to wear a rubber mask of your pal so as to get on free and avoid detection. Second is to go to the next stop down the road in a show of protest for this system and in support of basic civil liberties and rights to privacy. You know, either works.[Via Smart Mobs]
Thought-based biometrics system underway?
Seems kind of old school if your brain interface doesn't provide extra-sensory enhancement or integration to robotic limbs, but researchers at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada are working on a system for thought-based biometrics by scanning and interpreting each individual's unique brain-wave signatures that occur when they think of a certain thought or can identify patterns uniquely -- kind of like that Peter Pan pixie dust thing, except in this case you get granted access to your box. For a variety of reasons the system isn't without its doubts and detractors, and will probably continue to have them so long as you have to wear an EEG cap on your scalp to get a reading -- though according to UCLA professor and BCI expert Jacques Vidal, rocking that headgear's the least of this system's problems. But if you expect us to shrug off any system that lets us interface with our gear via mind-link, you're sorely mistaken. So keep at it Carleton U, let's see some thought scanners.
LaCie introduces biometric access drive
Today LaCie introduced the Safe Mobile Hard Drive with fingerprint access. To gain access to the drive's contents, the user just swipes his/her finger across the incorporated scanner to unlock the drive's contents. The voodoo that allows this to work is embedded into the drive itself, so nothing needs to be installed onto the host computer. My only two questions are, first, will Apple ever adopt this technology and, more importantly, will we get The Six Million Dollar Man in our ads, too?
