Slashdot Mirror
Human Ear Could Be Next Biometric System
narramissic writes "A team of researchers at the University of Southampton, UK, has received funding from the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to learn whether otoacoustic emissions (OAE), the ear-generated sounds that emanate from within the spiral-shaped cochlea in the inner ear, can be used as a viable biometric technology like fingerprints and IRIS recognition. According to a report in New Scientist, someday instead of asking for passwords or pin numbers, a call center or bank would simply use a device on their telephone to produce a brief series of clicks in the recipient's ear to confirm the person is who they say they are." Try faking that with gummy bears.
...or notice that one of the guy's arms is substantially longer than the other.
I think that this is where a lot of the potential exploits fall down. Spy movies always show someone using a severed finger or plucked eyeball getting into a secure area that is never manned by an actual guard.
At the port where I work, the perimeter gates are manned 24/7, and any high-security areas that are not manned by security are in high-traffic areas and monitored by 24-hour video surveillance.
Could an unauthorized person get onto the terminal? Possibly. Could they do it undetected? Not very likely.
A common theme in this discussion is that biometrics shouldn't be used for authorization. If the intent is to use them alone, I agree. But there's nothing wrong with using them as part of a multi-level security plan.
Find environmentally and socially responsible products on http://buy-right.net
I haven't read TFA, but how can this work? If they produce the clicks into the user's ear (telephone speaker) then how will they pick up the reverberations in the telephone reciever?
Surely unless they're loud enough to cause discomfort, the echos wouldn't travel far enough to be picked up at the phone mic?