Biometrics as an Important Part of Information Technology Essay

Biometrics as an Important Part of Information Technology - Essay Example The present study focuses on an understanding of the use of biometrics and the commercial factors associated with it along with the current trends in its growth and use. The Growing Need and Application of Biometrics: Need for Privacy and Security: In the present times, the use of information technology has increased to a great extent that calls for the need of privacy and security of all data and information that computers and other network systems hold. The use of biometrics has benefitted in the way it is capable of restricting the access of any unauthorized individual such that any kind of frauds may be prevented. The biometric systems are extensively used in military services as well as for governmental purposes. The applications of these systems are made available to the common people and hence can be found in use for prison visitor systems, driver’s licenses, administration of canteen, benefit payment systems, border control measures, voting systems as well as in areas of junior schooling. Future applications of these systems are also being considered to be made available in the use of ATM machines, workstation and network access, travel and tourism, public identity cards, telephone transactions, and internet transactions (Biometrics, n.d.). Strong methods of identity authentication enabled through digital transmission can be understood to be of great need thus raising the use of biometrics. With the world moving towards an era where cashless economy prevails in most cases, with the selling and buying being often taking place electronically, biometrics would prove to be real essential and beneficial in the near future (Willis, 2009, pp.103-129). Biometrics: A Trend in Authentication Technology: Overview: The future trends in the use of biometric technology and process can be clearly understood from the technique being publicized as the universal remedy for theft of identity, frauds in use of credit card, network hacking, terrorism, privacy being a ttacked, misuse of one’s personal information and all other atrocious things and crimes happening in the 21st-century that can be expected to occur if someone else influences a computer or a network system. The present century has effectively realized that traditional authentication measures like the use of passwords and pins are not enough in the current times to protect and secure important information that are stored in network systems. The need for measurement of physiological features has thus become highly necessary, that is provided by biometrics. Analysis of fingerprints, voices, retinas enable a proper authentication measurement since these features are unique to every individual. Thus once these are recorded in the system, they can be compared in order to determine the access of the correct person. â€Å"This type of authentication is considered to have more integrity than photo ID and username/password systems because even sophisticated fake IDs, clever social eng ineering and lazy security habits can't compromise it† (Haas, 2004). The overall benefits of biometrics technology have been obtained in authentication, control in access and attendance, control in travelling, in financial and other transactions, remote voting, is use of automatic working devices, and action control.