Forget passwords, pins or smart cards-a Sydney-based start-up is set to tempt businesses with low-cost biometric ID systems. Triton Secure is aiming at both the corporate and small business markets hoping to bring the technology into mainstream use.

Under a master distribution agreement from US developers SAFLINK, Triton will provide software solutions to verify individual identity using a person's biological features. The company's multi-biometric system-which recognises fingerprint, facial and vocal features-would replace passwords, PINs and smart cards and ensure the highest levels of security at affordable prices.

Because they cannot be copied, stolen or stuck to the computer screen, biometric ID is considered far safer than traditional security methods, where passwords are often childishly simple.

"Biometric identification and authentication exploits the fact that certain biological characteristics are unique and are extremely difficult to lose, transfer or forget," said Triton chief operating officer, John Meddows.

"This makes them much more secure from misuse, more reliable and user friendly than passwords." While the benefit to corporations is increased security and reduced system administration, for individual users the benefit is having a foolproof access code literally at their fingertips. Under an agreement with Veridicom, a US provider of silicon-based fingerprint recognition technology, Triton is ready to supply a hardware and software package for between $400 and $500 per user, depending on the size of the network.

This represents a dramatic drop in cost, which only 18 months ago made biometrics inconceivable outside the largest organisations and the spy films. "With the costs of biometric devices rapidly falling and industry standards emerging, the uptake of biometric and multi-biometric security measures in the enterprise will no longer be science fiction, but necessity," said Meddows.

Able to conduct one-to-one and one-to-many comparisons, the software can ensure the user is both genuine and only registered once. But despite this functionality, Triton claims the software does not use excessive disk space. Using a sophisticated algorithm, the SAFLINK software converts the unique points of a fingerprint, face or voice into a 1K entry code called a SAFtyPIN. Triton offers three main software packages, each designed for different market niches and industry-standard HA-API compliant.

SAF2000, for use with all the major network infrastructures, particularly Windows 2000 is a network-centric system to allow secure access and communication within a corporate environment. The package is currently being trialed by several organisations, including one Perth-based government department.

SAFsite, as the name suggests, is designed to protect the interests of Web-based operators and could be applied to ensure secure Internet banking and shopping or "members-only" access to fee-paying sites.

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