Biometric Insecurity

A very nice succinct blog about why we should be cautious about biometric authentication schemes. It's a useful read.

I've been discussing this with Ken for the last couple of years - security systems are only as secure as the weakest link in the system. If your biometric reader (fingerprint, retinal scan, DNA fingerprint, whatever) just dumps raw data over some data bus, who says you can't do a man-in-the-middle data capture and replay attack? How about your storage of the data? How about the security of that database? And the operating system on which that database sits? How about protection from unauthorised modification? How about that data falling into the hands of unauthorised users? We've already seen databases with the records of millions of citizens "disappear". Given that our judiciary holds biometric data in very high esteem, who will guarantee its integrity?

I'm all for improving security, but the illusion of security only harms the innocent. It seems to me that many biometric system proposals are susceptible to the Bribing the Doorkeeper on the Great Wall of China-kind of attack.

tech/code | 05 Dec 2007 | #

LinuxSA December 2007 -Christmas Dinner Breakup

 Hi all,

 As is the tradition, for the December meeting of LinuxSA we go
 somewhere for dinner (no meeting topic, no speaker).  Please register
 (see below) so I can let the restaurant know how many are coming.

 Last year we had it down south (Blackwood), so this year we'll be
 pleasing the northerners.

 The important info:

 When:   7:00pm on Tuesday, 18th December, 2007

 Where:  Mawson Lakes Hotel
         http://www.mawsonlakeshotel.com.au/
         10 Main Street, Mawson Lakes

 Who:    Any Linux-minded people who want to eat with us!

 RSVP:   Monday, 17th December, 2007
         http://www.linuxsa.org.au/meetings/

 For more information:

   Email:        organisers@linuxsa.org.au
   Web Page:     http://www.linuxsa.org.au/
   Mailing List: linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au
   IRC:          #linuxsa on irc.freenode.net

tech/LinuxSA | 05 Dec 2007 | #