fingerprints

A housing bailout bill that would also create a national fingerprint registry is facing some unexpected delays in the U.S. Senate and may not be voted on until next month.

We wrote about the proposed law last month after it had been approved by the Senate Banking Committee. After that, it was supposed to be on the fast track to President Bush's desk, but a fuss over an amendment for renewable-energy tax credits--which, of course, have nothing to do with foreclosures and the bursting of the housing bubble--is creating the delay.

The legislation would require any mortgage "… Read more

The Senate housing bill approved by a committee this week was already drawing fire from fiscal conservatives and financially responsible homeowners opposed to bailing out housing speculators.

Now it may be time to add privacy advocates to the chorus of voices urging President Bush to veto the bill, which could put taxpayers on the hook for billions of bailout dollars in new taxes or deficit spending.

Buried in the text of the revised legislation, approved by the Senate Banking Committee by a 19-2 vote this week, is a plan to create a new national fingerprint registry. It covers just about … Read more

For years, biometric finger scanners have been used in ATMs and at the cash register. But there are problems with finger scanners. Researchers have demonstrated how a flat photograph or molded fingertip can easily fool these devices into giving a false approval. And while face recognition is improving, especially 3D facial mapping, these devices aren't yet in wide use today.

Fujitsu PalmSecure is another option. Already in use in hospitals and government offices, the device reads the hand's vein pattern using near-infrared light. On this week's Security Bites podcast, I spoke with Joel Hagberg, vice president of … Read more

BayTSP, a service that tracks file swappers for the big music labels and Hollywood studios, is set to begin testing a new audio and video fingerprinting technology to see whether it can hunt down copyright infringement at sites such as YouTube, Dailymotion, and Yahoo Video.

According to a statement issued late Monday night, BayTSP has partnered with Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (NTT). That company will combine its content-recognition engine with BayTSP's authentication platform, and the companies hope the tests will lead to the opening of a commercial service that will help content owners guard against piracy at user-generated … Read more

This certainly isn't the first personal safe that's controlled by biometrics, but its design is a definite improvement over previous models we've seen. The "BioVault 2.0 Fingerprint Safe" from Sequiam Biometrics has the kind of futuristic look that's appropriate for a security technology of the future--in fact, it reminds us of the Enterprise's sliding doors on the original Star Trek.

It does seem kind of curious, however, that one of its highly touted features is the ability to work with the fingerprints of up to 50 people; we thought the idea was … Read more

Portable hard drives are becoming cheaper with larger storage sizes, but one of the most overlooked areas is the issue of data security.

A new model from Seoul-based Sarotech, the curiously named "Cutie Bio," has integrated a fingerprint scanner into an external USB 2.0 drive. With a swipe of your finger, the data is instantly accessible; once it's removed from the PC, the information becomes encrypted gibberish.

At about $58.55, we would say it would seem a good deal for everyone--except for one small detail. The fingerprint software works with only Windows machines, which takes … Read more

As if recent laws haven't made smokers feel like pariahs already, now they may have to start punching a timeclock too.

The "SmokeScreen" is a fingerprint-reading system that tracks smokers as they leave a building to sneak a cancer stick or two. Made by a U.K. company called IDScan, it's being targeted at clubs to monitor the comings and goings of patrons who presumably have paid their cover charges but are in dire need for a quick fix outside. Red Ferret says savvy club owners could even promote it as a status symbol, an "… Read more

With Macs getting all tarted up in gold and diamonds these days, their security is more important than ever--inside and out. The "Laptop Wallet" may help you hang onto the machine itself, but you'll presumably want to keep any unauthorized perps locked out of the data as well.

UPEK's "Eikon Digital Privacy Manager" can help you do just that. It's a biometric device that reads fingerprints for access to whatever you want, connecting to the computer by USB, OhGizmo says.

The device has been available for PCs but can now be used on … Read more

You've got to hand it to eKey, quite literally. As biometric security technology becomes increasingly mainstream, companies have had to work overtime trying to figure out ways to get a leg (or an arm) up on the competition. So where fingerprint scanning is concerned, eKey had a novel thought: Why limit a system to just one finger?

Its "Bio-View" system actually makes use of three fingers, each with a different task--one to unlock the door, a second to control the alarm and the third to send an emergency alert if necessary, according to Cedia News. (We can … Read more