Biometric Authentication Systems

The global stage has never been this buzzing and awash with commercial progress. Now more than ever before do we see the emergence and development of commercial enterprises into large and thriving global sized entities. Companies are standing up and taking their share of the pie with more and more profits realized each and every passing day. It is on this note, that most corporations feel the need to protect themselves and their information from those who seek to exploit and steal their trade secrets, discover their weaknesses or even steal their resources.

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We are driven by a deep desire that this company must strive to ensure that we protect what is valuable to us and keep out all those who seek to put the security of our firm at risk. We have an obligation to secure our databases and business premises so as to restrict access to our confidential and private information. The need for security access has necessitated the necessity to implement a raft of measures to secure our information. Key among this is the use of biometric security systems.

Biometric security systems employ the use of personal traits of an individual to ascertain who they are based on specific physical characteristics that they possess. The rise in biometric technology was prompted by the fact that traditional methods of security access such as passwords and pin codes can be easily interchanged between people. Here we are faced with a choice between finger print recognition, facial recognition and iris recognition all of which are quite secure methods of security control.

The criteria for assessment of the biometric systems is based on the cost of purchase, the level of security offered by the biometric system and the accuracy of the biometric system in that the system is very correct in security approval of an individual.

Facial recognition involves the use of detailed scan of the facial features an individual possesses and notes points such as facial symmetry and the size and shape of facial features such as the lips mouth and various facial muscles. The system can pick out an individual from a large crowd due to the fact that it scans many faces at a go. It also has contactless identification which makes it ideal for clean environments and also for tracking individuals and monitoring their movements. However, this system works poorly in weak lighting, is obstructed by use of sunglasses and things that cover the face. It is also worth noting, that the facial expression has a large impact on the accuracy of the system especially smiles that distort the face. The system has a high cost of purchase low accuracy of determining clarity and low level of security.

Finger prints are a very specific method of individual identification that is based on the pattern of ridges and valleys that appear on the finger. All humans have a unique pattern that remains the same throughout the individuals life. The speeds are fast and the scans accurate. The systems are not very expensive, are simple and easy to install and utilize. Nonetheless, they can be cheated by placing someone elses fingerprint or use of stolen fingerprints left on surfaces. It is also a point of concern that an individuals cut and bruise marks reduce the expected accuracy of a fingerprint scanner (Singleton, 2003).Fingerprint technology is characteristic of low cost, low security level and a medium accuracy of distinction.

Iris scanning is a technique that utilizes the image of a iris which is stable throughout life and is easily differentiable between members of close genetic relationships. The image captured is accurate even if contact lenses are used. High accuracy and fast speeds are a crucial strength of this type of biometric system. The difficulty common with this method include the expensive cost of purchase and the inconvenient adjustments to suit people of various heights (Laux, Luse, Mennecke, & Anthony, 2011) . One can also easily cheat the scanner using a high quality image of an iris already in the database. An important point to note is that some health conditions such as diabetes alter the structure of the iris (Faundez-Zanuy, 2006). According to the criteria this technology has a high cost of purchase, high degree of accuracy and a medium level of security.

I have recommended the purchase of iris scanners mainly due to their ease of use and their affordable costs. It is imperative that since we are a large organization we find an extremely secure system that can protect the high value wealth and information that this company has strived to build over the years. In my professional analysis and examination, I think that the iris biometric system is the best choice among the three systems considered.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Faundez-Zanuy, M. (2006). Biometric Security Technology. IEEE aerospace and electronic systems magazine 21,no 6, 4-12.

Laux, D., Luse, A., Mennecke, B., & Anthony, T. (2011). Adoption of Biometric Authentication Systems: Implications for Research and Practice In the Deployment of End-User Security Systems. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce 21, 221-245.

Singleton, T. (2003). Biometric Security Systems: The best InfoSec Solution? EDPACS: The EDP audit, Control and Security Newsletter 30, no 9, 1-24.