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Community College Implements Thumbprint Security
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posted by justfred
on Tuesday August 06, @08:50AM
from the thumbs-up-or-thumbs-down-for-thumbprint-security? dept.
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Des Moines Area Community College's security plan to implement a thumbprint login process on campus computers has triggered some reaction by privacy activists, Wired reports. To address security concerns, as well as problems with students and staff forgetting their passwords, the community college- located in West Des Moines, Iowa- is installing computer mice with thumbprint scanners. The school will also institute a mandatory policy requiring all faculty and students submit their thumbprints for the system.
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Dean Tony Paustian said, "This offers more protection for the individual than just having numbers and passwords. Basically, our system will be no less secure than what a government or military system would have."
Privacy activists, however, disagree.
"To use (a thumbprint) by itself in an authentification environment is just asking for trouble," said Lauren Weinstein, creator and moderator of the Privacy Forum. He added that lifting thumbprints could also be easier than cracking a password. In support of his claim, several privacy experts cited a recent case where a Japanese researcher cracked 80% of fingerprint scanners by lifting a print, then manufacturing a fake finger from gelatin.
"Passwords can be changed," Weinstein said. "People don't really realize what the ramifications would be for the misuse of that data because we haven't had a lot of experience with that (situation)."
"What do you do when somebody's biometric information is compromised?" he said. "Do you have them go out and get a new thumb? Getting a replacement thumb is expensive and painful."
Computer security consultant Richard Smith said that asking students to log in with a print is not a danger by itself, but added, "One identifier (like a thumbprint) would make it easier to link databases, like credit card information, etc., together. There's always this concern that when you start matching up these databases, you can find out a lot about the individual."
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