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Protecting Critical Infrastructure through Biometrics
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By Anne-Marie Fleming
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Protecting Critical Infrastructure through Biometrics
Biometric Security Identification Helps to Control Access toKey Assets, Structures, Borders and Ports.
By: Ann-Marie Fleming January 2006
Biometrics, an authentication technology that measures uniquehuman characteristics as a way to confirm an individual'sidentity, has been around for some time now; however since 9/11this industry has received significant attention as a valuableaddition to homeland security solutions. Biometric technologyencompasses a range of identification measures such asfingerprints, palm readers, facial recognition, and retina scansas they work to minimize security risks in the protection ofcritical infrastructure and the screening of access throughborders and ports.
Infrastructure Risk:
"The main vulnerabilities of our critical infrastructures arethe widespread use of inadequate personal identification systemsand the pronounced absence of appropriate low-cost equipment forthe detection of dangerous substances", describes Dore Perler,CEO of Sense Holdings Inc. (OTCBB: SEHO), a developer ofnext-generation biometric and integrated explosive detectiontechnologies. "While very cost-effective metal detectorscurrently exist, there are no equivalent cost-effectivetechnologies for the detection of explosives, chemical orbiological agents. Sense believes that biometric systemspresently offer the most robust solution to personalidentification uncertainties and Micro Electro-MechanicalSensors (MEMS) will to do the same for the detection ofdangerous substances," explains Perler.
Restricting control rooms, protecting critical supplies ofsensitive information and vulnerable personnel creates a needfor the deployment of not only effective access technology, butalso systems that can operate in a non-obtrusive manner tobecome a part of daily activity. Genex Technologies, asubsidiary of Technest Holdings (OTCBB: TCNH), a provider ofadvanced remote sensor systems, chemical detectors, intelligentsurveillance and advanced 3D imaging technology solutions, seesan advantage to the development of biometric systems such asfacial recognition that do not require an active effort on thepart of the entrant as is the case with fingerprint systems,iris scanners, and palm readers. Robert Tarini, Chairman and CEOof Technest Holdings' explains, "The face is a much more publicidentifier, and there is already a wide precedent for its use ondriver's licenses, passports, and other media. The challenge formain stream adaptation of the technology to occur is for thestatistical accuracy of facial recognition to improve to thepoint where it is 95%-97% accurate; presently the technology isless than 90% accurate in many applications."
Border and Port Security: Securing critical infrastructure is aby-product of effective border and port screening measures, akey area within homeland security that is heavily aided bybiometrics. Through securing our nation's access points by moreeffectively screening entrants, potential risks to valuableassets and infrastructure within the country are more protected.Brian Ruttenbur, Equity Analyst, Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc.describes, "The type of biometrics getting the biggest boost athis time is fingerprint identification. We are seeing thatfinger is the standard; however we anticipate the mostpercentage growth over the next year to surround facialrecognition technology, because facial biometrics is the ICAOStandard that will be used on every travel document. Finger hasreceived the initial boost, and face over time will grow fasterpercentage wise as we are dealing with a smaller base."
Motorola's (NYSE: MOT) Robert L. Horton, Director StrategicProduct Marketing, Biometrics Business Unit explains, "Homelandsecurity, including securing the nation's borders, is a criticalissue. Many countries have entry-exit policies and proceduresthat make it easy for individuals posing a national securitythreat to enter and leave the country undetected. Today,democratic nations are faced with a radically new strategicchallenge: how to identify, out of the many millions of foreignnationals who seek entry each year, those few who may be threatsto our national security? The key word is "identify." We cannotstop the terrorists unless we know who they are - and canidentify them in time to get the right information to the rightpeople. Balancing these conflicting goals of economics andsecurity demands a screening process that nets the bad guyswhile letting legitimate visitors through with minimal delay andinconvenience. This is where biometric technology comes in."
"Most border security processes identify travelers by what theyhave (travel documents such as passports and visas) and whatthey know (asking travelers questions). The travel document alsoestablishes a traveler's eligibility to enter the country.Biometrics on the other hand, focuses more on who the person is- characteristics that can more securely bind a person'sidentity to a travel document. Such documents are more reliable,cannot be forgotten and are less easily lost, stolen orguessed," concludes Horton.
The focus on biometric authentication by the Department ofHomeland Security has led to continued growth in this arena."The United States Government continues to push the use ofbiometrics for border and port security, and this has been avery good thing for the biometrics industry," states Ruttenbur.As described by Robert Tarini, one of Homeland Security's keychallenges entails accurate facial recognition for themonitoring of critical watchlists. "With thousands of peoplewalking through critical borders, ports and main transportationhubs, to date there has not been a successful facial recognitionsolution to check for face matches against known terrorists dueto problems associated with the comparison of surveillancephotos to watchlist databases using traditional 2D systems.Complicating this process is the fact that most public areashave diverse lighting conditions and difficult camera angles.Genex's SureMatch 3D Suite for WatchList is a solution createdto address the critical public need for security in open areasworking to convert watchlist databases from limited 2D photosinto dynamic 3D face models," states Tarini.
Addressing Vulnerabilities:
Sense is utilizing biometrics to address the need for accuratepersonal identification systems and integrated detection devicesfor harmful substances. "We are currently marketing eightdifferent well-developed and mature biometric identificationsolutions geared to specific market needs. We are also workingwith Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a part of the US Departmentof Energy, in the final development of our proprietary MEMShandheld explosives detector. Our MEMS technology offersunprecedented sensitivity at very low cost and is fullyprotected by 11 US Patents. We are planning to have a handhelddemonstrator unit completed by the first quarter of 2006."
Identix Inc. (NASDAQ: IDNX), a multi-biometric technologycompany, maintains a broad range of offerings and services thatplay into homeland security. The most well-known according toFrances Zelazny, Director of Marketing, "is in the live scanspace used to conduct background checks to basically establish atrackable identity before you are letting them into yourfacility." Identix has technology that is used to develop othersystems and applications for physical and large scale accesscontrol. "We also enable biometric id cards and facialrecognition systems that can be used to screen visitors againstany watchlists of people previously barred from access," statesZelazny.
Motorola offers a wide product line of biometric technologies,such as Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS),LiveScan, multi-modal biometric enrollment and matching toaddress a wide range of security needs. Governments worldwideuse these Motorola products in a wide array of applications thatinclude passports, national ID cards, refugee and asylumprograms, criminal justice systems, and welfare fraudprevention. "Our ground-breaking use of 3D face combined withface or finger fusion make Motorola's portfolio one of the mostaccurate in the industry. This enhanced portfolio reinforcesMotorola's dedication to the biometrics market, illustrates ourexpertise in fusing multiple biometrics, and shows how we canintegrate software with smart cards and secure documents,"describes Horton.
For entry points such as doors, guard stations, or checkpointsGenex Technologies' SureMatch 3D Suite for Access Control usesthe readily available feature data on the face to create ahighly secure matching template and compensates for alteredexpressions and occlusions that typically plague other facialrecognition systems, according to Tarini.
Challenges still remain in the area of standardization, explainsRuttenbur who states, "Fingerprint identification currently hasthe most standards and that is why it has generated the biggestlevel of adoption, but when we are talking aboutinteroperability and standardization there is still work to do.At this time the area of facial recognition represents thebiometric segment with the greatest need for consistentstandards."
A Biometric Future: The awareness of the need for effectiveaccess control continues to grow according to Zelazny, whostates, "In the last year there has been a surge in the demandfor fingerprinting services. Within the last 11 years we havefingerprinted 3 million people with 600,000 in this year alone.This increase is directly tied to the fact that more and morepeople understand that granting someone a job such as a teacher,bus driver, federal employees etc are going to requirebackground checks to establish trust and identity before you letsomeone into your facility. Growth has also been seen inbiometric identification for passwords and visas, federalcredentials, registered travel programs, transportation workeridentification cards are all going to have biometricsincorporated into them. This all plays into the growth of theindustry and clearly into what Identix offers."
While present day facial recognition is largely based on 2Dimplementations Tarini is looking toward future implementationsutilizing 3D facial recognition algorithms, which will increasethe accuracy of the systems to allow for reliable mainstreamadoption. "The extra dimensional data set from 3D technologywill bridge the performance gap and create significant marketpenetration. Genex Technologies is well positioned to provideall existent facial recognition products with significantlyimproved and fully integrated/turn key 3D facial recognitionthru its SureMatch suite of 3D algorithms and software," statesTarini.
Motorola recently announced that it is advancing its position asa top-tier biometrics solutions provider by enhancing itsportfolio of identity management products. "The newcomprehensive Motorola Biometrics Identity Management andSecurity Solutions portfolio broadens Motorola's commitment tohelp governments evolve to next generation ePassports andNational ID cards to help deliver safer travel worldwide. Thesebiometric solutions combine fingerprints with 3D and 2D facialimages identifying people by the sections of the face that areless susceptible to alteration. This highly accurate multi-modalbiometric algorithm is designed to produce and verify traveldocuments, national IDs, voter registration, and social benefitsand enables governments to more efficiently launch new securedocument programs via a single point of access," explains Horton.
Constant technical advances and higher production levels haveresulted in constantly improving biometric products atsignificantly lower costs. "We are beginning to see large-scaledeployments and this trend shows no sign of abatement for theforeseeable future. The biometric industry has a clear andbright future that will undoubtedly make a very positive andsignificant difference to national security and commercethroughout the world," explains Perler.
A longer term view sees a shift in this industry to an expandedmarket beyond the government realm. "Down the road, over thenext three to five years, there is going to be a huge migrationof biometric technology from the government to the commercialsector," believes Ruttenbur.
Ann-Marie Fleming Ann-Marie Fleming completed her MBA in theUnited States, where she attended Webster University. She alsoholds an Honors B.A from the University of Toronto. She has overfifteen years of experience within the financial industry toinclude retail banking and brokerage, investment banking, andmortgage brokerage within the United States and Canada, with afirm background in corporate research. Disclaimer:www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp,www.HomelandDefenseStocks.com/Companies/HomelandDefense/Disclaimer.asp
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