Thursday February 1, 8:45 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: International Biometric Group

Leading US Financial Groups Sponsor International Biometric Group's Comparative Biometric Testing

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 1, 2001--International Biometric Group today announced Round Three of its Comparative Biometric Testing. The independent testing, to be conducted over the next several months, will produce false accept, false reject and failure to enroll rates for leading biometric technologies such as finger-scan, iris-scan, voice-scan, and facial-scan. Sponsors of the testing include Star Systems, Inc., the nation's leading electronic payments network, and Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC), a financial services industry consortium focused on collaborative research and development on inter-bank technical projects.

``International Biometric Group is established as an expert organization for rapid and cost effective testing of commercial biometric products,'' stated Dr. Jim Wayman of San Jose State University. ``With biometrics gaining wider acceptance and usage, this report will prove to be an essential source of information for anyone looking to enhance security in various computing environments.''

• The testing will definitively address the following technical and marketing questions regarding biometrics:

• How well do biometric technologies perform under real-world conditions with typical users?

• Which technologies are able to enroll the largest percentage of users?

• What percentage of enrolled users are falsely accepted (FAR) and falsely rejected (FRR)?

• How do users respond to using various biometric technologies? 

• How well do various technologies and devices address ergonomic and ease-of-use issues?

• Which technologies and devices are ready to deploy at the enterprise level?

Round One of Comparative Biometric Testing, completed in 1999, became the de facto industry standard for evaluating biometric systems. It included eight finger-scan and two facial-scan technologies. Round Two of Comparative Biometric Testing was completed last month, and included AuthenTec, Digital Persona, American Biometric Company, Advanced Precision, Precise Biometrics, and Ethentica finger-scan technologies; Nuance voice-scan technology; Cyber-SIGN signature-scan technology; Net Nanny keystroke-scan technology; and Visionics facial-scan technology.
The results from Round Two are currently available, and the results from Round Three of Comparative Biometric Testing will be available in the third quarter of 2001. Companies that pre-purchase Round Three results may nominate a particular biometric technology to be included in the testing.

About International Biometric Group

International Biometric Group (IBG) 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 and government clients to evaluate, design, and integrate biometric solutions for Internet applications, public sector programs, network security, point of sale authentication, physical access and time & attendance systems. IBG operates the BiometricStore, a high technology facility in New York City that allows companies to test and compare over fifty biometric systems. IBG also publishes leading industry reports including benchmark studies, consumer reports, and the Biometric Market Report. For more information on IBG visits its website at www.biometricgroup.com.

Contact IBG

International Biometric Group, New York
Samir Nanavati, 212/809-9491
Fax: 212/809-6197
contact@biometricgroup.com