Iris Biometrics
The use of biometrics as a form of security and control has vastly increased in the past several years. While police have long relied upon fingerprints for criminal identification, newer forms of biometric technologies are allowing individuals to be identified via any number of physical characteristics. The most common forms of biometric identification include facial recognition, hand symmetry, iris patterns, retinal scans and even voice recognition.
While many in law enforcement and security view biometrics as a valuable tool, the use of these technologies have raised a number of concerns, particularly among civil libertarians and privacy campaigners.
No biometric system is infallible and as these technologies proliferate, there will be increasing attempts to circumvent and bypass the controls purportedly offered by these systems. What new forms of identity theft will be enabled through these technologies? How might these technologies be subverted by criminal enterprises? Finally, how might the ultimate form of biometric identification (DNA and the human genome) be used by governments and criminals for legitimate and illegitimate purposes? All of these points will be explored in this section of the blog.
