Device 2: PalmSecure for Laptops and Desktops
Fujitsu's PalmSecure offers a higher level of security than the flash drives by scanning the vein patterns in your hand, rather than taking a fingerprint, the latter of which can be stolen more easily CSI-style.
It works like this: you purchase a PalmSecure device with your laptop or desktop, and then you scan your palm when you turn the computer on to effectively log in. The technology is pretty accurate—after testing, it ranked with a false rejection rate (legitimate users getting locked out) of 1 percent, and a false acceptance rate (illegitimate users getting in) of .5 percent. According to Fujitsu, the biggest struggle with the technology is accounting for the fact that the veins in a person's hand move around every day.
So, pretty easy to use, and pretty secure. The only drawback? Cost. Fujitsu doesn't release the actual prices for its products on the customer-facing website, but through searching on Google Shopping, I was able to glean what I believe to be fairly accurate estimates. Fujitsu's most recent PalmSecure technology, the PalmSecure LT for SSO, seems to weigh in at around $350, but is probably only sold in group rates to businesses and the cost might be lower in those cases. An older technology, the PalmSecure mouse (secures your PC and works as a mouse), looks to be about $450. Please don't hold me to those numbers, but I just wanted to give you an idea.
Device 3: Biometric Printer
I was curious what other technologies might exist. Unfortunately, a lot of the technologies available are targeted at wealthy individuals interested in home security. Go figure: I guess famous entrepreneurs, politicians, and entertainers have more excess cash than today's corporate IT departments? Who would've thought.
Nonetheless, I did find this technology: The SecurePrint Kit from Silex Technology. For $499 (according to a review from a few years ago), the device requires you to scan your fingerprint before approving your files to print, preventing the office printer from firing off your 401K data before you're at the printer and ready to take it, for instance.
It's a nice idea for healthcare and financial industries, where the data being printed is not only private and sensitive, but the absence of it remaining private has very real legal ramifications.
The cons to this technology are the high cost and inconvenience. I can image five people printing to the printer at once, and then each person needing to come up and put their finger down to get their files to print. (That is, versus today's office scenario, which looks more like: "Who printed the cute animal pictures forward? Oh, you? Great. And who's the employment application for competitor XYZ? Ah, well, good luck with that." And so on.)
Will Biometric Security Continue to Grow, or Plateau?
Hopefully you don't expect me to actually answer the above question. In all honesty, it's hard to say. Because on one hand, biometric security is the logical next step in an age where passwords and smart cards fall short, and user frustration over remembering a bunch of silly character combinations is at a fever pitch. Biometric solutions are simple and relatively seamless, but they often come at a high cost and have some pretty scary security risks, should this all-too-precious data be confiscated by the wrong individuals.
I think basic fingerprint scans will go the way of the dodo, but some of the more advanced scanning techniques—such as the vein scans—will probably find their way into more uses in government and enterprises. One thing is for sure: security threats aren't going anywhere, so we should expect security measures to continue to evolve in response.
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