Biometrics is the science of measuring and statistically analyzing biological data. In information technology, biometrics refers to the use of a person?s biological characteristics for personal identification and authentication. Fingerprint, iris-scan, retinal-scan, voiceprint, signature, handprint and facial features are some of the most common types of human biometrics, whereas common types of behavioral biometric technologies are the signature and voice patterns of an individual.
Biometrics brings convenience with security to user authentication as it can complement and in some instances replace current methods like PIN and passwords (software tokens) or keys and ID cards (hardware tokens). The key advantage of biometrics over traditional forms of user authentication is that it cannot be lost, forgotten, stolen or duplicated with ease.
By Philip Hopkins, Fujitsu Microelectronics America Biometrics is rapidly becoming a popular, widely used technology for data security in PCs, handhelds and other mobile products that are easily lost or stolen. Fingerprint sensor ICs now built into these products provide highly reliable security on their own, and they can also be combined with passwords or tokens for applications or...