By: Ann-Marie Fleming
January 2006

Biometrics, an authentication technology that measures unique human characteristics as a way to confirm an individual’s identity, has been around for some time now; however since 9/11 this industry has received significant attention as a valuable addition to homeland security solutions. Biometric technology encompasses a range of identification measures such as fingerprints, palm readers, facial recognition, and retina scans as they work to minimize security risks in the protection of critical infrastructure and the screening of access through borders and ports.


Infrastructure Risk:

“The main vulnerabilities of our critical infrastructures are the widespread use of inadequate personal identification systems and the pronounced absence of appropriate low-cost equipment for the detection of dangerous substances”, describes Dore Perler, CEO of Sense Holdings Inc. (OTCBB: SEHO), a developer of next-generation biometric and integrated explosive detection technologies. “While very cost-effective metal detectors currently exist, there are no equivalent cost-effective technologies for the detection of explosives, chemical or biological agents. Sense believes that biometric systems presently offer the most robust solution to personal identification uncertainties and Micro Electro-Mechanical Sensors (MEMS) will to do the same for the detection of dangerous substances,” explains Perler.

Restricting control rooms, protecting critical supplies of sensitive information and vulnerable personnel creates a need for the deployment of not only effective access technology, but also systems that can operate in a non-obtrusive manner to become a part of daily activity. Genex Technologies, a subsidiary of Technest Holdings (OTCBB: TCNH), a provider of advanced remote sensor systems, chemical detectors, intelligent surveillance and advanced 3D imaging technology solutions, sees an advantage to the development of biometric systems such as facial recognition that do not require an active effort on the part of the entrant as is the case with fingerprint systems, iris scanners, and palm readers. Robert Tarini, Chairman and CEO of Technest Holdings' explains, “The face is a much more public identifier, and there is already a wide precedent for its use on driver’s licenses, passports, and other media. The challenge for main stream adaptation of the technology to occur is for the statistical accuracy of facial recognition to improve to the point where it is 95%-97% accurate; presently the technology is less than 90% accurate in many applications.”

Border and Port Security:
Securing critical infrastructure is a by-product of effective border and port screening measures, a key area within homeland security that is heavily aided by biometrics. Through securing our nation’s access points by more effectively screening entrants, potential risks to valuable assets and infrastructure within the country are more protected.
Brian Ruttenbur, Equity Analyst, Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. describes, “The type of biometrics getting the biggest boost at his time is fingerprint identification. We are seeing that finger is the standard; however we anticipate the most percentage growth over the next year to surround facial recognition technology, because facial biometrics is the ICAO Standard that will be used on every travel document. Finger has received the initial boost, and face over time will grow faster percentage wise as we are dealing with a smaller base.”

Motorola’s (NYSE: MOT) Robert L. Horton, Director Strategic Product Marketing, Biometrics Business Unit explains, “Homeland security, including securing the nation's borders, is a critical issue. Many countries have entry-exit policies and procedures that make it easy for individuals posing a national security threat to enter and leave the country undetected. Today, democratic nations are faced with a radically new strategic challenge: how to identify, out of the many millions of foreign nationals who seek entry each year, those few who may be threats to our national security? The key word is “identify.” We cannot stop the terrorists unless we know who they are – and can identify them in time to get the right information to the right people. Balancing these conflicting goals of economics and security demands a screening process that nets the bad guys while letting legitimate visitors through with minimal delay and inconvenience. This is where biometric technology comes in.”

“Most border security processes identify travelers by what they have (travel documents such as passports and visas) and what they know (asking travelers questions). The travel document also establishes a traveler's eligibility to enter the country. Biometrics on the other hand, focuses more on who the person is – characteristics that can more securely bind a person's identity to a travel document. Such documents are more reliable, cannot be forgotten and are less easily lost, stolen or guessed,” concludes Horton.

The focus on biometric authentication by the Department of Homeland Security has led to continued growth in this arena. “The United States Government continues to push the use of biometrics for border and port security, and this has been a very good thing for the biometrics industry,” states Ruttenbur.
 
As described by Robert Tarini, one of Homeland Security’s key challenges entails accurate facial recognition for the monitoring of critical watchlists. “With thousands of people walking through critical borders, ports and main transportation hubs, to date there has not been a successful facial recognition solution to check for face matches against known terrorists due to problems associated with the comparison of surveillance photos to watchlist databases using traditional 2D systems. Complicating this process is the fact that most public areas have diverse lighting conditions and difficult camera angles. Genex’s SureMatch 3D Suite for WatchList is a solution created to address the critical public need for security in open areas working to convert watchlist databases from limited 2D photos into dynamic 3D face models,” states Tarini.

Sense is utilizing biometrics to address the need for accurate personal identification systems and integrated detection devices for harmful substances. “We are currently marketing eight different well-developed and mature biometric identification solutions geared to specific market needs. We are also working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a part of the US Department of Energy, in the final development of our proprietary MEMS handheld explosives detector. Our MEMS technology offers unprecedented sensitivity at very low cost and is fully protected by 11 US Patents. We are planning to have a handheld demonstrator unit completed by the first quarter of 2006.”

Identix Inc. (NASDAQ: IDNX), a multi-biometric technology company, maintains a broad range of offerings and services that play into homeland security. The most well-known according to Frances Zelazny, Director of Marketing, “is in the live scan space used to conduct background checks to basically establish a trackable identity before you are letting them into your facility.” Identix has technology that is used to develop other systems and applications for physical and large scale access control. “We also enable biometric id cards and facial recognition systems that can be used to screen visitors against any watchlists of people previously barred from access,” states Zelazny.

Motorola offers a wide product line of biometric technologies, such as Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), LiveScan, multi-modal biometric enrollment and matching to address a wide range of security needs. Governments worldwide use these Motorola products in a wide array of applications that include passports, national ID cards, refugee and asylum programs, criminal justice systems, and welfare fraud prevention. “Our ground-breaking use of 3D face combined with face or finger fusion make Motorola’s portfolio one of the most accurate in the industry. This enhanced portfolio reinforces Motorola’s dedication to the biometrics market, illustrates our expertise in fusing multiple biometrics, and shows how we can integrate software with smart cards and secure documents,” describes Horton.

For entry points such as doors, guard stations, or checkpoints Genex Technologies’ SureMatch 3D Suite for Access Control uses the readily available feature data on the face to create a highly secure matching template and compensates for altered expressions and occlusions that typically plague other facial recognition systems, according to Tarini.

Challenges still remain in the area of standardization, explains Ruttenbur who states, “Fingerprint identification currently has the most standards and that is why it has generated the biggest level of adoption, but when we are talking about interoperability and standardization there is still work to do. At this time the area of facial recognition represents the biometric segment with the greatest need for consistent standards.”

A Biometric Future:
The awareness of the need for effective access control continues to grow according to Zelazny, who states, “In the last year there has been a surge in the demand for fingerprinting services. Within the last 11 years we have fingerprinted 3 million people with 600,000 in this year alone. This increase is directly tied to the fact that more and more people understand that granting someone a job such as a teacher, bus driver, federal employees etc are going to require background checks to establish trust and identity before you let someone into your facility. Growth has also been seen in biometric identification for passwords and visas, federal credentials, registered travel programs, transportation worker identification cards are all going to have biometrics incorporated into them. This all plays into the growth of the industry and clearly into what Identix offers.”

While present day facial recognition is largely based on 2D implementations Tarini is looking toward future implementations utilizing 3D facial recognition algorithms, which will increase the accuracy of the systems to allow for reliable mainstream adoption. “The extra dimensional data set from 3D technology will bridge the performance gap and create significant market penetration. Genex Technologies is well positioned to provide all existent facial recognition products with significantly improved and fully integrated/turn key 3D facial recognition thru its SureMatch suite of 3D algorithms and software,” states Tarini.

Motorola recently announced that it is advancing its position as a top-tier biometrics solutions provider by enhancing its portfolio of identity management products. “The new comprehensive Motorola Biometrics Identity Management and Security Solutions portfolio broadens Motorola’s commitment to help governments evolve to next generation ePassports and National ID cards to help deliver safer travel worldwide. These biometric solutions combine fingerprints with 3D and 2D facial images identifying people by the sections of the face that are less susceptible to alteration. This highly accurate multi-modal biometric algorithm is designed to produce and verify travel documents, national IDs, voter registration, and social benefits and enables governments to more efficiently launch new secure document programs via a single point of access,” explains Horton.

Constant technical advances and higher production levels have resulted in constantly improving biometric products at significantly lower costs. “We are beginning to see large-scale deployments and this trend shows no sign of abatement for the foreseeable future. The biometric industry has a clear and bright future that will undoubtedly make a very positive and significant difference to national security and commerce throughout the world,” explains Perler.

A longer term view sees a shift in this industry to an expanded market beyond the government realm. “Down the road, over the next three to five years, there is going to be a huge migration of biometric technology from the government to the commercial sector,” believes Ruttenbur.

Ann-Marie Fleming
Ann-Marie Fleming completed her MBA in the United States, where she attended Webster University. She also holds an Honors B.A from the University of Toronto. She has over fifteen years of experience within the financial industry to include retail banking and brokerage, investment banking, and mortgage brokerage within the United States and Canada, with a firm background in corporate research.
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