We evaluated three products that are representative of the primary biometric technologies. All of the products performed as advertised, but their significant differences may determine which technology is right for your company.
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Fingerprint reader
The Digital Persona U.Are.U reads your fingerprint through a clear oval window on its top. Windows 2000 immediately identified the small, gray USB device. The necessary drivers and software loaded seamlessly. Drag-and-drop utilities make it easy to set up fingertip logins to individual Web sites. While its red glow makes it look suitable for any technogeek, it may be a little off-putting for just plain folks.
Each user must commit to using U.Are.U to log on to the client PC, but traditional passwords are always available as an alternative. By assigning users' U.Are.U profiles to privilege sets, administrators can require biometric login for certain network resources. Users can add individual U.Are.U logins, including no-typing access to individual Web sites.
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Iris scan
The Iridian Authenticam iris recognition camera we checked out was a prototype model with preproduction software. The Authenticam looks like a normal Web camera (and can double as one) but has two additional apertures. The first contains a hologram that helps position the eye properly for registration or verification and performs the actual recognition. The second helps illuminate the eye to create an accurate image map of your eye. As with the U.Are.U system, enrollment is simple and straightforward. People wearing glasses need to take them off during enrollment, but they don't have to remove them later to be identified for login, according to the company.
Whereas fingerprint technology seems best suited for PC and network access, iris recognition can serve as the foundation for a much broader solution. In fact, Iridian makes more sophisticated cameras for controlling physical access to buildings or instantly identifying users at ATMs. Iridian works with hardware vendors to integrate iris recognition technology into comprehensive access-control solutions.
Iridian is in the process of updating its basic camera with a smaller, more capable unit. Our preproduction unit and pre-beta software used a parallel port interface rather than USB to make its basic connection. Given the vagaries of using parallel ports for such an important function, we would recommend that these biometrics be used only with Windows 98, Windows Me, or Windows 2000 clients with USB capability.
Voiceprint recognition
We also examined two Web-based authentication systems that use voiceprint recognition for access control. The first is JotterSAF, from SAFLink, which we downloaded and installed. To use this test version of JotterSAF, you must first generate a reliable print of your voice and register it with the sample Web portal. During that process, we ran into both the strength and weakness of voiceprint recognition.
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Most PCs use simple microphones or Web cameras for sound input. It's practically a universal technology, making almost any PC biometrics ready. Unfortunately, these units home in on any sound in the room rather than a specific source in a specific location. The ambient noise in our office was enough to require dozens of attempts to register the three separate required voiceprints. Recognition worked well enough thereafter, but it was a frustrating experience.
Similarly, we couldn't get a single usable voiceprint with the VoiceCheck demo from Veritel and, therefore, couldn't try out the software. A better microphone would have helped significantly, but this situation illustrates a problem with voiceprint technology in general. If you can't control what microphones are installed on client PCs or how they are configured, voiceprint recognition may not be efficient.
For remote users, Veritel uses telephony to verify voiceprints for offsite long distance telephony, voicemail, and similar applications. This reduces the risk of lost calling cards or stolen calling card numbers. The combination of voice recognition and telephony looks to be a very effective use for voiceprint technology.
SAFLink uses its voice recognition technology on its demo precisely because the technology is included on most computers. However, the company also provides back-end services for a wide range of biometric input devices. It suggests, however, that you supplement voice recognition with other technologies in a production environment. From our experience, it's good advice.
