Biometrics: Unseen Aspects - Assignment Example

?Biometrics: Some Unseen Aspects Biometrics: Some Unseen Aspects Introduction Biometrics is the computerized method ortechnique of recognizing a person on the basis of physical or behavioral characteristics. Instead of the traditional security systems, the society today needs new verification systems to be in use; this is where the biometric authentication has gained its relevance. The production of biometric authentication systems has been increasing for the recent years. Numerous manufacturers and distributors have identified it as a growing industry. The technique has succeeded in preventing physical existence from highly protected environments. However the success of the method is still skeptical where network authentication is considered. Advantages There has been varied and large number of arguments in favor of adopting the biometric authentication for network access. Among them the most accepted argument is the uniqueness of biometric characteristics. This uniqueness of the biometric characteristic helps to make it an ideal candidate authenticating technology. There is no better way to authenticate an individual’s identity than verifying his inherent and unique attributes; at first his fingerprints. The use of fingerprints as system of identification can be traced back to the 1850s; evidence to this belief is the establishment of Scotland Yards Central Fingerprinting Bureau in 1901. Another view that supports the biometrics is that the principle of network security is least disputed. In this system, the individual cannot forget the password or transfer the password to somebody as it is a unique physical attribute. This may be the most driven argument that supports the biometric authentication technique. Again, the next argument in this phase is also regarding the security. It is not possible to duplicate a biometric feature of an individual during the data uploading stage or in the verification stage. In the traditional method of token system, the user ID and the password may be easily replicated, which is not possible at all in the biometric authenticating technology. These unique characteristics cannot be lost or stolen. Disadvantages In the same way, there are several arguments against the introduction of the particular technological advancement—biometric authentication technology. Though the cost for the implementation of the biometric technology is coming down, still it is too expensive. While implementing the system, it is not enough to acquire the hardware and the software, but they are to be linked with the current networking. The cost return ratio is very low in the technology even though it helps to reduce the administration overheads. Although many find biometric authentication systems to be very successful, they ignore the fact that the same authentication data can be misused in multiple applications. When the user inputs his biometric authentication data for his identity in a particular application, the same data can be used to authenticate that person in a different application. It is a threat to the person’s security over his properties. For an example, if a user authenticates himself with his biometric characteristics to get access to airlines, an unwanted person can gain access to the user’s bank account, car, etc with the same authentication data, which can be hacked from the network easily. Scientists say that these problems will be outsourced by the invention of further advanced systems. However, how far the technology goes, till there will be its disadvantages too. Besides, as Vaca (2007) points out, in the biometric authentication technology, first of all, the person who captures the raw biometric data must be trust worthy person, as they have the option of keeping the raw data with themselves. Ethical Issues The controversy of the technological advancement has put forward so many social and ethical impacts. The biometrical authentication systems raise many ethical issues regarding the concept of privacy. These issues are not the same as other security measures of personal identification. There are specific privacy issues related with the biometric ID of the user. A good example for the ethical issue regarding the privacy is described by Simon (2000); he says about a marketing company using the state prison inmates to process computer tapes containing the personal information on more than 90 percent of the American households. A woman started to receive threats from a convicted rapist after he viewed her life (p.136). This incident shows the great concern regarding the privacy over the data storage. Another moral issue regarding the use of biometric authentication technology is that a stalker can gain information about an individual from the database and use it to harass or harm him/her. Some of the other social, legal and ethical concerns regarding the biometric inventions include the worries about the centralization of information, the development for a unique identifier, and the most of all the human interdependence on the technology which is now called the informatization of the body. There has been much doubt about the handling of the biometric data concerning the unauthorized access to personal information. An organization that manages the biometrical data can craft unethical use of the data to obtain financial advantage or for other intentions. Technical errors can also lead to huge security problems as the decrypted biometric data of personal information may be leaked through the intranet or extranet of the network. A disgruntled programmer can get access to such data and can alter the data to make wrong Id matches. A computer hacker can easily get to the data and to the so called well protected algorithms. “Carefully guarded algorithms does not mean much when Pentagon sites are hacked and disk drives with nuclear secrets are carried around like lunch boxes” (Alterman, 2003, p. 143). In short, threat to the privacy is the most important ethical impact of the technological advancement. Conclusion In total, the technological advancements like the biometrical authentication systems are a first step toward creating a technologically advanced global village. However, while struggling to accomplish such objectives we forget the problems they create. Such technological advancement causes heavy impacts on the society as well as on the environment. Moreover, such systems, no matter how far developed, may not be successful in keeping the privacy of the user. What is most concerned in developing a technology must be the privacy of the individuals. References Alterman, A. (2003). A piece of yourself: Ethical issues in biometric identification. Ethics and Information Technology.Kluwer Academic Publishers, 5, 139-150. Retrieved from http://www.hideproject.org/downloads/references/Alterman-A_Piece_of_yourself.pdf Simon, L. D. (2000). NetPolicy.com: Public Agenda for a Digital World. USA: Woodrow Wilson Center Press. Vacca, J. (2007). Biometric Technologies and Verification Systems. USA: Butterworth- Heinemann. Read More