ID cards face fingerprint errors, say experts

Nick Heath
ZDNet
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Experts have warned that the ID-card scheme risks being derailed by mistakes in fingerprint matches.

The £4.4bn National Identity Scheme's (NIS's) reliance on fingerprint and facial-recognition biometrics exposes the system to error, according to the independent Biometrics Assurance Group (BAG).

BAG urged the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) to adopt iris scans as a 'fallback', for when there are problems taking or matching a fingerprint.

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BAG claims that 'exception handling' — dealing with mismatched or unclear fingerprints — would occupy a large amount of NIS's resources, putting the technology, delivery and costs under strain.

The IPS is putting an enlarged fingerprint bureau in place to ensure that exceptions can be handled but said iris scans are unlikely to be part of the scheme for the near future.

The BAG annual report stated: "BAG was particularly concerned with the plans for exception handling. Exception handling has a large impact not only on the technical elements of the scheme but on business processes."

BAG claimed there are four million people aged 75 or over in the UK and warned it is hard to take clear fingerprints from this group.

Full article here.

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