The Latest Trick in Biometrics: Finger Vein Authentication
When I say biometrics, most people think of fingerprints, face recognition, eye scanning and other cool but rather common tricks we’ve seen in movies and run across in real life. I might add a ear scan from some Batman movie, but that’s it.
Sony has come up with a new idea, recently covered by The Register in its Hardware section. It’s a camera-based system that analyses veins in people’s fingers. This new technology also comes with it’s own name: Mofiria.
How does the new biometric tech work?
Here’s the explanation given by the Register:
The user first lays one side of their index finger down on a small pad, after which a series of LEDs shine infrared light onto it. A CMOS sensor sat on the other side of the finger then picks up light scattered off of the veins inside the user’s finger.
Why is this better than other technologies in the biometrics field?
I found the answer to this question in Sony’s official press release. I’m still waiting for some comparative reviews and tests. If you happen to run across one, feel free to share it in the comment box.
Compared to the other biometric authentication techniques, vein authentication technology achieves higher accuracy on personal identification and forgery resistance because it uses the veins inside the human body. Finger vein patterns differ from person to person, each finger to finger, and it is said that they do not change over the years.
I am looking forward to an action movie depicting a breach of this new technology 
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Rule one in biometrics – never lock anything with biometrics that to any person might potentially be worth enough to make them simply cut off what they need to identify with. Or as a corollary, never use anything in biometric locks that you would object to having cut off.
And I really don’t care if it work with dead tissue or not, because Bruno over there with the cleaver doesn’t look like he reads the technical specifications. He just looks like he hurts people. I’d rather give him my password or keys so I can leave in one piece and call the cops.
In conclusion… Biometrics BAD! The convenience is not worth the risk.
September 20th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
I wonder how the latest count of yearly chopped fingers compare to the number of daily cracked passwords.
September 21st, 2009 at 9:15 am
Funny and very good question, Bob! Thanks