The Dawning of the Biometric Age

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"But with the emphasis on security after 9/11, there are now major government initiatives."

Many individuals might prefer digital identification over today's security systems, which often require lengthy combinations of letters and numbers that must be changed frequently. Biometric proponents foresee a future in which body scanners replace passwords in computers and personal identification numbers at ATMs. "You always carry your physical characteristics with you," notes Hornak. "That provides a lot of convenience."

The major challenge in implementing biometric banking on a larger scale is providing the infrastructure. Institutions would need a central repository of biometric information against which to compare the scans.

Breaches Are Inevitable

Perhaps a bigger hurdle is opposition from civil liberties groups, which contend that biometric systems infringe on privacy and compromise individual security. Many people are wary of a future in which cameras sample their physical traits, compiling digital dossiers without their knowledge as they stroll through an airport or convenience store. And consumers fear that hackers will steal their information when it is contained in a centralized database.

Most security analysts acknowledge that data breaches are inevitable—in fact, experts have demonstrated that fingerprint scanners can be fooled with just gummy candies and a laser printer—but your biometrics are irreplaceable. "If my password security is breached, my bank and I can agree on another bit of secret information," explains John Verdi, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "If I give my bank an iris scan and somebody spoofs it, I can't do anything other than poke out my eyes."

Verdi is not opposed to biometrics research, but he has a hard time believing that the advantages of current applications outweigh the risks. "If you're going to submit this truly sensitive information, you're pretty much assured that it's going to be compromised at some point," he says. "The question is: What is so important that I'm willing to put that information out there?"

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Gibson is an editorial assistant with BusinessWeek.

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