NBC News, "Today" Show

Biometric technology, where people are identified by their physical characteristics, is increasingly being used as an answer to security issues

February 18, 2003
Anchor: Ann Curry
Reporter: Rehema Ellis

ANN CURRY, anchor:

With the country on high alert, many people are on edge about security. From government agencies to corporate headquarters to our next-door neighbors, we wonder if we are as secure as we could be. Well, today some are banking on biometric technology as the answer to their security woes. NBC's Rehema Ellis explains what that's all about.

REHEMA ELLIS reporting:

What used to be reserved for the movies is slowly making its way into everyday life. It's called biometrics. Using a computer to identify someone, using fingerprints, eyes and other physical characteristics.

Offscreen Voice #1: (From computer) Thank you for your cooperation.

ELLIS: Since September 11th, and with identity theft on the rise, there's been an increased interest in security of all kinds. But particularly biometrics, especially within corporate America. Samir Nanavati is a partner at International Biometric Group. He advises financial institutions, government agencies and Fortune 500 companies on which systems to use and how best to implement this technology.

Mr. SAMIR NANAVATI (International Biometric Group): Typical clients would include a bank or a--a financial institution that wants to protect their entire network. So that when you come in in the morning instead of logging in with a password, you would log in with a biometric. You might have your face scanned or place your finger down.

Voice #1: (From computer) Please say your password after the tone.

ELLIS: And according to IBG, biometric sales could grow into a billion-dollar industry by 2004. James Kallstrom is a New York state advisor on homeland security.

Mr. JAMES KALLSTROM (Security Expert) A good portion of the technology has been in use for a long time in some of the high-security areas of the United States government. So it's--it's--it's emerging pretty rapidly, and we're hearing a lot more about it because of 9/11.

ELLIS: Today, there are now a handful of airports, governmental agencies like the FBI, and major corporations like American Express using biometrics as part of their security plan. So how soon before biometrics makes its way to your neighborhood? It may be sooner than you think.

One of New York City's largest apartment complexes is considering going to a biometric fingerprint system to keep track of who goes in and out. And some colleges like New York University and Johnson and Wales in Denver, Colorado, are experimenting with hand geometry systems, trying to enhance safety on campus.

Mr. JAMES GRIFFIN (Johnson & Wales University): Prior to September 11th, it was assumed that everything was safe. Now such assumptions are risky. The first response is, 'Why the heavy security?' And our response to those asking was, 'We have an obligation to our students.'

ELLIS: And some students are all for biometric security.

Unidentified Man: It's convenient for me, because I always lose my ID.

ELLIS: Convenient, but what about privacy?

Ms. DONNA LIEBERMAN (New York Civil Liberties Union): Law-abiding citizens have a right to expect that their every move is not going to be tracked on some camera or some digital chip. And--and it's subject to government abuse, and it's subject to private abuse.

ELLIS: Protecting privacy while securing the future, biometrics is just the beginning of a new age of options.

Mr. KALLSTROM: Well, you can't put technology back in the bottle, so all this new technology is going to find its way into everyday life in many, many different forms. And the key is to make sure that it doesn't, you know, impact us in such a way that our lives have changed dramatically.

Offscreen Voice #2: (From computer) Verifying. Please look at the camera.

ELLIS: For TODAY, Rehema Ellis, NBC News, New York.

Voice #2: (From computer) Verification successful.

CURRY: Up next, some tax-savings tips from financial editor Jean Chatzky. And coming up later on TODAY, teaching your kids to tidy up their playroom and keep it that way. That's after these messages.