Nexus - 0304 - New Times Magazine-pages

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LY BD © oF VEN? PHOTO ID CARDS A FAILURE? tribution pattern is seen. The differ- - ent densities of bone, skin, fat and blood vessels all contribute to an individual's personal ‘heat signa- ture’. Once a picture is taken of a face, its thermal image can be matched with astonishing accuracy against a database of pre-recorded thermograms. The system is so accurate that it can tell identical twins apart. In addition, the system cannot be fooled by cosmetic surgery or disguises, including facial hair. The most disturbing thing about this new system is its invisibility. Other biometric systems such as retinal scans and palm scanners require subject cooperation and intrusive analysis. The thermogram merely requires a camera to be pointing in your direction. Your face could be picked from a crowd of thou- sands within seconds and you wouldn't even know you were being watched. Many people are hailing thermography as spectacular for precisely the reasons that make il unacceptable. There are those who liken intrusive identification methods to criminal proceedings. At least you know where you stand when a computer laser- scans your eyes. At least you are aware of being observed. Another biometric wonder that we can look forward to is the artificial nose. This device chemically analyses the unique combination of substances excreted from | the skin of people. It essentially sniffs them out. One ‘legitimate’ use for this tech- nology might be to keep track of known shoplifters. Their smell could be recorded on computer and all shops would have electronic noses at the entrance. Upon entering, the hapless shoplifter would find himself subject to the closest scrutiny as the shop computer informs staff of his criminal past. But what if electronic noses, linked to a worldwide computer network, were installed at border crossings? Unlike fingerprinting and other intrusive ID methods, the disturbing thing about biometry is that templates can be acquired without suspect knowl- edge. Your thermogram or aroma- print could be held on file and you wouldn't even know it. You wouldn't know it had been taken, let alone stored. (Source: The Mouse Monitor, March 1996) Recent studies into the effec- \ tiveness of photo credit-cards have cast doubt over their ability to cut fraud. Dr Richard Kemp, of the Department of Psychology at Westminster University, London, organised an experiment involving a London supermarket to test the cards in ‘the real world’. The supermarket was staffed by six people who were all warned to be on the lookout for fraudu- lent credit cards. Dr Kemp arranged for 44 of his students to pose as shoppers and test the staff's ability to spot photo-card misuse. Each student was armed with four cards. One showed the student as they were, one showed the student wearing make-up, one showed an individual who vaguely resembled the student, and the last card depicted someone who looked nothing like the bearer. The results of Dr Kemp's supermarket experiment proved very interesting. In all, the majority of fraudulent cards were accepted. Amazingly, 35 per cent of the cards bearing a photograph of someone completely different from the student were accepted. A massive 64 per cent of cards bearing a similar individual were also accepted. And 14 per cent of cards bearing a true likeness of the student were rejected. A few British banks are already offering customers the opportunity to have their photograph etched onto their cards. They claim a reduction in fraud has resulted from this. Dr Kemp's findings would seem to contradict this belief. Dr Nicky Towell, one of Dr Kemp's researchers, said, "There is a widely held assumption that photo credit-cards are a cheap and effective way of stopping fraud. But this is not the case.” (Source: The Mouse Monitor, March 1996) THERMOGRAMS: YOUR HOT NEW ID SYSTEM Biometry is the science of statistical analysis through biological investigation. This new science is now coming into its own as a highly effective identification method in the continually escalating battle against crime. One must ask though, what are the implications regarding privacy? Latest on the list of biometric achieve- ments is the Thermogram. Scientists have found that by taking pictures of a face using infra-red cameras, a unique heat-dis- ae les! 2 oe ms Sam i Mee LF wi) SOA MRS Q\\ aR, Dz = f\ = A 6 * NEXUS JUNE-JULY 1996