Thursday July 19, 9:00 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: International Biometric Group

International Biometric Group Announces BioPrivacy Best Practices

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 19, 2001--There are currently more than 10 million people in the United States enrolled in some type of biometric system, including driver's license and public benefits programs, computer security, access control, and ATM authentication.

The increasing use and visibility of biometric technology, such as finger-scan, iris-scan and facial-scan, raises concerns regarding its impact on privacy in the public sector, in the workplace, and at home. To help address these concerns, International Biometric Group announces the BioPrivacy (TM) Best Practices. BioPrivacy Best Practices define the key precautions institutions must take to ensure that the public's privacy interests are protected in regards to the usage, storage, disclosure, and management of biometric information. In addition, BioPrivacy Best Practices address system design, enrollment and verification processes, and individual control of biometric information.

``We have sought assistance from International Biometric Group since 1997,'' stated Chetan Patwardhan, Director of Technology Research, Visa International. ``Any organization considering a biometric project will strongly benefit from IBG's in-depth expertise with the full range of biometric technologies.''

BioPrivacy Best Practices is one of three components of IBG's BioPrivacy Initiative (http://www.bioprivacy.org/), a comprehensive evaluative tool used to help institutions build biometric systems that maintain both security and privacy. IBG's BioPrivacy Initiative defines the privacy issues involved in different types of biometric deployments, and provides specific guidelines for assessing the potential privacy impact of biometric systems.

``Architecting and deploying solutions that are accurate and reliable is important, but equally important is developing systems that ensure privacy,'' stated Michael Thieme, Senior Consultant, International Biometric Group. ``Our clients have benefited tremendously from IBG's BioPrivacy Initiative, and we anticipate that the BioPrivacy Best Practices will bring much-needed clarity to the discussion of biometrics and privacy.''

Organizations interested in evaluating the privacy, technological, or security-related aspects of deploying biometrics should contact International Biometric Group at 212-809-9491.

About International Biometric Group

International Biometric Group is the leading biometric integration and consulting firm, addressing the identification and authentication needs of mid to large size organizations. IBG works on behalf of both private sector and government clients to evaluate, design, and integrate biometric solutions for Internet applications, public sector programs, network security, point of sale applications, physical access and time & attendance systems. Learn more at www.biometricgroup.com

Contact IBG

International Biometric Group
Public Relations Department, 212/809-9491