Australians support the introduction of new technologies such as biometrics as a means of providing greater security for their personal data and finances, according to the November Unisys Security Index conducted by Newspoll.

The survey of 1200 Australians revealed that eight out of 10 are concerned about the security of their finances as well as their personal information. Eighty percent said they were concerned about people obtaining and using their credit and or debit card details.

According to Andrew Barkla, vice president and general manager of Unisys Asia Pacific, more than half the respondents said their level of worry was either ‘very’ or ‘extreme’.

As a result, almost all 1200 respondents said they are willing to use biometrics technologies including fingerprint and iris scans. In fact, seven out of 10 said they would be happy to give banks, government and other trusted organisations their fingerprints in order to enhance their security against identity theft and financial fraud.

“The high level of concern about identity theft and financial fraud is of particular concern at a time when people are spending more in the lead up to Christmas when the sheer number of transactions taking place means the risk of identity theft and financial fraud is elevated,” said Barkla.

Traditional security identifiers such as PIN numbers and passwords remain popular, with almost 80 percent in support of the practices.

Unisys’s latest research reaffirmed the findings of two years ago where Australians overwhelmingly supported the use of extra techniques to verify their identity.

In similar tone, IBM’s annual security report, ‘Security & Society, Global Innovation Outlook’ hails biometrics as the ‘absolute answer’ to crime and insecurity and refers to the technology as the ‘master tokens’.

However, the IBM report released in late November and based on a series of brainstorming sessions around the world between technology leaders, government officials and security industry luminaries, acknowledges that biometrics including fingerprints, voice, veins, retinas and even DNA use are not yet a perfect solution.

Of concern is the ‘absolute nature of biometric authentication’ which can be risky. According to the report, mitigating such a full-blown disclosure of personal identifiers is better practice. IBM describes this better practice as ‘cancelable biometrics’.

“Instead of enrolling with your true fingerprint (or other biometric), the fingerprint is imaged and intentionally distorted in a repeatable manner, and this image is used as the identifier. If this image is stolen or otherwise compromised, a new fingerprint can be issued by simply changing the parameters of the distortion process.

“Many times, participants don’t have an option to opt out. But when it comes to the possibility of biometrics for national or international identification systems, solutions such as cancelable biometrics can help make widespread adoption more politically and culturally palatable,” the report stated.

Technology such as cancelable biometrics provides enhanced privacy for the user because his or her true fingerprint is never used anywhere, according to
the report.

According to Nicholas Donofrio, IBM executive vice president innovation and technology, the risk involved with absolute biometrics solutions is a difficulty society is being forced to confront on daily basis with the emergence of new technologies.

“It is one of the great paradoxes of the digital age.

Tremendous advances in technology provide businesses, governments and individuals with an unprecedented capacity to ensure their safety and security.

At the same time, the tools and methodologies available to disrupt society and to compromise assets have never been greater,” said Donofrio.