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Kroger Testing Fingerprint Payment System
MachineShedFred writes "CNN is reporting that The Kroger Company is testing the use of fingerprinting as means for payment at grocery stores. The article says that it has been well received by both college students and seniors. I, for one would love to see this rolled out to all of Kroger's stores, which include Fred Meyer, Ralph's, QFC, Fry's Marketplace (not the electronics stores), and others; however I'm sure some /.-ers will have privacy concerns as well as law enforcement cooperation issues..."
This does sound ripe for all sorts of shady things.
I'm beginning to wonder if I'll live to see the day when using actual cash is against the law.
And how much longer will it be before the Kroger will check my fingerprint, see that I was arrested years ago for demonstrating a political debate, and refuse to sell me eggs, tomatoes, or anything else that makes a mess when thrown at a candidate.
My God, you're right! Because of course Kroger is all about politics, it's not like they have an interest in selling you stuff in a quicker and more efficient manner so they get your business and make more money than the next grocery store! Nah, couldn't be. Has to be some Grand Conspiracy. Ye Gods people, grow the hell up.
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." Col. Jeff Cooper
however I'm sure some /.-ers will have privacy concerns as well as law enforcement cooperation issues
SOME! Shit I already have a problem with the current system. Every time I get asked if I have one of their cards for "saving", I just say "Sorry, I don't join cults"!
It's far easier to fake a check or counterfeit money, but people seem to accept them as valid payment methods.
Heck, to fake a fingerprint you a) need to know the person has an account at that store and then b) get a mold (with gelatin) of their finger.
I imagine they will have alternate forms of payment, to prevent themselves from being hit with an "Americans with Disabilities Act" lawsuit. People without arms or hands would be rightly able to sue the grocery store. I don't see credit card readers or checks being refused in the future.
All Kroger would have to do to prevent that would be to couple an ID photo with the fingerprint. Photo comes up, cashier sees you're not the pretty blonde girl you stole the fingerprint from - problem solved.
And please, don't whine about "invasion of privacy" - if you've ever used a credit card or a cheque in a grocery store, they can already do it.
I for one would not trust this system with my credit card or atm card. The system can be quite easily fooled with some super-glue, a pcb board, and gelatin.
Bruce Schneier wrote an article about the process and which also has link to the presention given by the Japanese professor who came up with and tested the process.
Philosophically, this statement is much more important. It is a thumb rule in cryptography (pun unintented) to "Never use something to authenticate that cannot be discarded". Passwords, if stolen can be discarded. Smartcards if stolen can be discarded. Finger prints stolen and you are screwed for life. Now you might wonder - "How the heck is someone going to steal my finger prints ?". Just one rouge finger print reader, record the signals - well then use your imagination. This system is scary.
Dracken.
They're not? The government can easily track your movements by tracking your credit card purchases. If you use your credit card in a Florida gas station, it's a pretty safe bet that you were in Florida at that time.
Criminals have been caught by the FBI tracking their credit card trail. It's helping in the D.C. sniper cases, too.
Sounds like you've already accepted a tool that lets the government track your every move, and you don't even have to wait 30 years for it!
what's the point of having 20 lanes if there's ever only 4-5 of them open?
Sounds like you've never been to a grocery store the day before Thanksgiving.
They have 20 lanes for the busiest of times, not for 3 AM when you get the munchies.
Lets not overlook the health issues. A whole population filing through touching the same surface again and again... can you say 'spreading germs as fast as the plague'?
Let's not be a paranoid jackass. I don't want to make it any worse for the clean freaks, but you touch the same doorknob as other people when coming in and out of the bathroom. So regardless of whether or not you wash your hands you are touching a spot where someone, who may not have washed their hands, just touched. Or how about something even more mundane. When you buy your groceries, how do you pay. Well if you are like 99.9% of us, at one point in your life you've used cash. Guess what... That nice new $20 bill in your pocket has probably already been touched by 50 people, and at least one of them probably had a cold. Oh you say that you use your credit card, then who's pen did you sign with? So you used your own pen, did you touch the receipt? How healthy did the cashire look?
I guess my point is that unless you live in a bubble, or in a shack in Montana, you are likely to be exposed to someone elses germs/virii/bodily fluids. Get over it. In fact, if you weren't, then your immune system becomes lazy, and you are likely to get sick from something really silly like the common cold.
When I want your opinion I will beat it out of you.
If it takes 1-2 years for them to get hidden camera footage of that happening, I feel perfectly safe. Dateline and its ilk will always find the worst cases possible - they don't do stories on clerks who do catch fraud, do they?
They show stories on doctors who cut off the wrong leg, but I still go to the doctor.
For me a bigger concern is once your fingerprint is compromised (stolen) how do you uncompromise it? It's not like they can issue you another finger...
I work for a bank in Guatemala, and we've been experimenting with fingerprint readers with the objective of giving our customers easier access to financial services.
You have to understand that my country has a very high illiteracy rate (40%+), so our primary goal was to reach that sector of society. Normally, they would have to bring a literate witness to verify their identity, which is very demeaning. Now, by using their fingerprint, they can deposit or withdraw money without hassels.
We're not trying to give them an excuse to remain illiterate, we want to give them a little sense of dignity instead. So far, we've had great results, it has also been a great experience for everyone involved.
--Necesito una chela, bien fria...