M2SYS Blog On Biometric Technology

M2SYS and Fujitsu will be offering a free webinar on August 30th from 2:00 to 2:30pm EST, 11:00 to 11:30pm PST on how palm vein technology can help to strengthen workforce management and PCI compliance.  The webinar will cover how using biometric palm vein technology to strengthen compliance can: help replace passwords with a palm scan, increase record storage security, establish significant cost savings, stop employee buddy punching, improve productivity, create a concrete audit trail, reduce payroll errors and strengthen labor law adherence.

In case you had not noticed, biometric identification technology is on the rise.  So much so in fact that more and more businesses, governments and individuals are choosing to deploy biometrics over other traditional identification technologies like personal identification numbers (PIN’s), barcode/magstripe cards and RFID technology.  Biometric technology is one of the fastest emerging markets across the globe due to increased applicability of the technology for civil and commercial applications and the rise in the need to increase personal security.  Recently, a report suggested that biometric technology is forecasted to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 23% from 2011 – 2013.  That’s impressive.

This post is not meant to discuss the growth potential of biometric technology however.  Instead, we wondered what the biometric landscape of the future may look like if  deployments become more widespread into common applications that affect our everyday lives.  Here are some places where we you may see biometric identification being used more often in the not too distant future:

1. Libraries – Already prevalent in UK school libraries, biometric identification at libraries could soon be a widespread reality here in the U.S.  The practicality of this deployment is reflected in shrinking budgets as library systems across the country figure out ways to slash costs and improve services.  Biometric identification is a good fit since it virtually eliminates printing and maintaining library cards which is a large expense in the overall budget.
2. Customer Reward/Membership Programs – Think for a moment about the number of plastic customer reward cards that you carry in your wallet or on your key chain.  There’s the grocery store, pharmacy, retail, fitness club, gas station, car rental agencies, financial services, insurance and many others.  Now think for a moment the possibility of eliminating those plastic cards by substituting biometric identification instead.  Think about the amount of money that can be saved by not having to print and maintain these plastic customer reward/membership cards and the impact on the environment.  Membership oriented facilities have already began the transformation away from plastic cards and more towards biometric identification.
3. Visitor identification – How many times have you walked into a building as a visitor and had to stop to fill out your name and information and show picture ID before being granted admittance?  Considering that anyone can scribble false information on a form and flash a fake photo ID, does this leave you feeling safe and secure?  Switching to biometric identification at visitor points of entry changes the dynamic completely by eliminating the ability for someone to fake their identity and provides a more concrete audit trail should a problem arise prompting a review of visitor history.  There are even some visitor management software Integrators who have already started deploying biometric identification technology with their end users.
4. Point of Sale – Going out on a limb here, but our guess is that as biometric technology becomes more accepted throughout society, we may see it introduced again to the retail point of sale environment as a means to pay for transactions.  After a recent failed attempt at widespread adoption of biometric technology to process merchant transactions the technology landscape has changed and a stepped up effort to educate consumers on the science of the technology to combat privacy concerns may be effective enough to introduce it again for mainstream use.  Considering the black mark that the last failed attempt to incorporate the technology had on the reputation of biometrics, we  would venture to say that of all predictions, this one is the least likely to happen anytime soon but still plausible.  We do know that biometrics is making a comeback in retail for other applications and if this success continues, we could soon see it again for point of sale transactions.

What everyday applications that require a mode of identification do you see biometrics being used for in the future?  Any unusual ones?  Please share your feedback in the comments section below.

Fujitsu and M2SYS are teaming up again to offer a no cost Webinar on the value of using PalmSecure Palm Vein biometric technology in retail environments to help bolster loss prevention.  The Webinar will be held on May 12th at 2 p.m. EST, to view the invitation and sign up please click on this link:

http://m2sys.com/free-loss-prevention-webinar.htm

This Webinar is the 2nd in a series of free workshops to educate retailers on the value of using PalmSecure Palm Vein biometric technology and the M2SYS Hybrid Biometric Platform in several capacities for retailers.  The first Webinar in the series was held back in March and covered the value of using Palm Vein biometric technology to eliminate time theft.  You can view a copy of the PowerPoint slides of that presentation by clicking on this link:

http://www.slideshare.net/M2SYS/slide-share-power-point-fujitsu-palm-vein-time-theft-041811

We encourage retailers, or anyone else who is concerned about the impact of shrinkage and the need to beef up loss prevention policies to attend this important Webinar.  Last year, we wrote about the problem of loss prevention and how the unique attributes of biometric technology can help to tighten role based security and establish airtight access control. In addition, PalmSecure Palm Vein biometric technology can help:

• Lower False Returns
• Raise Employee Accountability
• Protect Data
• Increase Efficiency
• Identify High-Risk Individuals
• Prevent Unauthorized Access
• Establish Concrete Audit Trails

Space is limited for this Webinar so please reserve your spot today!

The M2SYS Technology True/False Quiz part deux.  I’m sure our loyal readers have been on the edge of their seats since our first True/False Quiz post – 5 months ago.  Yes, the Rip Van Winkle of blog posts series has finally awakened. Here is a link to the quiz – http://apps.facebook.com/fanappz/quiz/take?id=5132

So how did you do?  If you are here at our blog that means you clicked on the link to learn more details on why a question was true or false.  If you are visiting our blog first – then please click on the link above for the quiz, then come back and see the detailed answers below.  No cheating by looking at the answers before taking the quiz!!

Here are the detailed answers to the questions:

1.  Finger vein and palm vein are too expensive as an alternative to fingerprint technology.

Answer – False

Finger vein and palm vein technology are referred to as “vascular biometrics” which relies on capturing an image of the vein pattern beneath the finger or palm with near infrared light and using that image as the basis for individual identification.  Unlike fingerprint technology, integrity of the skin is not an issue with vascular biometrics.  In addition, vascular biometrics is definitely an affordable alternative to fingerprint.

2.  Using biometric technology can help save the environment.

Answer – True

Each year, Americans waste enough paper to build a 12-foot wall of paper from New York to California.  One way to reduce the amount of paper used in a business is to switch from antiquated paper and pen time and attendance techniques to biometric based desktop time and attendance software. Another way you can use biometrics to help the environment is by switching from plastic membership cards to a biometric check in system.

3.  Indonesia is currently using biometric technology to curb violence in bars and nightclubs.

Answer – False

It’s actually Australia.  Ok, so this question is not so retailish but pertinent nonetheless.  Australia is currently launching an ambitious public safety program where bars and nightclubs can opt into a biometric identification initiative that requires all patrons to submit their fingerprint in order to gain entry to the establishment.  So far, it’s received positive reviews.

4.  It is possible to achieve a 300% ROI (return on investment) during the 1st year of using biometric technology.

Answer – True

One of our end users actually achieved a 300% return on investment during the first year they used biometric technology for time and attendance! Cal Poly Pomona uses M2SYS biometric technology with its KRONOS time and attendance software which has eliminated buddy punching, boosted staff productivity and decreased backlogs.

5.  Biometric technology can help a retailer with PCI Compliance.

Answer – True

Biometric technology offers merchants an opportunity to incorporate a level of authentication security that is unsurpassed in the industry.  Biometrics relies on physiological characteristics (fingerprint, finger vein, palm vein, iris recognition, etc.) to identify an individual’s identity rather than something you know (personal identification number or PIN) or something you have (credit or debit card).  Due to the fact that anyone can steal your credit or debit card and obtain your PIN for fraudulent transactions, biometric technology is the only true way to identify someone with near absolute certainty.

6.  Using biometric technology can enhance customer loyalty.

Answer – True

Instituting a biometric identification system, especially in a retail environment, builds customer loyalty.  To help combat fraud, biometrics is used as part of an overarching plan that helps keeps prices low and customers happy.

7.  Biometric technology is about as secure as barcode cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs).

Answer – False

Biometric technology is much more secure than barcode cards and personal identification numbers.  Read this post and you be the judge.

8.  Buddy punching can equate to 2 – 5% of total expenditures.

Answer – True

Don’t believe us?  Check out our dedicated web page on eliminating buddy punching and plug the numbers to see for yourself.

9.  Loss prevention in the retail sector is a good application of biometric technology.

Answer – True

The simple fact is that employees steal from businesses.  The numbers speak for themselves – employee dishonesty costs American business in excess of $50 billion annually and 20% of every dollar earned by a U.S. company is lost to employee theft.  Biometrics can help to curb this by eliminating the swapping of barcode cards and PIN’s and securing access to authorized only areas of a retail establishment.

10. Capturing an individual’s biometric information is tantamount to a violation of their privacy.

Answer – False

Biometric identity enrollment templates stored on a server or computers are not actually images at all.  They are a mathematical representation of the data points that a biometric algorithm extracts from the scanned fingerprint, finger vein, palm vein or iris.  The identity template is simply a binary data file, a series of zeros and ones.  The algorithm then uses the template to positively identify an individual during subsequent fingerprint scans.  No image is ever stored or transmitted across a network.

To the credit of those that fear privacy invasion, the real fear is that mass quantities of biometric information can be captured at once from hacking into a private industry biometrics system.  In addition, they fear the idea that biometric information cannot be changed if compromised, unlike something like a social security or bank account number.  We feel that this is a valid point, and one that’s difficult to refute however all biometric data is stored using the AES 128 bit encryption algorithm.

Hope you enjoyed installment #2 of our “Biometric True/False Quiz Questions” series.  More future quizzes to come…