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Biometrics and User's Rights?
cornjones asks: "Does anybody know anything about biometrics and user rights? I am supposed to give a handscan to my building for gym access. I don't really have a problem w/ this persay but I want some sort of assurance as to what the scans will be used for (and that they will be deleted fully when I leave). It may be a bit paranoid right now but these scans don't change over your life and the trend is towards these scans being used for more and more applications. I talked to the VP and he said he would sign a privacy doc if I could find one. I did a little searching and I haven't found anything good. Does anybody know of any groups or papers on protecting the use of biometric identifying information?"
Slashdot is jumping the shark. I'm just driving the boat.
In South Carolina I believe, they had a law that allowed the DNA samples taken from newborns to be kept indefinately. The samples are used to detect and aid in fighting diseases, but the hospitals were dealing with and giving the samples to rather dubios corporations with nerving ties to the government. Thankfully, a Republican state senator labored long and hard and finally set a limit on how long this data could be kept and who dealt with it.
It seems that a number of politicians on both sides are starting to speak up about bioethics and civil liberties in general at state and local levels--however the future looks bleak from Washington.
Slashdot: Where people pretend to be twice as smart as they really are by behaving like children.
Dude, stop! Not everyone is out to get you. Not everyone wants the leftover DNA from your underpants. Your Thumbprint means nothing. If someone really REALLY wanted to fuck you over, they'd have done so already. Wait until they ask you for a universally accepted method of identification before freaking out. I've never had to sign a lease or car loan by thumbprint yet, so it obviously isn't binding yet. Fox Mulder does not exist. Scully is hot. Good night, you folks have been great.
..get your own contract, BUT, put cash money in there with a lot of zeroes. the info gets out, HE is personally responsible, and make him get bonded. make it 100 grand.
OR.....
personally I would never go to that gym, tell 'em why too, because it sucks.
This biometric stuff has got to stop, people have got to start saying NO or it will in fact be full total bigbrotherville within a few short years now. It's this smarmy creeping incrementalism. make a little compromise here, a little compromise there. People wonder when it will stop-big hint it's NOT going to stop until you say NO and make it stick. Stores do it, now government does it, it's obscene. Last month I go to buy a cheap car part, they want my full name address and phone number at checkout, or their computer won't work!. I tell the clerk to get $%^*ing stuffed, well, I didn't cuss but got close, and I'm LOUD in the store, tell (her in this case, who was the manager) that my receipt with the cheap car part they give me for the cash I give them is all they need and are gonna get or it's a big fat no sale and I never come back. I did the same at the dentists when they wanted two full pages of info including social security number that had zero to do with anything about some tooth. screw that. I insisted, got the dental work, paid cash, left. 99% of most people would just sheep it out and fill it all in. Phooie, it's not necessary, tell these bozos no or go someplace else. No more, and no damn thumbscan or retina scan or palm scan-zip nada ain't happening. I'm not giving any store or building-access my biometrics voluntarily, they can byte me. Not handing some doofus drone clerk my personal info either, they can byte me I'll find a work around.
Choose once choose wisely, you can exercise without going to some stoopid gym, vote your conscious always, you'll never go wrong long term that way.
good luck.
I worked for a time in the security industry with hand scanners, retinal scanners, fingerprint scanners and mantraps that weighed the occupant. To my knowledge, you have no property rights to your biometric data. Here in California, we're forced to provide a fingerprint to get a license. No negotiation, no substitutions - no fingerprint, no license. I think the reasoning goes like this: We know your hair color, we know your eye color, we can ask your weight, what's the difference if we take an image of the swirls on your fingertip. Unless you can make the argument that the biometric data is somehow health related and falls under the rather draconian privacy laws of such, you're probably out of luck.
"Eve of Destruction", it's not just for old hippies anymore...
Soon privacy will just be a buzzword that you will lauch at (like .NET or M$) as everybody will know everything about you, your children and your children's children.
With regard to today's world, here in NZ the only really mandatory way to give ID is a photo and/or a signature and I'm fine with that. We don't have amazing crime rates that would really warrant biometric scans.
Off the hook had a show a bit back about this being mandatory in stores and the question really boils down to - After you press your hand/finger on this pad, where and for how long will it be stored?
I think that if the scan will just be used for ID and then dumped, then it's ok, but in your case your scan is actually stored somewhere else for comparison.
Simply - Get used to it, soon DNA scans, retinal scans, dental scans and psycological scans will be required before you walk ouside to verify that you're not a "threat" to the outside world.
The biggest problem with biometrics - as I see it - is that you only have one set of biometric data. This means that when a handscan is used to identify you at both the gym and at the place you work, this data can be linked. It will be possible for two organisations to cooperate and see if they have any members in common. A big brother-like environment is not far away, when the government starts getting interested in the biometric data collected by various organisations.
Of course, you have the same problem when you give your home address or phone number, but these things can be changed, while changing your handscan is not easy to do.
The expression is per se, not persay. I hate it when people use a word they can't spell!!!
<rant mode="off">
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
You have the right... to go to a different gym. They set the rules, if you don't like the rules, you don't have to go there.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Hey all,
Unfortunately, I had to come up w/ a document before this story got posted, I am still very interested in any comments but here is what I submitted to them:
This agreement between (Owner) and (Tenant) was agreed to on ________________________.
The purpose of this document is to provide a fair use definition for the use of biometric information gathered by the Owner The original intent of this biometric information, in the form of a hand scan, is to validate the Tenant as being allowed to access the XXXXXXXX during the tenancy. This hand-scanner is a biometric device collecting biometric information and is subject to the following conditions:
1. Definition. Biometric is an adjective describing the ability to authenticate a user based on biological features. Therefore, Biometric information will be information based on biological features. A biometric device will be a device that collects biological features.
2. Scope Limitation. Biometric deployments will not be expanded to perform broader verification or identification-related functions than originally intended. Any expansion or retraction of scope will be accompanied by full and public disclosure allowing individuals to opt-out of system usage.
3. Limited Storage of Biometric Information. Biometric information will only be stored for the specific purpose of usage in a biometric system, and will not be stored any longer than necessary. Biometric information will be destroyed, deleted, or otherwise rendered useless when the system is no longer operational; the Tenant's user information will be destroyed, deleted, or otherwise rendered useless when the Tenant is no longer expected to interact with the system or upon termination of the lease, whichever occurs first. The Tenant will be provided with documentation describing how the data was destroyed, deleted or otherwise rendered useless.
4. Collection or Storage of Extraneous Information. The non-biometric information collected for use in a biometric verification or identification system will be limited to the minimum necessary to make identification or verification possible.
5. Protection of Biometric Information. Biometric information will be protected at all stages of its lifecycle, including storage, transmission, and matching. The Owner agrees to take all reasonable precautions against compromise with the biometric information.
6. Limited System Access. Access to biometric system functions and data will be limited to certain personnel under certain conditions, with explicit controls on usage and export set in the system.
7. Segregation of Biometric Information. Biometric data will be stored separately from personal information such as name, address, and medical or financial data.
8. Ability to "Unenroll". Owner has the right to control usage of their biometric information, and the ability to have it deleted, destroyed, or otherwise rendered unusable upon request. This includes all copies of the information on the "live" system and any backup systems.
9. System Purpose Disclosure. The purposes for which a biometric system is being deployed will be fully disclosed.
10. Use of Biometric Information Disclosure. Owner will disclose the uses to which biometric data are to be put, both inside and outside a given biometric system. Biometric information will only be used for the purpose for which it was collected and within the system for which it was collected unless the Tenant explicitly agrees to broader usage. There will be no sanctions applied to the Tenant should they decide not to agree to broader usage of his or her biometric information.
11. Disclosure of Individuals and Entities Responsible for System Operation and Oversight. As a precondition of biometric system operation, it will be clearly stated who is responsible for system operation, to whom questions or requests for information are addressed, and what recourse individuals have to resolve grievances.
12. Disclosure of Biometric Information Protection and System Protection. Tenant will be informed of the protections used to secure biometric information, including encryption, private networks, secure facilities, administrative controls, and data segregation.
Agreed to and signed:
Most of this came from hacking up the "Best Practices" Document at www.bioprivacy.org
You have the right... to go to a different gym.
What if there is only one gym within 100 miles? What if all gyms have the same type of contract? Is there a choice?
Will I retire or break 10K?
Irrelevant. The gym is a private business. Unless there is a law (and there isn't) it'll stay that way.
The local grocery store doesn't sell non non-fat Breyer's French Vanilla ice-cream[0]. In fact, there isn't a grocery store within 50 miles of me that does. That doesn't give me the right to force them to sell what I want so I have a choice.
[0] - Damnit, there are just somethings that shouldn't be non-fat.
All editorial writers ever do is come down from the hill after the battle is over and shoot the wounded.
This is a big question that the Biometrics industry and government have been trying to answer for a while. You may want to do a search for AAMVA (American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators) or TSA (Transportation Security Agency). From what I've read or seen in class, they have been dealing with this issue pretty recently. You may also want to look up NIST or INCITS.
I think the biggest questions that they are trying to answer are: who owns the biometric template? who stores the template (user on a smart card or company on a server)? what happens if your biometric becomes associated with someone else, vice versa?
As one of the other posts pointed out, there are already a number of other things that could hurt your privacy a lot worse (like SSN, credit info, etc) than having to use a hand geometry reader to gain physical access. As far as a company sharing your data with another company, that goes beyond the scope of the biometric and has to do with each individual companies policy.
If you want to read up on hand geometry readers, check of Recognition Systems' Hand Key II. This is the product that I have had the most experience with.
If I remember correctly the Hand Key II uses:
One thing to note is that it does not store a picture of your hand. It only stores the 1s and 0s that make up your template. At that point, I would be more worried about how/where the template is stored and it being used for a replay attack. Also, it takes 3 dimensional measurements meaning that it is going to be very hard to spoof the device with a fake version of your hand. To top it off, the attacker needs to know your PIN. I'm not saying it is impossible, but highly unlikely.
Go to a costume shop and buy a rubber hand (pick your favorite monster). Wear it for the scan and any subsequent gym use. This solves your data collection problem, as you can discard this hand when your relationship with the gym ends. On a related scary note. Many stores (Home Depot, Wal-Mart, etc) are now using digital signature scanning for credit card purchases. How do you feel about them scanning your legal signature when you buy something and what stops them from printing this signature on a ton of credit slips?????