Eknath Venkataramani <eknath.i...@gmail.com> wrote: >Is it then that finger print scanners and/or iris scanners are going to be >used for the UID project?
I hope not. The problem with all biometric mechanisms such as finger prints, iris prints etc is that it gives an illusion of security but the truth is that these systems are quite easily compromised. A group of german hackers published the fingerprints of the German Home Secretary and also published tips on how to make a copy of the fingerprint for use on fingerprint readers. http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/105728 It is trivially easy to obtain the iris print or a finger print of most people. If I can get someone to look closely at something within a showcase and if I hide a high precision camera within the case, then I can get the person's iris print. Similarly, finger prints can be easily lifted from cups, phones etc. If your entire ID mechanism relies on this compromised biometric code, then the person will have to be locked out of the system - because the person cannot change their finger / iris print once they become public knowledge. So most biometric systems utilize not just the finger print but also an additional keyboard entry system for entering a numeric code. But even this can be easily determined by photographing the person while making the entry. Facial recognition is yet another area where there are lots of problems. The systems are pretty easy to fool or there will be a lot of false negatives which makes the usage of these systems quite cumbersome. Thanks, PK _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, email ilugc-requ...@ae.iitm.ac.in with "unsubscribe <password> <address>" in the subject or body of the message. http://www.ae.iitm.ac.in/mailman/listinfo/ilugc
