The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Banking on Biometrics to ensure security

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 30, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Banking on Biometrics to ensure security

Sangeeth Kurian

NEW BEGINNING: Officials giving a demonstration of biometrics technology in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Imagine a situation where you conduct bank transactions after fingerprint verification or access ATMs after an iris scan. Biometrics, an automated method to establish a customer's identity from their unique physiological or behavioural characteristics, has arrived.

Dubbed as an effective antidote to bank frauds, identity theft and misappropriation of funds, the concept is being introduced here by the Kerala State Co-operative Institute of Information Technology Electronics and Communications Limited in association with Access Shield International, a provider of biometrics technology based in the U.S.

One of the primary objectives of this partnership would be to prevent security threats in the banking sector using biometrics and cryptography, or the art of writing and solving codes, said Kumar C. Kushal, Chief Operating Officer, Access Shield International.

The significance of a biometric trait is that it is as unique as the individual. Unlike a password or personal identification number, it cannot be lost, stolen or recreated. Each time a customer makes the transaction, the database compares the biometric image to the one that is already stored.

The procedure is widely used by customers in the West as it saves them the task of memorising a password or PIN number.

"The scope of extending biometrics to Government, cooperative and public sector organisations would be explored," said Mr. Kushal. According to him, biometrics can be `very effective' in regulating the disbursement of funds collected for tsunami victims.

"The relief efforts in war-ravaged Afghanistan were coordinated through iris regulation. Thus it was ensured that the same person does not receive the relief amount twice," he said.

Another area of application suggested for biometrics is during elections. "The biometric identity management system can make the electoral process fool-proof." The fingerprint and iris scan of eligible voters stored in the database can prevent bogus voting.

It will save manpower and usher in transparency and simplicity to the process of electioneering," said Mr. Kushal.

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