The choice of a biometric trait or traits to use in a security system depends on the application; the strengths and weaknesses of each of the four most common biometric identifiers are summarized in the table below. For example, compared with fingerprint recognition, iris recognition allows access to the wrong people less often but currently requires larger and costlier sensors and thus cannot be as easily incorporated into a laptop or other consumer device. Experts concur that in an ideal biometric authentication system, neither the “false accept” rate nor the  “false reject” rate should exceed 0.1 percent. In tests conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, however, none of the systems satisfied these error rate requirements.

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1. 1. Jeff Maynard 10:18 PM 9/10/08

   One of the areas that deserves mention is the applicability of a biometric for commercial users. I like to segregate the users into a commercial/consumer audience and a public sector audience. The costs of expensive hardware for static biometrics like fingerprints or iris scanners can be more readily absorbed in the public sector especially in areas of higher risk and a "you have to do this regardless of how much time/effort it takes" personnel base. It is far different in a commercial sector where time is money, employee rights, privacy concerns and high hardware costs have reduced the implementation of static biometrics. Does this mean the commercial sector cannot use biometrics and are resigned to use inferior security methods like PINS, passwords, tokens or images? The answer is no, especially now we have behavioral biometrics. These include keyboard and signature/gesture technologies that require no additional hardware and are instantly scalable. They can be activated by your regular mouse for example. Some of the key features also include: lower costs, higher security than traditional methods, adjustable security levels and best of all are instantly revocable and instantly replaceable. Unlike a fingerprint that if hacked, takes away your identity forever, a behavioral biometric (e.g. the way you write/draw with your mouse) can be changed easily. HOW much of yourself do you need to leave behind to confirm your identity? If I leave something of me behind I want it to be something I can alter. The other major advantages of behavioral biometrics are their universality. You don't want to sign into your bank account, social network or other accounts individually - it would be great to sign in once and then be directed to your personal sites/accounts in a remote environment. Behavioral biometrics are well suited to this as they can be a single credential for this purpose. Jeff Maynard CEO/Founder Biometric Signature ID www.biosig-id.com

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