Biometrics is a science of recognizing person based on
physical and behavioral characteristics. Biometrics has been gaining more
attention in these days. The governments and businesses have realized that
biometrics is extremely valuable to verify and identify users. The fingerprint,
facial and iris biometrics become more common in social, commercial and
governmental environments. The increasing in the biometrics has been proved by
the success of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). According to UIDAI.gov, 99.86% of population
can be uniquely identified by biometric system. By the end of 2014, 600,000
million Indians have registered in the biometric system. These numbers
demonstrate that biometrics is the best effective tool for government to benefit
the citizens in term of social programs and services. Moreover, biometrics is a
rapidly evolving technology that is being widely utilized in forensics, such as
criminal identification and prison security, and that has the potential to be
used in a large range of civilian application areas. Biometrics can be used to
prevent unauthorized access to ATMs, cellular phones, smart cards, desktop PCs,
workstations, and computer networks.
The applications of biometrics on business services and process
improvement can help the citizens and the government to manage travel, trade
securely with respect for individual privacy. For instance, in 2011, Europe
Union’s Visa Information System announced that visa application the from non-EU
holders passport can be processed faster and more securely thanks to the use of
fingerprints and facial biometrics. These biometrics technologies will not only
help to recognize the visa applicants and faster processing the applications but
also reduce the illegal entries in EU and easily identify thefts.
The biometrics also helps to safeguard borders while
encouraging trade and travel. The US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator
Technology (US-VISIT) program which is one of the largest scale biometric
identity management solutions in the world, allows the US Department of
Homeland Security’s (US DHS) Customs and Border Protection division to found
and verify the identity of travellers to the US. With a gallery size of over
110 million identities, US-VISIT helps the US DHS to manage a typical daily
workload that includes:
·
Processing 989,689 passengers and pedestrians
(300,000 of who are processed by the VISIT-US)
·
Executing 2,139 apprehensions of illegal entry,
616 refusals of entry and 107 arrests of criminals
·
Intercepting 71 Fraudulent documents
·
Seizing 6,643kg of drug
These biometrics technologies have improve the safety and
efficiency of international and national borders and control the access to
place, information and benefits.
On the other hands, biometrics also enables the secure
delivering of government services to the citizens. In 2010, the India’s Aadhaar
program was launched by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI),
aims to provide each Indian resident with a unique identification number to
enable easier, more efficient and secure access to citizen services. This
universal ID will use multiple types of biometric data for identification,
including retina scans, fingerprints and multiple facial images. This project
will introduce previously unavailable digital and e-government services in a
secure way. Once established, universal ID has the potential to change the
lives of vast segments of India’s population by offering secure access to
citizen services, financial inclusion and the prospect of employment. The
project is expected to bring a remarkable transformation for India, especially
for the social security benefit system which is estimated for the loss of
one-third of Rs 1.5 trillion (around $24 billion) by the end of 2014.
Moreover, as a growing emphasis on identity affects both
citizens and businesses. Mobility, health, and e-commerce all demand robust
form of authentication in the face of increasing security threats. According to
Fraud Report 2014 of EMC, the global financial loss incurred by companies due
to the payment fraud at the end of 2014 was $453 million. Biometrics technology
is the most the effective and affordable solution for organizations and
governments to reduce the identity theft and prevent the fraud. Specifically,
in the financial industry, many companies applied the biometric technologies in
order to enhance security in financial transactions. Besides, biometrics also increases the
personalization in the transaction processing cycle. Currently, there are more
than 80,000 biometrics-enabled ATM in Japan serving 15 million customers.
According to Infosys 2014, thanks to the rapid increasing in smartphone and
Internet access users, the smartphone market for biometric security products and
services is expected to grow from $30 million in 2011 to $161 million in 2015.
Hence, biometrics can play a dual role of providing security for both
smartphone and financial transactions on itself. Biometrics is considered as a potential
investment for banking and especially through mobile channels.
Ultimately, biometrics technology is also an effective tool
that contributes to help the non-profit organizations in term of protecting and
verify the identity of refugees. In 22nd January 2015, United Nation
has initially tested the new biometrics system which stores the fingerprint,
iris data and facial recognition for the refugee in the Malawi Camp. Iritech is
the only iris biometric company that the UN chose to supply the iris biometric
systems for this campaign. There are over 17,000 refugee has come and register
their biometric data to UNHRC.
Whether enhancing security or automating identity
authentication, there is no doubt that biometrics is presenting new
opportunities for public service organizations to excel. With the growth of
globalization, increased mobility and the societal shift toward online
activities, the pressure is on for biometrics technologies to increase security
and facilitate business transactions while achieving greater cost efficiencies
in public services.
