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The Future of Biometric Technology — What’s Next?

Think of biometrics and it’s easy for your mind to wander into the realms of science fiction. The name conjures imagery of highly advanced technologies that scan and process every characteristic of a human being, helping computers know people just as well as the people know themselves — and perhaps even more so.

Biometrics, in short, is a way of identifying and verifying individual people by analyzing biological characteristics that are unique to them. By assessing indisputable data about a person that differentiates them from others, the person or organization assessing them can be 100% that they’re dealing with who they think they’re dealing with.

Of course, when biometrics first became commonplace, things were a bit simpler. It first gained traction in the 19th century, when body measurements were used in France to classify and compare criminals, and then expanded in the world of law and order to incorporate fingerprinting.

New Article in the Knowledge Base.

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Understanding Identity Systems – Part 3: The Risks of ID

  • Biometrics are the physiological and behavioural characteristics of individuals. This could be fingerprints, voice, face, retina and iris patterns, hand geometry, gait or DNA profiles. However, the legal definition of ‘biometrics’ may differ – in some contexts, it may be defined by law, whereas in others it may not have, or only have a vague, legal definition.
  • Biometrics used in ID systems are most commonly facial photographs, fingerprints, and iris scans.
  • If data like photographs are collected in the enrolment or data collection of an ID scheme, even if it is not immediately used for purposes like facial recognition, the existence of the dataset means that it can be used for such in the future, as in the case of India adding facial recognition to its biometric systems.

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