Most of us wouldn’t think twice about managing our finances and personal admin online. The thought of having to go into the bank to pay a bill, a norm not much more than a decade ago, seems very archaic. Yet as more and more people input personal data online, we are making it easier for criminals to discover the information needed to crack passwords, access accounts and even steal identities.
The thought of having to go into the bank to pay a bill, a norm not much more than a decade ago, seems very archaic. Yet as more and more people input personal data online, we are making it easier for criminals to discover the information needed to crack passwords, access accounts and even steal identities.
Advances in technology have opened up these new forms of crime, but also hold the answer to keeping us safe. Biometrics are widely agreed to be the most effective means to fighting identity theft, checking someone is who they say they are by using unique personal features that set us apart from even our closest relatives.
One of the most advanced biometric identification technologies is Finger VeinID, which uses infra-red to scan the unique vein pattern in a person’s fingers. You simply place your finger in the sensor, it scans your vein pattern and then provides access to what you need – from getting cash out a bank machine, accessing online services, entering a secure area or even registering for school.
But how are your finger veins more secure than other forms of identification?
Everyone has a unique vein pattern, in the same way as your fingerprints or iris; but, because they’re inside your body, they are virtually impossible to copy. Even identical twins don’t have the same patterns.
This may be slightly macabre, but Finger VeinID will only recognise living tissue as it’s based on sensing the haemoglobin in blood, so the scan won’t work if the blood has leaked out. Veins collapse if cut, meaning your unique pattern is lost. So while the technology can’t prevent someone chopping off your finger, you can at least be assured they won’t steal your identify!
Unlike a credit card or passport, there’s no chance you’ll leave your finger at home or lose it on the bus!
As well as the usual finger you would use for the finger scan, customers can also register a ‘stress finger’. If put under duress, you can put the stress finger on the scanner and the bank can automatically take action, such as making it look like a machine is out of service.
It’s long been thought the key to security lay at our finger tips, but thanks to cutting edge technology, these days protecting your own identity is actually in your fingers.
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