Re: biometric technology

[David Seidl <dseidl () ND EDU>]

We have two limited implementations of biometric technology on campus:


1.       Our datacenter uses hand geometry scanners as part of a two factor entry authentication process. From what the 
datacenter manager tells me, we haven't had any significant problems with the devices.

2.       Many of our campus standard Lenovo laptops allow fingerprint authentication. This is not widely adopted, and 
hasn't been made a standard, but is available, and is used in some areas.

Overall, we don't make wide use of biometric authentication - generally, token based authentication seems more 
approachable, and on our campus, it has been more widely deployed. You can simply issue tokens and their matching PIN 
and userID, whereas biometrics require an additional touch to capture data, and can be problematic with some users - 
the old users with no readable fingerprints issue, for example.

David

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Seidl, CISSP, GCIH
Information Security Program Manager
Office of Information Technology
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN 46556
(574)631-7305
dseidl () nd edu




From: The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] On Behalf Of Barrera, 
Connie
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 1:34 PM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
Subject: [SECURITY] biometric technology

Greetings to all:

At the University of Miami we're exploring different authentication solutions and we're wondering how many schools have 
deployed biometric technology, the scope of use, and what vendors/solutions are working well.

Any information is you're able to share will be greatly appreciated.

Connie Barrera, MCSE, CCNA, CISSP
  University of Miami
  Security Manager, Information Technology
  5915 Ponce de Leon, #41
  Coral Gables, FL 33146-2500
  O&F:  305-284-2773
  connie () miami edu<mailto:connie () miami edu>