1. What is biometrics, and why is it being so talked about?
Biometrics is the automated recognition of individuals, based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics. The best-known use of biometrics for identification is in fingerprinting; other examples include iris scanning and face recognition systems.
Because the traits measured by biometrics are unique to each individual, security is far greater than is possible with other systems. In addition, modern technology enables the capturing of biometric information quickly and unobtrusively.
2. What are some of the most likely applications of biometrics and when will they be introduced?
Passports and visas can have biometric identification elements added to them, making fraudulent use of these documents extremely difficult. Reliable, automated identity verification, in turn, enables a number of services:
- Self-service access gates at border crossings.
- Use of electronic identity cards to trigger the provision of goods, services, benefits or the release of money.
- Use of voice recognition by call centers to increase security levels for sensitive transactions.
The air travel and banking industries are the earliest adopters of this technology.
Accenture Technology Labs is pioneering the drive to perfect this technology, with pilot projects already being tested at London's Heathrow airport.
3. Won't the application of biometrics constitute an invasion of privacy?
In many ways, the use of biometrics can enhance privacy by making it very difficult for unauthorized people to gain access to sensitive information, and by making it equally difficult to steal people's identities.
In addition, businesses and governments have recently tightened procedures and regulations to keep personal data from being misused or from falling into the wrong hands.
4. How practical is the use of biometrics for smaller businesses?
Once there is widespread adoption of biometrics by larger organizations—and it is only a matter of time before this happens—the large-scale uptake of the technology will lead to cost reductions within a relatively short time. The same thing has happened with many other technologies, like personal computers and video recorders. Small businesses will then be in a better position to afford the technologies associated with biometrics. Also to be considered are the savings that will result from lowered rates of fraud, which will help to justify investments in biometrics.
5. What is Accenture doing to help businesses implement biometrics?
Accenture has developed software applications tailored for specific industries that will help businesses in those industries to implement practical biometric solutions suitable for their circumstances. Examples of such applications are Accenture's Travel Security Services for the airport and airline industries and Accenture's Transport Security Services for shipping and logistics.
The work Accenture is doing to develop a service-oriented architecture for biometrics also means that businesses will be able to implement biometric systems and use them over an extended period without having to worry that advances in the enabling technology will require extensive, new investments.
6. Biometrics is a new technology. Would it not be better for businesses to delay implementation until it has achieved greater maturity?
The falling cost of sensors and data storage and the increasing capacity to process and analyze data make biometrics practical to implement today. What's more, Accenture's use of a service-oriented architecture makes using and integrating new technologies into a biometrics solution easy and cost effective. With a service-oriented architecture approach, the system is designed around the business intent of the application rather than the technologies used to execute the application. This means our clients do not need to worry about obsolescence of current investments, even as the technologies underlying biometrics change and mature over the next few years. Biometrics can play a key role in helping clients to reach successfully for high performance—with Accenture, they can make that move now.