Demand rising for fingerprint sign-on

The use of PINs and passwords requires an individual to enter a specific code to gain access, but who actually entered the code cannot be determined as PINs and passwords can also be shared, forgotten or stolen.

Card-based system will only control the access of authorised pieces of plastic, but not who is in possession of the card. It is for this reason that they are easily used by criminals to commit insider fraud.

One of the benefits of a biometric system is that only authorised people - not merely their credentials - are granted access to, for example, a building, a specific part of a building or even a computer or an account.

“Insider fraud - crimes committed from within an organisation or company - is the most significant threat to the modern business,” says Vhonani Mufamadi, CEO of Ideco Group, the SA market leader in identity management solutions.

Mufamadi points to research, such as the PricewaterhouseCoopers 2009 Global Economic Crime Survey and the 2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, initiated by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, (ACFE) which details the magnitude and impact of the problem of insider fraud.

With reference to the impact of occupational fraud, the ACFE report states that “the typical organisation loses 5% of its annual revenue to fraud. Applied to the estimated 2009 Gross World Product, this figure translates to potential global fraud losses of more $2.9-trillion.”

Ideco believes the demand for more effective security has fuelled an increase in investment in biometric applications, such as fingerprint sign-on for example.

“In addition to the increase in demand for biometric-based infrastructures for access control to physical locations, there is also a strong demand for the technology within a cyber or digital environment. Security methods such as passwords and PINs to safeguard access to online information are equally prone to abuse, theft or loss,” he continues.

Through its channel of certified partners, Ideco is the sole southern African distributor of Morpho (previously Sagem) fingerprint biometric readers. Since 2001 Ideco has been leveraging the power of biometrics as a tried, tested and proven technology within systems that depend on users’ identities. There are over 50 000 Morpho fingerprint readers in use across SA, securely and safely managing workplace access for more than two million people on a daily basis.

“Biometric technology enables the formation of identity chains: the building of binding audit trails that detail who did what, where and when. It is a fact that any organisation is susceptible to IT-based insider fraud and data loss. Controlling access to computer systems with biometrics presents a compelling solution for strengthening IT security,” Mufamadi adds.

Full story: http://www.it-online.co.za/content/view/2516679/

Ideco: www.ideco.co.za