Grant Evans has been fingerprinted more times than the most notorious career criminals. Calif.-based Identix is banking on biometric technology, specifically fingerprint readers, to rival passwords as the key to secure network access.
Users call system administrators and ask for their password to be reset.
But that costs money. The James Bond-esque solution is biometrics, technologies that measure human body characteristics and compare the digital readings to a database for authentication. Like its competitors, Identix's DFR-300 fingerprint reader uses a tiny camera to take a digital snapshot of your fingertip. In seconds, the unique elements in your fingerprint are gleaned and compared to the database. If Identix is on the money with their business model, the path for biometrics in network security has been paved by the password problem combined with the plummeting cost of biometric hardware, specifically fingerprint scanners.