The Emergence of Biometrics

By: Holly M. Inman

November 29, 2000

Prepared for: Dr. Jeff Harper

MIS 476 - Indiana State University

    As industries all over the world move into the new millennium, they are discovering that security is becoming an extremely important issue.  Many diverse businesses have found that their information is more valuable today than ever before.  This is due to the fact that good information can improve productivity and quality, thus providing a means for a higher profit margin.  Businesses are recognizing the need for information protection that will enable their business to keep running efficiently.  The use of biometrics can provide this much needed security and protection.  

    Before moving any further, however, it is important to define exactly what is meant when discussing biometrics.  Firstly, “the term ‘biometrics’ refers to a science involving the statistical analysis of biological characteristics,” [4.].  In this particular field of study, a biometric is a “unique, measurable characteristic or trait of a human being for automatically recognizing or verifying identity,” [4.].  However, discussed in this paper, the term ‘biometrics’ will refer to a “group of high level security technologies” that are used to “analyze human characteristics for security purposes,” [4.]. 

    Although modern biometrics got off to a slow start, this technology could prove to be a key player in the Information Age.  During 1684, “a British doctor wrote a paper,” that explained how “fingerprints vary among individuals,” and yet it “wasn’t until the mid-1800s that fingerprints were widely accepted as a reliable means of identifying individuals” [12.].  Presently, “law enforcement officials routinely use” fingerprinting as a means of gathering criminal evidence, and are the largest group of biometric technology users [4.].  Over the past few decades, “the use of biometric traits has extended far beyond criminal investigations,” [12.].  Today, biometric devices are being used as business security systems.  With businesses becoming more and more dependent on good information, they want to protect themselves against the possibility of unauthorized physical access, fraud, and information theft.  This becomes more evident when considering that in 1996, only “10,000 biometric devices were in operation worldwide,” [12.].  However, “by 2000, that number had escalated to more than 50,000,” and the “biometrics industry expects to experience a 7.5 percent compound annual growth rate between the years 1996 and 2003,” [12.].

    Presently, most businesses use “something that a person has,” such as an “ID badge with a photograph on it,” to identify and verify that the person has authorization to do whatever it is they may be doing [4.].  Another means of security that businesses have implemented is something that a person knows, “such as a password to access a computer or a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to access funds at a bank teller machine,” [4.].  The card, as well as the password or PIN, provides a means of access control.  Although both means of access control provide easy, inexpensive security, they aren’t extremely reliable.  A person can very easily lose an ID badge, or forget a password.  These means of security are also extremely vulnerable to theft.  Even so, millions of businesses all over the world rely on such access control systems to secure their valuable information. 

    With this in mind, now consider the use of biometric technologies for business security purposes, which identify, recognize, and verify unique characteristics of a person to ensure a high level of security.  The following describes the history of the biometrics industry, the different biometric devices that are available, an evaluation of these devices, how these devices can be applied, and the market outlook for the biometrics industry.  At the conclusion of this paper, one will be able to see the tremendous impact that biometrics will have on various businesses worldwide.

    As mentioned earlier, biometric technology has been around for years.  In a very “non-sophisticated way, biometrics have existed for centuries,” [4.].  For example, some believe that “the study of finger images dates back to ancient China,” [4.].  Others believe that the idea dates “back to ancient Egypt, when records of distinguishing features and bodily measurements were used to make sure that people were who they claimed to be,” [6.].  However, the “first modern biometric device was introduced on a commercial basis” only “25 years ago.” [8.].  This device was called Identimat and it “measured the shape of the hand and looked particularly at finger length” [4.].  Although its production “ceased in the late 1980’s,” the use of the Identimat “set a path for biometric technologies as a whole [4.].  Later, in the mid 1980’s, “the first system to analyze the unique pattern of the retina was introduced,” [4.]. This migration from research and development to commercialized use has been relatively slow, but nonetheless, continues today.  As mentioned earlier, the “public sector - particularly military and law enforcement - were the early adopters” of biometric technology [3.].  Today, it is becoming more common to see such devices in “computer rooms, vaults, research labs, day care centers, blood banks, ATMs, and military installations,” [8.]. 

    The biometric technology industry can be segmented first “by technology, then by the vertical markets and finally by applications these technologies serve,” [8.].  This typology can be seen in Figure 1. 

Figure 1: Typology of Biometric Methods

Source: [8.]

    As depicted by Figure 1, at its highest level, the automated biometrics industry can be separated into two categories, physiological and behavioral biometric technologies.  Physiological biometrics include characteristics “that do not change dramatically over time,” [8.].  These particular market segment focuses on the biometric characteristics of a person’s hand, eye, face, or fingerprint [8.].  Behavioral biometrics, on the other hand, include characteristics that “change over time” and sometimes change “on a daily basis,” [8.].  This market focuses on the behavioral characteristics of a person’s signature, voice, or keystroke dynamics.  Industry members are considering other biometric characteristics as well, such as body odor, ear shape, veins, and DNA.  However, issues including feasibility, accuracy, and privacy have kept such biometric technologies at bay.

   Although the biometric technologies are segmented in the technologies they analyze, each end product operates essentially in the same way.  The first crucial step in building any biometric system is to obtain “a sample of the biometric characteristic during an enrollment process,” [4.]. This step is crucial in the effectiveness of the system, because this is when the initial characteristics of a user are determined.  During the enrollment process, “each user, beginning with the administrator who controls the system, provides samples of that system’s specific biometric characteristic,” [11.].  This is accomplished by “interacting with the scanning hardware” that the system provides [11.].  The unique features of the sample “are then extracted and converted by the system into a mathematical code” and the sample “is then stored as the biometric template for that person,” [4.].  The biometric template that is stored “may reside in the biometric system itself, or in any other form of memory storage, such as a computer database, a smart card, or a bar-code,” [4.]. 

   All biometric systems use a procedure that consists of four stages: capture, extraction, comparison, and matching.  The only difference is the methods and techniques that each biometric system uses to deal with the human characteristic involved.  The capture stage refers to the “physical or behavioral sample” that is “captured during the enrollment process,” [4.].  The extraction stage refers to the extraction of unique data from the captured sample and then used in the creation of a template.  The comparison stage refers to the comparing of a new sample with that of the original sample imprinted on the template.  Finally, the matching stage refers to the process in which the biometric system will determine whether the new sample accurately matches the original sample or not.

   Presently, fingerprint biometrics are the most widely adopted biometric technologies in the industry.  This is because “the stability and uniqueness of the fingerprint are well established,” [8.].  For instance, “upon careful examination, it is estimated that the chance of two people, including twins, having the same print is less than one in a billion,” [8.].  In recent years, the ever-popular ink-based fingerprints, which have been used for over a century, began moving towards the digital mainstream.  Many fingerprint scanners work by analyzing the position of minutiae, which are “small unique marks on the finger image,” [4.].  To further elaborate, minutiae are the points “where two ridges on a fingertip meet,” [12.].  Normally, a fingerprint will contain “up to 100 of these points,” [12.].  Other fingerprint scanners work by counting “the number of ridges between points,” or minutiae [8.].  Presently, the “largest application of fingerprint technology is in Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS),” which is used “by police forces throughout the U.S. and in over 30 foreign countries,” [8.].

   Hand geometry has had “a 20-year history of live applications,” in biometrics and is currently “employed at over 8,000 locations, including the Columbian legislature, San Francisco International Airport, day care centers, a sperm bank, welfare agencies, hospitals and immigration facilities for the INSPASS frequent international traveler system,” [8.].  As the name suggests, “hand geometry is concerned with measuring the physical characteristics of the users hand and fingers, from a three dimensional perspective,” [1.].  A biometric hand geometry device “measures the shape and length of the fingers and knuckles,” [4.].  Such devices are “useful for controlling access to a building with a limited number of occupants,” [1.].  They have also proven popular among “time and attendance recording” applications [1.]. 

   Biometric technologies that analyze the eyes can be separated into two categories: iris scanning and retinal scanning.  Firstly, the iris is the colored ring that surrounds the pupil.  Iris biometric technologies analyze the complex pattern of the iris, which “can be a combination of specific characteristics known as cornea, crypts, filaments, freckles, pits, radial furrows and striations,” [4.].  This technology does not require that the “user focus on the target” due to the fact that “the iris pattern is on the eye’s surface,” and can even be taken “up to three feet away,” [8.].  It has been “claimed that artificial duplication of the iris is virtually impossible” due to “its unique properties and that no two irises are alike,” [4.].  Similarly, retinal biometric technologies analyze “an area known as the fovea” which allows the capturing of a “unique pattern of blood vessels,” [4.].  These patterns are “scanned by a low intensity light source via an optical coupler,” [1.].  However, unlike iris scanning, retinal scanning requires “the user to look into a receptacle and focus on a given point,” [1.]. 

   Facial recognition biometric technologies are currently “one of the fastest growing areas of the biometric industry in terms of new development effort,” [8.].  Many of these efforts “employ neural either network technology or statistical correlations of the face’s geometric shape,” [8.].  A “facial image, or collection of images,” is captured using “standard video techniques,” [4.].  From the captured image(s), “a number of points on the face can then be mapped out,” to create a unique template [4.].  As an alternative, “a three-dimensional map of the face may be created from the captured image,” [4.].  However, when using standard video techniques to capture an image, “the precise position of the user’s face and the surrounding lighting conditions may affect the system’s performance,” [4.]  Another alternative used in facial recognition is thermal imaging.  The use of a thermal or infrared camera “captures the hidden, heat-generated pattern of blood vessels lurking underneath the skin,” [4.].  Lighting is not important when referring to an infrared camera, so systems such as these “can capture images in the dark,” [4.].  The use of facial recognition biometric technologies allow for the facial image to be captured “from several meters away,” [8.].  The obvious allure to facial recognition resides in the fact that “it is the method most akin to the way that we as humans identify people” [8.].

   Biometric technologies that measure signature dynamics “are often referred to as dynamic signature verification (DSV)” and they “look at the way we sign our names,” [4.].  Signature verification “enjoys a synergy with existing processes that other biometrics do not,” because it is extremely common for people to use “signatures as a means of transaction related identity verification” and most people would “see nothing unusual in extending this to encompass biometrics,” [1.].  DSV focuses on “the method of signing rather than the finished signature” and is not based on a static image [4.].  DSV can extract and measure a number of characteristics, such as “the velocity and acceleration of the signature, the pressure exerted when holding the pen,” as well as “the number of times the pen is lifted from the paper,” [4.].  In spite of the common usage of the signature, “there have been relatively few significant applications to date in comparison with other biometric methodologies,” [1.].

When referring to voice recognition biometric technologies, it is “important to distinguish this technology from those that recognize words and act on commands,” [4.].  Voice recognition software that can “recognize words and type a letter or automate instructions given over the telephone” are not considered to be biometric technologies [4.].  In contrast, voice recognition biometric technologies measure “the sound of a human voice that is caused by resonance in the vocal tract,” [4.].  The sound of a human voice is based on “the length of the vocal tract,” as well as “the shape of the mouth and nasal cavities,” [4.].  Thus, these characteristics can affect every sound made by a human.  The method that voice recognition biometric technologies use to measure the voice “may use either text-dependent or text-independent methods,” [4.].  Text-dependent methods capture the sound of a voice by having the user utter “a specifically designated password combining phrases, words or numbers,” whereas text-independent methods capture the sound of a voice by having the user utter “any form of phrase, words or numbers,” [4.].  Voice verification biometrics are currently being used in “access control for medium-security or high-security throughput situations such as offices and labs as well as in remote banking applications,” [8.].

   Keystroke dynamics are also referred to as typing rhythms.  Keystroke dynamic biometric technologies are “the most eagerly awaited of all biometric technologies in the computer security arena,” [8.].  As the name suggests, “this method analyzes the way a user types at a terminal by monitoring the keyboard input 1,000 times per second,” [8.].  Obviously, “keystroke dynamics are behavioral and evolve over time as users learn to type and develop their own unique typing pattern,” [4.].  The National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have both conducted studies “establishing that typing patterns are quite unique,” [8.].  The ultimate goal of biometric technologies that measure keystroke dynamics is to have the ability “to continually check the identity of a person as they type on a keyboard,” [4.]. 

            The method for gathering information regarding biometric technologies consisted of three phases: 1.)  a library catalog search was conducted at the Vigo County Public Library located in Terre Haute, Indiana, 2.) a computer database search via the Internet was conducted to establish what materials were available at Cunningham Memorial Library located on the Indiana State University campus in Terre Haute, Indiana, and 3.) Internet keyword searches were performed.  The reference materials that were found using this methodology were first examined for an explanation of biometric technologies, as well as their evaluation, application(s), and effect(s) in the marketplace.  Materials were also examined for information regarding vendors involved in biometric technologies.  Materials were then examined again to determine which material was out-dated and which material was more current.  However, not all out-dated reference material was discarded.  Out-dated materials that were rich in content and useful in the completion of this report were not necessarily discarded. 

            The first phase of gathering resources on the topic of biometric technologies was performed at the Vigo County Public Library.  Through the use of this library’s on-premises computer database, subject and keyword searches were conducted to find any material in print and available at the location.  Keywords and subject phrases included biometrics, biometric industry, biometric technology, biometric devices, and so forth.  Although biometric technologies have been around for quite some time, finding printed material was rather difficult due to the fact that biometrics have not yet made a significantly large impact in the marketplace. 

   The second phase of gathering resources on biometrics was completed using the Internet to access and search the Cunningham Memorial Library computer database.  The same generalized keywords and subject phrases used at Vigo County Public Library were also used in this phase of information gathering.  Again, these searches did not result in as much printed material as desired due to the fact that biometrics is a relatively small area of the commercial marketplace.

   The last phase of gathering information on the topic of biometric technologies was completed using an Internet search tool called Copernic.  Copernic can perform keyword searches of the top Internet search engines and directories (Alta Vista, YAHOO, MSN Web Search, Lycos, DirectHit, Excite, GO.com, HotBot, Netscape Netcenter, Open Directory Project, etc.) at the same time.  Copernic also sorts the results by relevance and eliminates duplicate results.  The same generalized keywords and subject phrases that were used in the first two phases were also used in this phase.  After the general keyword search was performed and the material was reviewed, another keyword search was performed using more specific keywords and subject phrases, such as voice recognition, retinal scanning, iris scanning, fingerprinting, hand geometry, signature dynamics, keystroke dynamics, physiological biometrics, and behavioral biometrics.  Most of the resources gathered for this report were done so during this phase of the methodology.  Numerous articles were found, as well as organizational, commercial, and educational websites.

   A fundamental issue of determining whether or not to deploy a biometric technology depends on characteristics such as the device’s level of accuracy, the ease at which the device can be used, the level at which the device is able to withstand attack, the level at which the public will accept the device, as well as the stability of the device.  Also significant are interferences that could possibly occur during the use of the device.  Each of the following tables depict such important information for those biometric technologies discussed within this report:

Figure 2: Evaluation of Fingerprint Verification

Source: [4.]

Possible interferences with such devices can include “dry, dirty, or damaged finger images, age, gender and race” of the end user [4.].

Figure 3: Evaluation of Hand Geometry

Source: [4.]

Possible interferences with a hand geometry biometric device include “diseases such as arthritis and rheumatism in end users,” [4.].

                                            Figure 4: Evaluation of Iris Scanning

                                                                Source: [4.]

A possible interference with an iris scanning device could occur if “glasses are worn by the end user,” [4.].

                                        Figure 5: Evaluation of Retinal Scanning

                                                                    Source: [4.]

Retinal scanning devices “cannot be used by people who are blind or who have cataracts,” [12.].  These devices also require “a well-trained operator to help the users interact properly with the system,” and even these well-trained operators “cannot be sure that a user has correctly focused his or her eye,” also making the device prone to human error which could interfere with the accuracy of the device [12.].

Figure 6: Evaluation of Facial Recognition

Source: [4.]

Possible interferences such a device could occur due to “poor lighting, aging of the face, glasses, and facial hair,” [4.].

Figure 7: Evaluation of Voice Recognition

Source: [4.]

Possible interferences with voice recognition devices could occur due to “background and network noise, colds and other factors that can change the voice,” [4.].

Figure 8: Evaluation of Signature Dynamics

Source: [4.]

Possible interferences with a biometric device measuring signature dynamics could occur due to “illiteracy,” as well as “signatures that constantly change or are easily imitated,” [4.].

Figure 9: Evaluation of Keystroke Dynamics

Source: [9.]

Possible interferences with a biometric device measuring keystroke dynamics could occur “as users often become tired or distracted during the course of a day, which in turn affects typing rhythm,” [4.].

   The International Biometric Group’s Zephyr Analysis provides a means of evaluating these different technologies according to somewhat different criteria.

 Figure 10: Zephyr Analysis

Source: [9.]

The four factors that are used in the Zephyr Analysis fall under two categories, user criteria and technology criteria.  Explanations of these factors are as follows:

Figure 11: Zephyr Analysis Criteria

Source: [9.]

Figure 10 depicts the “comparative strengths and weaknesses of each biometric technology,” listing the eight primary technologies around the outer border [9.].  For each of the eight technologies, the “four major evaluation criteria are ranked from outside (better) to inside (worse),” [9.].

   Currently, even with the growing interest in biometric technologies, a “critical element that has been absent in the world of biometrics has been the lack of standards,” [13.]  Although the standard bodies and biometric consortia have shown great interest in such standards, “there are virtually no standards in place for automated biometrics, including minutiae analysis, the method used by human experts to analyze fingerprints” [13.].  According Associate Consultant Cynthia Way of Higgins and Associates, even though “there are ANSI-NIST (American National Standards Institute – National Institute of Standards and Technology) fingerprint minutiae standards, they don't seem to be of sufficient information density to be usable for all automated biometrics,” [13.].  There has been an effort for “movement toward a single family of APIs” (Application Programming Interface), and although it is “not a single API definition,” it should provide greater compatibility [2.].  This effort has been initiated by the BioAPI Consortium, a group dedicated to developing “a widely available and widely accepted API that will serve for various biometric technologies,” [14.].  An API standard should “free system designers and integrators from developing different programs for each vendor's biometric hardware,” [13.].  However, “as is always the case with standards, progress is slow,” [2.].

   There are a numerous ways in which biometric technologies can be applied to different market segments.  As mentioned earlier, “police forces throughout the world use AFIS technology to process criminal suspects, match finger images and bring guilty criminals to justice,” [4.].  On the other hand, law enforcement officials not only find it necessary to catch criminals, but also to ensure that the criminals are securely detained.  Currently, “a wide range of biometrics” that are “being used worldwide to secure prison access, police detention areas, enforce home confinement orders and regulate the movement of probationers and parolees,” [4.]. 

    Banks have also been evaluating biometric technologies for years and are searching for ways to provide some kind of control against “fraud and general breaches of security,” especially in the use of “weak links such as Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and transactions at the point of sale” which “are particularly vulnerable to fraud,” [4.].  Banks are also finding that “other emerging markets such as telephone banking and Internet banking must also be totally secure for bank customers and bankers alike,” meaning that there is an even greater need for control [4.].  Presently, “a variety of biometric technologies are now striving to prove themselves throughout this range of diverse market opportunities,” [4.].  Just as banks are vulnerable to fraud, so are benefit systems, such as those found in welfare departments.  Welfare departments all over the country have been fighting the battle against fraud for years.  In this market segment, the use “finger scanning is particularly widespread,” as well as “AFIS technology,” [4.].  With the development of EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer), “which involves loading funds onto a plastic card,” biometric technologies “are well placed to capitalize on this phenomenal market opportunity,” [4.] 

    Another market opportunity resides in the fraudulent access of computer systems.  When a computer system is fraudulently accessed, “confidence is lost and the network is unable to perform at full capacity until the hole in security is patched,” [4.].  In such a situation (just as in banking), “business intelligence, credit card numbers, medical information and other personal data becomes the target of attack,” [4.].  This market area in particular, has “phenomenal potential,” even more so “if the biometrics industry can migrate to large-scale Internet applications,” [4.].

    Another recognized area where biometric technologies are proving themselves to be of great value is in the control of “terrorism, drug-running, illegal immigration,” and “increasing throughput of legitimate travelers,” [4.].  These are worldwide problems and have already been addressed by some authorities that currently use biometrics for such situations.  For example, “the US Immigration and Naturalization Service is a major user and evaluator of a number of biometrics,” and have systems “in place throughout the US to automate the flow of legitimate travelers and deter illegal immigrants,” [4.].  Biometric technologies are also in put to use in “countries such as Australia, Bermuda, Germany, Malaysia and Taiwan,” for the same purposes.

    Biometric technologies are also being used to prevent fraudulent access to telephone systems.  With the popular emergence of “cellular telephones, Dial Inward System Access (DISA) and a range of telecommunication services,” the global communications industry is finding that they are even more vulnerable to fraud than ever before [4.].  For example, “cellular companies are vulnerable to cloning (where a new phone is created using stolen code numbers)” and also to “new subscription fraud (where a phone is obtained using a false identity),” [4.]  The arena of Dial Inward System Access, “which allows authorized individuals to contact a central exchange and make free calls,” is finding that it is “being targeted by telephone hackers,” [4.]. 

    Another potential market opportunity for biometric technology vendors can be found in the replacement of the traditional way in which the recording and monitoring of employee movement has been conducted.  Traditionally, “clocking-in machines” have been used to record and monitor employees “as they arrive at work, have breaks and leave for the day,” [4.].  Unfortunately, manual systems such as these “can be circumvented by someone ‘punching-in’ for someone else,” thus disrupting the “time management and unit costing exercises” that companies implement, costing them “millions of dollars,” [4.]. 

    All of the applications mentioned in this report “can be simply categorized as, either being for law enforcement or some form of civilian purpose,” [4.].  There are many other market opportunities not mentioned in which biometric technologies can be applied, such as the restrictive access to schools, vehicles, hospitals, and nuclear power plants just to name a few.  In almost every case, biometrics can be applied to any situation in which providing a means of access restriction is necessary, whether it be physical access or logical access.

   According to the International Biometric Group (IBG), “the biometric market is poised for a breakthrough to new levels of sales and visibility in the next 2-3 years, [5.].  Total revenue for biometric technologies “last year was estimated at $58 million by the International Biometric Group,” and “the total is expected to grow to $594 million by 2003,” [7.].  The following chart depicts the findings of the IBG for 1999 biometric technology revenues:

Figure 12: 1999 Revenue by Biometric Technology

Source: [5.]

    According to “new strategic research from Frost & Sullivan,” the “U.S. User Authentication Device Markets generated revenues of over $200 million in 1999,” and “predicts that figure will reach $2.6 billion by 2006,” [10.].  However, note that the User Authentication Device Market “is composed of hardware tokens, software tokens, and biometrics” and that “all are used for authentication,” [10.].  The expansion and use of applied biometrics is due to “a combination of the falling cost of biometric devices, increasing sophistication of the technology, development of biometrics as a peripheral to common computer platforms, and efforts by the United States government,” [13.].

   Biometric technologies can aid in access control whether it be physical or logical access control.  Consumer adoption of such technologies, however, may take more time.  Those technologies that incorporate some aspect of common usage (such as fingerprint verification, signature dynamics, and keyboard dynamics) are more likely to be accepted than those that require less common user interaction (such as retinal scanning, iris scanning, hand geometry, and voice recognition).  As prices drop for biometric devices, consumers will be more open to accept such a technology as being beneficial.  However, standards are of great importance to the expansion of biometric technologies and will need to be established before the widespread acceptance of biometrics can take place.  Established standards will promote stability in the biometric market, as well as maturity, which in turn will benefit vendors, investors, and consumers.  Company and government awareness of biometrics is sure to grow as user authentication becomes increasingly more important, especially as passwords and ID badges prove to be more unreliable and inefficient as they were once considered to be.  As we move into the future, prepare to take part in the interactive user authentication processes provided by biometric technologies.

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[2.]           Avolio, Frederick M. (1999, August23).  Buyer’s Guide: Biometrically Speaking.  Tech Web.  Retrieved October 26, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.networkcomputing.com/1017/1017buyers2.html

[3.]           Berst, Jesse (1999, May 19).  The Biometrics Revolution. ZDNet Anchor Desk.  Retrieved October 14, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,5017059,00.html

[4.]           Biometrics.  ChoiceAdvantage.com: Small Business Connection.  Retrieved October 14, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.choiceadvantage.com/Biometrics/Biometrics.htm

[5.]           Biometric Market Report 2000: Summary (2000).  International Biometric Group.  Retrieved November 2, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.biometricgroup.com/

[6.]           Biometrics: The Measure of a Man (2000, September 7).  The Economist.  Retrieved October 26, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=360238

[7.]           Boone, Rolf (2000, July 18).  Biometrics Making an Impression in Identification.  LocalBusiness.com.  Retrieved October 26, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.localbusiness.com/Story/0,1118,SEA_234198,00.html

[8.]           Bowman, Eric (2000, January).  Everything You Need To Know About Biometrics.  Identix Corporation.  Retrieved October 14, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ibia.org/EverythingAboutBiometrics.PDF

[9.]           Zephyr Analysis.  International Biometric Group.  Retrieved October 26, 2000 from the World Wide Web: www.biometricgroup.com/

[10.]                     Frost & Sullivan Research Reveals Biometrics Is Not Mission Impossible (2000, November 20).  Business Wire.  Retrieved November 21, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://webusers.anet-stl.com/~wrogers/biometrics/hot/001117-3.html

[11.]                     Randall, Neil (1999, June 30).  Biometric Basics.  ZDNet PC Magazine.  Retrieved October 14, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/stories/reviews/0,6755,392609-1,00.html

[12.]                     Tocci, Salvatore (2000).  High-Tech IDs: From Finger Scans To Voice Patterns.  New York: Franklin Watts (Grolier Publishing).

[13.]                     Biometric Outlook.  Biometrics.  Retrieved November 2, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.tech.purdue.edu/it/resources/aidc/BioWebPages/Biometrics_Home.html

[14.]                     Mission Statement.  BioAPI Consortium.  Retrieved November 2, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.bioapi.com/