Convergence, technological evolution, lower costs and greater utilization are the trends that in recent years have marked the evolution of biometric systems.
By Alejandra García Vélez
Identity can be considered as one of the most precious goods of the human being, especially now that you have the opportunity to use each small feature of the body as a record that allows you to differentiate some people from others, thanks to the unique characteristics of each one.
The development of biometric technology and its increasingly widespread implementation in different scenarios, from government registries, through business identification to residential use, make these systems a growing market with high development potential, especially as equipment becomes increasingly accurate and its implementation costs continue to fall.
Evolving technology
The methods of biometric identification are many and varied but the fingerprint is undoubtedly the best known and used, while others such as facial recognition, the geometry of the hand, iris or retina continue to gain popularity, as well as those that do not depend on the physical characteristics of the individual but appeal to elements such as signature or voice.
Precisely, Gustavo Suhit, CEO of Biometrika, shared the differences between the different biometric systems in terms of reliability, ease of use, acceptance and stability (Table 1).
For example, the identification by means of the reading of the iris presents an average level of acceptance, although its reliability and resistance to attacks is very high, the above, probably, because in the item of ease of use is located at a medium level. The same goes for retinal systems that are more difficult to implement, which decreases their use even if it is the most reliable and safe methods.
In the same sense, the use of writing and signing remains one of the most accepted and used despite being more vulnerable to attacks and less reliable. Even so, there are technologies that perfectly combine usability, with the acceptance of reliability and security. This is the case of fingerprints or vascular identification of hand and finger.
This technological evolution is essential to maximize the use of systems of this type in the various productive sectors. This was stated by Suhit, "as new players were incorporated in the field of biometrics, technologies improved and the costs of capture devices decreased, the benefits for the client increased, which in conjunction with the training work in the field, has made the technology no longer questioned, and is seen as an important added value in all business processes within a company."
The official also pointed out that among the methods that have presented the greatest growth in recent years is the use of facial biometrics, which is expanding thanks to the ease of having cameras integrated at low cost in almost all devices.
Humberto De la Vega, Vice President of Sales for Latin America and the Caribbean
of HID Global Corporation, noted that the most important trend today is the integration of various technologies, including biometric elements, into more practical solutions.
The official gave as an example the possibility of convergence between physical accesses, such as opening a door, and logical, to make a login on the computer, towards a single platform, thus creating more capable and unified identity solutions.
"Convergence improves security by allowing a single smart card to support multiple authentication methods, while organizations meet their regulatory requirements," said De la Vega.
"It also reduces costs by consolidating tasks, including strong authentication on workstations and opens up new market opportunities for strong logical access by making deployment easier and more accessible to all types of businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises."
It is also necessary to highlight the evolution suffered by smart cards that incorporate biometrics, in which there is a rapid growth in terms of the adoption of this technology that is expected to continue increasing over the course of the year thanks to its convenience.
"As they are used for more applications, smart cards contain more and more information that needs to be protected. Cards need more elements of privacy protection and, at the same time, they must be able to validate and secure identities," De la Vega explained.
The representative of HID Global Corporation also stressed that the above has created an increase in the need to protect these devices "there is an increase in the demand for multiple layers for card security, including two authentication factors to validate identities, as well as biometric templates that are stored inside the card", De la Vega pointed out.
In-demand market
While it is true that the most frequent uses of biometrics are related to access control, it is gradually reaching other sectors and being used in all business processes of companies, such as payment approvals, withdrawal of securities, electronic contracts or access to systems.
This is due to a maturation process that in recent years has boosted the acceptance of new technologies. "Nowadays the usefulness and added value of biometrics is unquestioned," said Suhit, after recounting that five or six years ago, when a biometric products company visited a customer, it had to first explain what the technology consisted of, show how it was used and convince the user that it was reliable and stable.
This reality is reflected in Latin America, where in recent years there has been considerable progress in the adoption of this type of system. One of the reasons is the migration that many countries are carrying out in documents such as cédulas and passport in which biometric data are included.
In addition, Suhit stressed that work is being carried out aimed at the standardization of the various technologies that will allow a reduction in costs and improvements in the interoperability of the solutions, resulting in continuous improvements for everyday use.
In line with Suhit's perceptions is the point of view of De la Vega, who stressed the important role of convergence and pointed out that among the elements that are driving this growth are the government projects currently underway, as well as an increase in their use for remote transactions and electronic commerce.
"New identification programs are increasingly an opportunity to increase effectiveness, protect and secure the identity of the holder. In this decade, we will see a growing number of projects that will demand multi-purpose identification credentials, which work effectively at multiple additional levels, such as entry to secure facilities, faster border crossing or access to social and health services," Said De la Vega.
The official added that the mixture of various technologies, among which biometric elements stand out, in personalized combinations in a single credential are the key to providing greater security and value than any other solution.
Beyond the footprint
The fingerprint has been the king biometric system for many years, but today there are many more options that can be used according to the particular needs of the client and the advantages that one system can offer over another.
Suhit acknowledged without hesitation that the footprint is still the dominant method given that there are numerous databases built using this technology, in addition to being ahead of having been one of the first techniques used massively.
However, Suhit pointed out that "in recent years facial biometrics are advancing, given that almost all devices such as cell phones, tablets or netbooks have a built-in camera with enough power to verify the identity of a person through it. In addition, there are hostile environments that do not allow the use of footprints, such as mining or ports, where it is necessary to implement technologies such as hand geometry or vein mapping."
On the same subject, De la Vega explained that among the new technologies that are gaining strength are vascular and iris biometrics, although they do not enjoy as much popularity as they are relatively expensive compared to fingerprints.
Even so, the vice president of HID Global assured that "the biometrics sector will continue to benefit from technological and operational developments, wide adoption and acceptance by customers and users, as well as the development of new security standards."
In fact, De la Vega said he expects continued growth in the sector, at an annual rate of 23%, at least until 2014. In addition, he pointed out that identification systems through facial recognition, fingerprints, iris and automated fingerprint identification are part of the leading products, with high acceptance rates and reaching 80% of the market.
Finally, faced with the role of Latin America in this scenario, he assured that in the future the region will acquire a more prominent role in the creation of safe and successful national identification programs.
