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Ready or Not, Biometrics Finally in Stores
cancer4xmas writes: "It's very exciting to see USA Today's Technology front page saying, "Will that be cash, fingerprint or cellphone?" They're running a story on emerging biometric devices being the most fundamental change in personal finance since 1950, when the credit card was introduced. The concept is now being tested in some stores. Check out the full story." Now couple that tidbit with this morsel from wherley: "In a letter [scroll down a bit] to Bruce Schneier's Cryptogram newsletter, Ton van der Putte tells of a recent invitation from the BBC to comment on the addition of fingerprint biometrics to the British ID card. Using a digital camera and UV lamp he was able to make dummy fingerprints that fooled the readers - and in less time and less cost than similar experiments 10 years ago. He says: '...now the average do-it-yourselfer is able to achieve perfect results and requires only limited means and skills.'"
Since that bloke showed how to use gelatine to fool a fingerprint machine, how long before jello becomes a controlled substance?
Engineering is the art of compromise.
I've thought about this for awhile, and I am thinking:
Why don't people just cut off their fingers and trade them as a commodity? Each finger is access to a different system...
For instance, if I work for a bank, but I want to get a vacation cheap, I just trade a finger with my buddy who works for some airline. He does what he wants with my bank, and I get the plane tickets I need to get away from this country.
The only problem is, if I want 10 things at once, how do I access the system without any fingers?
Maybe they should sell voice-recognition software with it.
Talk about giving someone the finger, geesh.
Karma Whoring for Fun and Profit.
The top rated comment in this thread will be "Score:5, Funny." How predictable...
Tcl my Pico! There are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
I think that some store owners might notice if you came in and payed with a severed thumb. If not store owners, maybe bank people? Police? Security cameras? My guess is that paying (or withdrawing money) with a severed thumb might, might be considered suspicious behavior.
Save Sam and Max!
Well, quite a long while I would think. I would imagine that the teenage checkout person at the supermarket would scream bloody murder at the sight of you using a severed finger, getting blood all over the biometric scanner. I can see it now:
"Paper or plast-- AAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Not exactly the most effective scam to try.
Microsoft would run this service, and advertise it as 100% secure. I feel safer every day.
Oh yeah, and it would be an anti-felony, punishable by a $1000 reward, to use somebody else's biometrics to obtain money, goods, or services. (If that makes you feel unsafe, remember that listening to a CD that you didn't buy, such as if a friend plays a CD and you happen to be in the vicinity, will constitute piracy punishable by death. Feel better? Good.)
please you give them too much credit
30% Troll, 50% Underrated, 10% Interesting
Score:5, Troll
You can't tell me that a "secure" system will prevent this, because I can't tell a secure system by looking at one. The promise of Open Source is no guarantee, either. Even if it had a picture of a penguin on the outside, a spiffy GNU-y logo, and OSF and SourceForge brand stickers on it, how do I know it's really "IdentifyMe_2.0" and not some hacked-up demo being run by Vinnie the Chiseler?/
Understood, but if the capture pad whined at you in Richard Stallman's voice then you'd no doubt feel much more comfortable.