Biometric Access control has gained acceptance over the years due to limited success of physical checks in safeguarding vital assets in a world that grows more dangerous by the day. This method has been used by governmental and private agencies to secure their assets against theft and misuse by miscreants. Conditional access through biometric security has become all the more important after the increasing incidences of terrorist activities in the modern world. One such reliable system is the Fingerprint Access Control, which uses Biometric fingerprints to provide conditional access to individuals.
What is Biometric Security?
Biometric Access Control is a security system that provides conditional access after scanning for unique physical characteristics. A reader scans the face, fingers, irises and veins for unique traits, converts the data into digital format (template) and then uses a complex algorithm to make a match. According to experts, the system is foolproof and there is little or no chance of it being misused, making it a must have for homeowners, financial institutions, governmental organizations and so on.
The current system of passwords and pin numbers needed to access financial services has drawn a lot of criticism of late due to the increasing incidents of hacking. The system is at the mercy of hackers, who use the hacked data to draw funds from the victims account. This is where Biometrics with its foolproof system comes in. Many South East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea have gone ahead with Biometric security in a big way, installing Biometric Access at ATM’s and other public facilities, in order to safeguard financial data.
Role of Biometric Access Control to improve governance
Biometric access control can also be used to improve attendance in governmental organizations, plagued by rampant instances of absenteeism. In a recent move to check absenteeism, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi tied the salary of its employees to the attendance marked by the Biometric attendance system, installed earlier this year. The system required the employees to record their entry at 9.00 A.M and then at the time of exit at 5.00 PM.
This data can be corroborated with the entries entered in the manual registers maintained by each department. Under normal conditions the data recorded by the Biometric system should match with the data recorded under the manual system. However, investigators found major discrepancies in the data entered under the two systems. Noting this anomaly, the Finance department sent the bills back to the departmental heads, questioning the reason behind the discrepancies.
