Published on the 06/04/2010 | Written by Newsdesk

Fujitsu UK’s Head of Biometrics, Dr Alex Bazin, says biometrics built into mobile devices could help combat both drug and people smuggling, as well as immigration fraud…

Using biometrics to help uncover identity fraud – particularly at airport check-points – is high on Government priority lists.

To this end, Fujitsu’s UK-based Head of Biometrics, Dr Alex Bazin, had discussions with government officials last week, when he flew in from the UK to attend the Biometric Instititute’s Technology Conference, held in Wellington.

“It’s been interesting seeing the appetite for it [biometrics] in New Zealand and Australia when it comes to embracing this technology. Commercial interest is high, but there’s also a lot of interest from border security,” said Dr Bazin.

New Zealand presently has a new immigration bill progressing through Parliament that is likely to contain provisions for collecting biometric data, such as fingerprints and face scans, in an attempt to combat the growing threat of ID fraud. Immigration NZ has also put a NZ$100 million business case forward to government for the information technology systems needed to support the use of biometrics.

Biometrics is a growing technology that now encompasses voice, iris and vascular recognition technology. The latter is common in Japan, although not in the West. It involves software recognition of the vein pattern in the palm of a person’s hand, which is quite as individual as fingerprints, says Dr Bazin. As a non-contact technology, it’s welcomed by Japan, where there are cultural sensitivities around touch.

Containing terrorism
Containing terrorism, and terrorist suspects, is also fuelling interest in biometrics. For example, Immigration NZ said last year that airport biometric checks would have detected a Yemeni man with links to 9/11 terrorists who entered NZ in 2006 and was only picked up after he enrolled in flying school. But the technology has practical uses too.

Dr Bazin pointed to the recent adoption of voice recognition technology by New South Wales’ Centrelink, the Australian social services agency. Introduced last year, the state-of-the-art biometric voice-identification software first records a person’s voice-print, which is as unique to that person as a fingerprint, before allowing that person access to his or her account information.

The system has improved on security, making it difficult for disgruntled spouses or ID thieves to access clients’ accounts. It has also improved call-centre operation efficiency, which is no mean concern considering Centrelink handles 28 million calls a year.

“Voice recognition has come on a long way in the last few years,” says Dr Bazin. “It’s improved exponentially, and, as a result, we’re seeing a real interest in it.”

Mobile data-sharing
Dr Bazin said another big trend that Fujitsu had observed, particularly in Europe, is the push towards data-sharing between different organisations, the police in particular.

There are moves to link up the various police and immigration agencies across the European Union countries, to help combat drug and people smuggling, and to keep track of asylum seekers and other immigrants, he said. One suggestion presently being considered is equipping police with mobile biometric technology. This would allow them to check people’s identities on the spot, using biometric methods, and then tap into police and other databases remotely.

Not surprisingly, data-sharing is controversial, with some countries welcoming it, while others have concerns about civil liberties, said Dr Bazin.

Pub violence
Closer to home, some Sydney nightclubs have recently been using fingerprint and iris recognition technology – with mixed results. While pub violence has declined dramatically, security concerns around companies holding on to such sensitive data are emerging. NSW Police recently put a stop to one club’s fingerprinting customers. However, continuing terrorist activity in Europe, with the Moscow train attack being the latest example, is pushing governments towards making more use of biometric identification techniques.

On a more practical note, Dr Bazin said Fujitsu is also involved in the development of biometric-integrated smartcards, for use by government agencies, and for transport and general commercial use. For example, in Japan, a software link has already been built into e-passports. “This greatly speeds up passport processing, as airport entry gates can be automated,” he said.

Dr Bazin is a research scientist. Biometric technology was the subject of his 2006 PhD thesis, which applied probability methods to the use of biometric technologies. He is a graduate of the UK’s Southampton University, which is a centre of electronic engineering excellence.

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