Is biometrics ready for prime time?

After the fiasco over the loss child benefit data in the United Kingdom, questions are being asked about plans to create a national biometrics database of everybody’s unique markers, such as fingerprints and facial characteristics. Proponents say such a database would be a defense against crime, while critics counter that it could not guarantee security and could make matters worse. “You are putting all your eggs in one basket,” said Simon Davies, director of Privacy International. “Biometric identity is the identity of last resort.” Doubts persist about its security. Academic research in north America has shown that it is possible to “reverse engineer” fingerprints from mathematical biometric data. A London School of Economics report expressed reservations about a national biometric ID scheme because the technology has never been used so widely.

The Times reports that a study by the National Audit Office this year into e-passports concluded that current technology for face recognition was unreliable when used on a large scale. Despite such concerns, Downing Street insisted last week that it would not change its plans for ID cards. “More secure systems of some sort are vital,” the Times opines. At least 80,000 people were victims of ID fraud last year, and the cost to the economy is put at £1.7 billion. The numbers are rising fast. Last year a Sunday Times investigation revealed that the stolen identities of Britons were being sold for as little as £1 each on the internet.