Tuesday, January 7, 2003
Press Release
SOURCE: International Biometric Group

Leading Biometric Study Finds Wide Range of Performances:
Round 4 of IBG's Comparative Biometric Testing is Available for Purchase

New York City, NY -- January 7, 2003 -- International Biometric Group (IBG) announced today the commercial availability of results from Round Four of its Comparative Biometric Testing, the industry's leading independent comparative biometric test effort. The Testing emulates real-world operating conditions as closely as possible, measuring performance at different security thresholds to assess systems' abilities to enhance security in applications such as border security, air travel and enterprise security.  

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Round Four of IBG's Comparative Biometric Testing is sponsored by Microsoft, American Airlines, Wells Fargo, Financial Services Technology Consortium (a consortium of leading North American financial institutions), and Star Systems.

The Testing commenced in August 2002 and was completed just last week. It includes finger-scan, iris-scan, voice-scan and hand geometry technologies from leading vendors:

• Bioscrypt
• DigitalPersona
• Fujitsu
• Identix
• Indivos
• Iridian
• Nuance
• Recognition Systems, a division of Ingersoll-Rand Co Ltd
• Siemens
• STMicroelectronics
• Ultra-Scan

While several of the systems performed extremely well, the Testing data shows a variance in performance metrics at different security thresholds. The data underscores the fact that while biometric technology is a highly effective security tool, end users need to understand in detail the differences between products and also the impact of thresholds and enrollment procedures.

• Failure-to-enroll rates ranged from 0% to nearly 12%
• False match rates ranged from 0% to nearly 1.5%
• Initial false non-match rates ranged from 0% to more than 7%
• Six weeks later false non-match rates ranged from less than 1% to more than 30%

"This report contains practical and necessary information for major technology developers and systems integrators that are seriously considering biometrics," stated Dr. Douglas McGovern, Test Director.

The 170-page report is targeted to major corporations and government agencies planning large-scale deployments or investments -- particularly homeland security initiatives. IBG has been conducting Comparative Biometric Testing since 1998, evaluating more than forty systems across seven different biometric technologies: face recognition, finger-scan, hand geometry, iris-scan, keystroke dynamics, signature-scan and voice-scan.

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 since 1996. IBG works on behalf of both private and government clients to evaluate, design, and integrate biometric solutions for public sector programs, network security, point-of-sale applications, Internet applications, physical access and time-and-attendance systems. Learn more at http://www.biometricgroup.com.

CONTACT: Trevor Prout, International Biometric Group, 212-809-9491, Contact@biometricgroup.com