The Biometric Bandwagon — Get On It!

If you haven't been thinking "biometrics" when looking at access control or time and attendance solutions, you might want to start.  Since prices are down and reliability and ease of use have improved, biometrics is increasingly the technology of choice for any application that requires identity verification.

Whether you’re trying to secure data stored on a laptop, a sensitive computer room, the front door of an office building or individual executive offices, you might want to think outside the box and consider biometrics.  Although biometrics might seem out of reach financially, or like technology overkill, such systems are actually affordable and practical. 

One of the biggest selling points for biometrics is that they can eliminate the need for keys or cards.  While keys themselves don’t cost much and dramatic price reductions have lowered the cost of the cards in recent years, the true benefit of eliminating them is realized through reduced administrative efforts. 

For instance, a lost card or key must be replaced and reissued by someone.  Just as there is a price associated with the time spent to complete this seemingly simple task, when added together the overall administration of a key or card system is costly.  Hands and fingers are not lost, stolen or forgotten and never wear out or need replacement. And biometric solutions are convenient for users.  Gone are the days of carrying a card or remembering endless computer passwords.

What’s more, biometrics is also cost effective. Because they require minimal operator assistance, businesses and government agencies that use biometrics can save money by devoting customer service and other personnel to activities other than screening individuals requesting access to restricted areas.

Biometric solutions are being used around the globe and around the corner, from local, family-owned restaurants to fast-food chains and from health clubs to large hospitals.  Biometric technology is used on the doors of thousands of businesses around the world where the combination of security and convenience is desired. 

Proven Biometric Technologies
A biometric device identifies a person via a unique human characteristic, such as the size and shape of a hand or a fingerprint.  The goal of an access control system is to control where people, not their credentials, can and cannot go. Only a biometric device truly provides this level of security. 
For access control, biometric solutions make sure the good guys get in and the bad guys stay out.  When used for time and attendance applications, biometrics ensure that the person clocking in is really who they say they are, eliminating timecard fraud caused by "buddy punching".

Hand geometry and fingerprint reader technology is used on 80% of biometric access control applications.  They are complementary to each other, as each meets specific needs in the market. But which one is right for your customers? 

Both hand geometry readers and fingerprint readers recognize people, not ID cards.  For locations with card systems, biometrics provides an additional layer of security to vital entrances or doors, assuring that lost or stolen cards are not used to access facilities.  They confirm that “you are you.”  For locations not using cards, biometric technologies are very easy to supervise and there are no credentials for administrators to manage. 

Fingerprint readers offer good protection and reliability in smaller, indoor applications such as IT server room doors.  As the user population grows beyond 100 and the number of access transactions increases accordingly, hand geometry readers become the better choice. 

With dramatically lower false reject and failure to enroll rates, the value of hand geometry grows as the number of users and/or transactions increases.  Not only does hand geometry readers keep the bad guys out, but also ensure the good guys get in.

“Hand geometry is the best biometric solution for our needs,” explains MCI’s James Callahan, a 24-year veteran of the security industry and retired federal counter-intelligence agent.  MCI uses hand geometry readers to access offices and rooms at their data hosting locations in California, Maryland and England.

“As a managed hosting operation, it is important that our clients know that their information is secure both logically and physically.  We need to provide a high level of assurance that people are who they claim to be.  We must prevent unauthorized access to hardware and critical information.

“We also need flexible, fast authentication with a biometric that handles a large population without holdups,” Callahan adds.  “It is important to get employees quickly in and out.  According to my research, approximately two to four percent of the population can’t use fingerprint technology because of dry skin.  This makes finger scans impractical for large populations.  If you have 1,000 people to push through a day, you can’t afford to create a work-around for the 40 who can’t get through.” 

Hand geometry readers are also the choice if the installation is outdoors or in harsh environments.  The core technology of the unit lets it work in inclement weather, including temperature highs and lows.  Special enclosures fight off vandals and resist storms while still allowing access easy for the user. 

For low-volume openings, cost is an important consideration and fingerprint products meet that need, while adding much greater security compared to card-only configurations. Many models are now being designed to conform to small areas, like at the door to a medical cabinet.  Fingerprint readers have seen major growth in recent years.

Fingerprint readers are also a perfect choice for single-person verification applications, such as in logical access control, where they are used to log onto PCs or computer networks.  This is a fast-growing fingerprint application.

Integration—Tailored to the Application
Biometric readers can be standalone or networked, and integrate easily into all popular access control and/or time and attendance systems.

Although the primary function of any biometric device is to verify the identify of an individual, access control requires the ability to identify the person plus unlock a door, grant or deny access based on time restrictions, and monitor door alarms.  There are a variety of ways biometrics accomplish this task. 

Standalone Systems. Many biometrics are available in a standalone configuration.  Such devices are not only a biometric, but also a complete door controller for a single door.  Users are enrolled at the unit and their biometric template is stored locally for subsequent comparison.  The actual comparison is accomplished within the unit and a lock output is energized depending on the outcome. 

Networked Systems.  Many access control applications have a need to control more than one door.  While multiple standalone units could be employed, a network of biometric readers offers many advantages.  The most obvious is centralized monitoring of the system.  Alarm conditions and activity for all the doors in the system are reported back to the PC.  All transactions are stored on the computer’s disk drive and can be recalled for a variety of user-customized reports. 

Networked systems also provide convenient template management.  Although a user enrolls at one location, their template is available at other authorized locations.  Deletion of a user or changes in their access profile is simply entered at the PC.  Some biometric systems store all information in the PC where template comparisons are also performed.  Others distribute template information to the individual readers at each door. 

Smart Card Systems.  Smart cards raise the security bar even higher, providing additional capabilities and flexibilities.  Utilizing the best characteristics of both smart cards and biometrics, an embedded smart card reader provides dual authentication by requesting the smart card that matches the person’s biometric template.  The verification process takes approximately one second and is virtually foolproof.

Why is this becoming so important?  When a badge is lost, the time from when the badge is misplaced to the time that it is reported, that badge is still alive and active in the access control system.  However, a single smart card can store both the user’s ID number and biometric template and both the badge and the person’s biometric confirmation are required to gain access. 

Because of this, there is no need to distribute hand templates across a network of readers or require the access control system to manage biometric templates.  This means integration to any existing access control application is greatly simplified, eliminating extra network infrastructure costs.  Because the template only resides on the card, the solution also eases individual privacy concerns.

Third-Party System Integration.  Biometric manufacturers offer a variety of different methods to integrate biometrics into conventional access control systems.  The most common way is “card reader emulation.”  This method is very effective when integrating into existing card-based systems to bring extra security to selected doors. In this mode, the biometric device essentially works with the access control panel in the exact same way that a card reader does.  The determination of granting access is made by the panel.  The access control panel, not the biometric, handles door control and monitoring. 

Consider Biometrics for Every Access Control System
If the goal of an access control system is to control where people, not credentials, can and cannot go, only a biometric device truly provides this capability.  There are biometric systems available today which economically meet the needs of almost any commercial access control application.  Biometric technology is no longer too complicated, too experimental, nor too expensive.

For more information, visit schlage.com.