Banks and Biometrics… I want to believe, I really do.


Posted by Ed on Oct 7, 2008 in Analysis | 1 comment

HelpNet has an article up by Paul Foote and Reena Hora about why biometrics are a “must have” for banks – the title (“Biometric Security for Financial Meltdown Solutions”) seems to imply a link between the crazy stuff going on in the bankerage world and biometrics, but it’s really more about how to prevent fraud by using biometrics. Interestingly, this article got some play over at eWeek as well. If you haven’t done so, it’s an interesting bit of reading.

Now, I’ve been a huge advocate of biometrics. I want to believe… I really do. I started my career at a biometrics company, I’ve tried (in almost every job I’ve had) to push biometrics in all sorts of industries. I was a dedicated follower of HAAPI and the BioAPI. I’ve tried them all: fingerprint (with optical and capacitance readers), iris, voice, signature, etc. And I have consistently obtained no traction on deploying them past a pilot stage. Particularly in a banking context. Historically, it’s been a tough sell.

Foote and Hora tell us:

“To prevent a recurrence of a fraud like this, financial institutions can improve security by adding biometric systems to their ERP systems, or by replacing their legacy systems with SAP and bioLock. Most biometric systems are used for access control. Realtime North America

One Response to “Banks and Biometrics… I want to believe, I really do.”

  1. Thomas Neudenberger says:
    October 14, 2008 at 8:44 am

    Hi – the Author of this comment sounds as if he had some bad experiences by trying to get into the biometrics market far too early. I can relate since I was there too – but I am still here and I can only point out that biometrics technology has improved at “mach” speed. Last I would have to agree that a dual authentication (or triple) is the best way to go. This is why realtime’s bioLock can protect any mouse click in the SAP system with biometric AND (or) smart card. We can recognize what you have first and then confirm who you are. Most important we can not only do it when you log in but when you access or execute the critical function. See a full movie at http://www.bioLock.us Thank you to the author – perhaps we need to “advertise” more that our technology works in combination with smart cards and or tokens!