Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Biometric Voice Recognition Credit Cards

Posted by timothy on from the all-others-pay-cash dept.

securitas writes "New Scientist's Celeste Biever reports on the latest in biometric security devices: voice recognition credit cards. The device is three times the size of a normal credit card, has a 'microphone, a loudspeaker, a battery and a voice-recognition chip' and is intended to help reduce credit card fraud. The owner speaks a password into the card and the card emits an authentication squawk. Bruce Schneier loves the concept of BeepCard's related sound authentication technology. Other articles at the Telegraph and The Register."

4 of 122 comments (clear)

  1. Re:3x the size!?! by emc · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I hope it's 3x as thick, not 3x as long or wide...

    and no, I did not RTFA

  2. Miss Piggy in the Middle of a Sandwich by t_allardyce · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Read the article but still not sure how it would stop a man-in-the-middle? True it would require that you disrupted communication but thats feasable - eg if someone is using their card on their cell-phone, kick in a cell-phone jammer as soon as the person speaks into the card, the card still plays the sound for you to record it but it doesnt get through the call? it could also work the same way on a comprimised computer or malicious web-site (think IE browser bug that allows your active-x to hi-jack someone elses)?

    People have to remember that the transaction isnt secure until its been made.

    --
    This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
  3. Hmmm... by LordK3nn3th · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I wonder how successful this will be.

    This seems to be one of those technologies that either flop or revolutionize the way business is done.

    It's a nice concept, but what happens when someone "loses their voice", so to speak? Can't buy anything until with it until their voice returns? How well does it interact with accents, background noise, etc?

    I don't know how feasible this is but I'd imagine a thumbprint-sensitive card would be much more easier to deal with.

    --

    ---
    Never criticize religion on Slashdot. You will be modded down for "Troll" no matter how factual it is.
  4. no special hardware? by hak1du · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why do I like this? It's a physical authentication system that doesn't require any special reader hardware

    I don't see why a microphone is any less special than a USB port or an IR port. If anything, just about any computer these days has a USB port.

    And using IR for authentication, many modern phones and almost all modern PDAs will do; all you need to do is plug an IR dongle costing a few dollars (in quantity) into the USB port. And IR can be made interference proof much more easily than sound.