ATM Iris Recognition Coming Soon

Anonymous Cow writes "In Australia, iris technology is already being used by Qantas Airlines, Sydney Airport, foreign embassies, some banks and TAFE colleges, the Australian Protective Services, the Defence Department and the Police Integrity Commission. It is predicted that within five years every ATM in Australia will have iris recognition technology."

Comments

Iris DB

[CowboyNick]

But who keeps the database of the eyes?

Re:Iris DB

[uk_greg]

The financial institution, just like they do with your PIN these days.

This isn't very different from fingerprint recognition. Chances of the iris changing are pretty slim.

And if your recognition suddenly stops working for some reason, go to the bank and get rescanned for the master copy.

Here's a (somewhat dated) story on CNN with more detail.

CNN Story on iris recognition

Demolition Man

[altek]

Oh great, now when someone wants to rob me they dont just stick a pistol in my back they rip my eye out like Wesley Snipes did.

Excuse me sir, can EYE talk to you???

And I predict longer lines

[Anonymous Coward]

I already have a problem with people who don't know how to operate the ATM as it is, now I have to wait even longer as they try to figure out how to hold their head just right for the machine to make a good reading. This will frustrate customers rather than unhinder them.

Why is this bad?

[Ars-Fartsica]

ATM transactions already create a full audit trail of your banking habits. At least this way, someone has to steal your eyeball and not just your card and PIN. The audit trail and data mining on your account takes place either way.

f we're going to live in a database society at least I want some assurance that my identity is proven with more than a plastic card and a four digit password.

Re:Why is this bad?

[egoff]

I've been doing that for awhile, I've signed with Queen Victoria, Napoleon Bonaparte, Margret Thatcher, and Elvis Presley. In over two years, only one cashier has ever noticed. He stopped me on the way out the door and said "Napoleon Bonaparte?"

I said "yeah, its a nickname," and the man actually believed me.

And accepted the payment.

Re:Why is this bad?

[ackthpt]

At least this way, someone has to steal your eyeball and not just your card and PIN.

My eyeball? Man, I like to think my eyeball is one heck of a lot more important that whatever is in my checking or savings account. Someone carves out my eye and I'm sure I'll not be worrying about mere money.

(Many years ago I bought a new car. Really sharp and very classy. I was pretty proud and happy to drive it around and show it off. 45 days later I was diagnosed with cancer. The car went from pride and joy to just some object.)

There's also this thing about totally ruthless people. If they need your fingerprint, they don't think much of cutting off your finger to take it with them. So, what's to stop them from taking your eye? Advances in security are met with advances in criminal technique. Best to keey your eyes in a safe deposit box.

Re:Why is this bad?

[Greyfox]

Because they have to STEAL your EYEBALL! Christ man, didn't you even think about what you were saying?

On a more serious note (As if eyeball stealing wasn't serious enough) no security system is perfect. Someone WILL crack that security. Some loophole will be found because some loophole always is. Nothing a human being can make can be perfect. Now imagine the poor guy who has to prove that a string of ATM transactions into his checking account didn't come from him. Everyone will assume that biometrics can't be beat and that guy will have no recourse except to eat his losses.

Likewise, biometrics can change. How will that guy get his money from ATMs once criminals steal his eyeballs? Lets say for the sake of argument that great advances in eyeball stealing technology are made, to the point where a criminal can just pop them out while you're standing in line at the grocery. One minute you're counting your sausages, the next minute you have no eyeballs. You might not even notice for a couple of minutes. You'd be all like... "Hey... didn't I have eyeballs a minute ago?" Then you go up to the cash register to pay and you can't prove your identity because someone just made off with your eyeballs. Very embarassing.

From time to time I get into something that causes an allergic reaction that in turn causes some nasty skin peeling on my hands. During that time my fingerprints are completely obscured (You have no idea how much grip fingerprints give you until you don't have them, let me tell you...) If my bank were relying competely on fingerprints for me to prove who I was, I'd be up the creek with no food to by groceries or eyeball stealing equipment until my fingerprints grew back.

In a nutshell, I don't trust any identifying feature (including social security number) that can't be easily paired with a secret and changed at a moment's notice.

Re:Why is this bad?

[gbjbaanb]

Iris biometric devices also require some blood pulsing to be detected as well (as do fingerprint devices) so you cannot use a fancy glass eye, or an amputated eyeball.

Sorry guys, best go back to the privacy debate on this one.

Re:Why is this bad?

[Boatman]

Clearly, you have not heard about the gummy fingers.

Major problem

[phaze3000]

I have a father who is blind. His 'eyes' are made of glass and removeable.

How exactly is this system supposed to detect him?

Which means

[Apreche]

That there is a database somewhere that matches their eyeballs with their personal information. Sorry, but I'd rather not have another database with my info in it.

Re:What if i do

[Organic_Info]

If I use my card and get my pin number wrong three times the ATM shreds my card.

If my eyes are wrong will the ATM shred my eyes with a laser. What if some one steals my eyes in a "Demolition Man - Simon Phoenix" stylee and robs my bank account. That could make for a messy robbery.

I tired and talking crap...nuff said.
.

One question

[Lord Sauron]

Does anyone who already worked with this system know how it deals with color contact lenses ? I assume it doesn't.

And is there any problem with regular contact lenses ?

Re:Injury/Astigmatism?

[Qzukk]

I believe that the pattern scanned is the pattern of blood vessels in the eyes, which is more random than genetically determined except possibly in cases where the eye is malformed.

Probably to maintain a reasonable sized database they would stick to right eye or left eye, and assume that the person knows which eye to scan.

I would suppose that they would have a backup ID system in place for people with eye injuries or fake eyes, or whatever other problems.

Easily defeated

[petgiraffe]

Here is how criminals, the paranoid, and people who want to use their wife/boss/mother's account will do so.

What if you're blind?

[GamezCore.com]

How bout the blind, and or people with damaged/missing eyes? As it stands now, ATM's do have braille support.

Re:And I predict neck injuries

[mariox19]

I'm just thinking of the cashier at the supermarket checkout counter, rolling items over and over the scanner until the machine reads the UPC.

I predict neck injuries!

I'd give $20 dollars to...

[QwkHyenA]

The first person at the front of a long line of folks to walk up to the ATM, do the retina scan, then cup their eye and scream out in pain until the ambulance actually appears...

ROFLMAO

god knows, if that were to happen in our little town, no one would ever use that ATM again. FOREVER! Heck, folks here are just beginning to USE an ATM

No. really. they *won't* scan me.

[Frymaster]

the problem with this is that carrying your id is now mandatory. i have a driver's license. it demonstrates to the authorities that i am qualified to drive. when i am not driving i do not carry my driver's license with me and i do not show it the police when i am not accused of a driving violation. i have a social insurance number. it is only to be used for taxation purposes. i give the number to no one else for no other reason. they have no need nor right to ask for it.

with iris recognition these two pieces of id are always on me.

I'll keep my PIN thanks.

[cosmosis]

Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I'll be damned if I submit to biometric identifiers to bank. It is afterall MY bank account that is insecure, not anyone elses, if I decide to remaim with using a so-called less secure PIN method. And only I to blame if someone steals it, which by the way has not happened once in all the years there has been a PIN number. I've been using ATM's since they were first introduced, and not once, have I had any security breach on my accont. Your crazy, if I'm going to let some corporation get their hands on my unique biometric identifiers which they will most likely sell to other companies. Before you know it, my biometric date will be on hundreds of databases outside of my control. My identity, both analog and digital is my own. Period.

Planet P Blog

Hygene?

[Zepalesque]

Does this mean I need to stick my eye up to a cup-thingy like at the optomatrist? ATM's get handled all the time, all day long. Seems like if not built properly, such a device could promote the spread of the common cold :(

*cough*