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List:       isn
Subject:    [ISN] Biometrics Standards in Works (Biometric Consortium)
From:       mea culpa <jericho () dimensional ! com>
Date:       1998-04-28 20:13:46
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Forwarded From: Aleph One <aleph1@nationwide.net>

   http://www.wired.com/news/news/business/story/11937.html

   Biometrics Standards in Works
   by Joe Nickell 
   
   5:01am  28.Apr.98.PDT
   A group of high-tech heavyweights, including Microsoft Corp., Novell
   Inc., IBM, and Compaq Computer Corp., are teaming up to develop
   standards for hardware and software that will recognize everything
   from your face to your fingertips -- and allow you to forget all those
   passwords.
   
   Dubbed the BioAPI Consortium, the group announced itself on Monday
   with hopes of setting the stage for the mainstream deployment of
   fingerprint scanners, face recognition software, and other biometric
   security technologies.
   
   "People forget passwords, or they write them down, which is obviously
   a potential breach of security," explained Scott Chase, director of
   business development at Identicator Technologies, a small San
   Francisco-based company that specializes in fingerprint identification
   hardware and software. "The idea here is to replace passwords with
   biometrics."
   
   Identicator has developed proprietary products for such clients as the
   Georgia's drivers license bureau, the US Treasury, and the US
   Department of Defense. But, like others in the emerging industry,
   Identicator has had trouble bringing its technology to a large market
   because of the lack of agreement among software, hardware, and
   operating system developers on how biometrics technologies should be
   designed.
   
   "We find that it's pretty critical to have an industry standard for
   this new technology," said Brant Jones, manager of product marketing
   at Compaq. "Users want to be able to buy products from various
   vendors and have those products be compatible."
   
   While none of the Consortium's members are spouting specifics about
   their plans for future deployment of biometric technologies, all agree
   that the field represents the future of workplace and perhaps
   homespace user identification.
   
   "The major implication by us participating is that we're trying to
   bring the technologies to the mainstream," said Compaq's Jones. "The
   market has some potential for major growth."
   

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