fingerprint registration (or similar)

[mjs_mjs]

I'm personally against storing any form of biometric data, including (but not limited to) fingerprints. One major problem I have with biometric data being used for identification/authentication is the very fact that once you give it to an organisation you have no way of changing it should the data be leaked etc.

 

If you're using a password/pin code should there be a breach it is possible to change the password/pin. However with biometrics this is simply not possible - you can't change someones fingerprint. As biometrics become more wide spread I can already see a market springing up to convert reference point data to an acceptable gummy finger alternative to "fake" a biometric. Even without the reference data it is very easy to acquire a biometric like a fingerprint should someone want access to a system that your biometric grants you access to.

 

It is my belief that biometrics are over used and their full consequences haven't been fully considered by most organisations. There are very few instances that I believe a biometric should be used as a form of authentication/identification.

 

never thought of it from this angle. i would like to know where you think they should be used.

[localzuk]

the DPA says that you may only collect infomation that you need... so you need to justify having a print... why would you need my print when you have my name???

 

Justification - having to handle 600 kids in an hour through a single till. ie. there's no space for more tills, no money for more till operators. To put that in numbers - choosing a person manually on a system takes about 20 seconds per person, them using their finger takes 2 seconds. This form of knowing who is eating what is now a requirement that is being pushed on us by external bodies also (I don't know exact details, just seen a brief glimpse of a requirements document stating that all food sales should be itemised). Issuing cards is a nightmare - they will get lost, especially with the age of kids we have here. Not to mention them being forgotten etc... The cost would far outstrip anything we could afford to maintain.

 

That is justification enough in my eyes.