Cost of Biometric Technology
Information technology security led to the science and technology of biometrics. Biometrics technology has personalized information security and may become ubiquitous in the foreseeable future. Biometric technology has rapidly grown over the past 10 years and will continue to grow. The cost of acquiring this technology may plummet as usage of biometric technology becomes common, like what happened with computer hardware and software.
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Definition
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Biometrics identifies a person or verifies the identity using physiological or behavioral characteristics. Physiological characteristics include fingerprints, facial images, voice and eye recognition. Behavioral characteristics are acquired habits such as signature verification and keystroke dynamics. Biometric technology is the application of biometric sciences in the security and identification of individuals.
Biometrics ID Systems
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Iris scanning and identification is now a common biometric technology. Many classes of biometrics-technology identification systems have emerged in the last 10 years. In addition to the traditional fingerprint reader, we now have face recognition and whole-hand scanners. There are now iris scanners, too. Biometrics technology includes voice recognition, vascular pattern recognition and signatures as well.
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Benefits
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Fingerprint readers have enhanced employee-attendance management and improved security where access control to only authorized personnel is key. Hand scanning has helped banks in identification and verification processes. In airports and other sensitive places, face recognition and iris scanning have proved to be the right technology at the right time. High-security computer networks now require user biometric authentication to grant user access.
Costs
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According to Dr. Virginia Kleist of West Virginia University's college of business and economics, biometrics reduces organizational risk. Organizational risk may be internal or external security or control. She posits that the more the risk, the more the benefit from a biometric system. The implication is that as network security risks increase world wide, the need for appropriate biometric authentication and verification will increase. As more people and organizations use the technology, current high costs will drop.
Global Biometrics Market
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Recent reports estimates that the global biometrics market grew from $1.95 billion to $2.7 billion between 2006 and 2008; a 21.3 percent increase. A further projected annual growth rate of 21.3 percent would bring the annual revenue to $7.1 billion by 2012. The fingerprint market alone is projected to grow from $427.4 million in 2004 to $6.3 billion in 2012. This growth rate implies a recognition of the importance of biometric security systems.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit fingerprints image by dip from Fotolia.com eyes image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
