Putting The Finger on Security

By Cristina Garcia

In the new, updated version of the TV show Mission: Impossible, special agent Jim Phelps no longer gets his top-secret instructions by merely opening an envelope and listening to a tape recorder. These days Phelps puts his right thumb on the special pad of a black box that, after reading his thumbprint, promptly pops open and gives a laser-disc video presentation of his next assignment. No one but Phelps can open the box because no one else has his thumbprint.

Think this is only the stuff of fictional covert operatives? Think again, and welcome to the new world of biometric security. It is a world in which traditional keys and combination locks could eventually become obsolete. Increasingly, access to buildings, rooms and vaults will be controlled by computerized machines that can recognize personal characteristics of people seeking entrance: fingerprints, blood-vessel arrangements in the eye's retina, voice patterns, even typing rhythms. These biometric machines have special sensors that pick up the characteristics, convert them into digital code and compare them with data stored in the computer's memory bank. Unless the information matches up with the characteristics of authorized persons, entrance is denied.

The main attraction of such a system is that it is virtually foolproof. Keys can be copied, combination locks cracked, and the computerized cards used to open doors in fancy hotels can be stolen. But no one can steal or copy a fingerprint. Another advantage: people who use biometric locks no longer have to worry about forgetting their keys.

About 20 U.S. companies, mostly young and small, are manufacturing biometric systems. Major customers include such security-conscious institutions as the military, nuclear plants, research labs and banks. The ultimate success of biometrics, however, will depend on broad business and consumer acceptance. Proponents hope the technology will someday be standard in companies, stores and homes.

The most common biometric security system so far is the fingerprint scanner. In Japan a developer is installing the devices in 360 luxury homes as a security selling point. A health spa in Denver employs a print scanner to keep track of how often its members use the facilities. MAPCO Inc. of Tulsa relies on a system from Identix, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., to ensure that only authorized truck drivers are allowed to transport loads of dangerous gases.

In an unusual application, Orion Re-Entry, California's largest privately owned halfway house for prisoners trying to move back into society, uses a fingerprint scanner to monitor the comings and goings of its residents. Before heading off for weekend furloughs or checking in from work, residents press their right forefingers against the machine. "It's much more expedient than the body checks we had in prison," says a resident. For the facility's manager, Bari Caine, the system is an excellent way to keep track of 84 residents and a high-turnover staff. "We can't always expect every staff member to know every resident's face," she says.

Biometric eye scanners are in use in many high-security settings. One model, manufactured by EyeDentify of Beaverton, Ore., works by directing a low- intensity infrared light through the pupil to the back of the eye. Within two seconds the retinal pattern, viewed by a camera, is compared with data in stored records. At American Airlines' underground computer center in Tulsa, a dozen eye scanners screen the retinal patterns of 500 employees. "People were afraid of it at first," says Hani Rabi, an engineering manager for the airline. "But now they feel very comfortable with the security it affords."

Another biometric technique, voice verification, works by creating a digital picture of an individual's vocal tract. Bad colds or even Rich Little can not trip up the device, since it recognizes the physiological characteristics that produce speech, not sound or pronunciation. Using this device is as easy as saying "Open sesame." Such major corporations as Hertz and Martin Marietta rely on the technology to protect their computer systems, and these user- friendly voice analyzers could be especially attractive to homeowners and small businesses.

One limit on the spread of biometrics has been the high price -- typically $3,000 or more for a security-access system. But as with many other electronic gadgets, the cost could come down rapidly. Ecco Industries of Danvers, Mass., hopes to market a $300 voice-recognition security device for consumers next year. Within a few years, biometric security systems may be incorporated into automated-teller machines and employed at checkout counters to verify that a person is not using a stolen credit card. "In time," predicts Joseph Freeman, head of a security market-research and consulting firm in Newtown, Conn., "you'll be able to touch a spot on your steering wheel and start your car."