Ramblings & ephemera

Court acceptance of forensic & biometric evidence

From Brendan I. Koerner’s “Under the Microscope” (Legal Affairs: July/August 2002):
The mantra of forensic evidence examination is “ACE-V.” The acronym stands for Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, and Verification, which forensic scientists compare with the step-by-step method drilled into countless chemistry students. “Instead of hypothesis, data collection, conclusion, we have ACE-V,” says Elaine Pagliaro, an expert at [...]

Problems with fingerprints for authentication

From lokedhs’ “There is much truth in what you say”:
The problem with fingerprints is that it’s inherently a very insecure way of authentication for two reasons:
Firstly, you can’t change it if it leaks out. A password or a credit card number can be easily changed and the damage minimised in case of an information leak. [...]

OmniPerception = facial recognition + smart card

From Technology Review’s’ “Face Forward“:
To get around these problems, OmniPerception, a spinoff from the University of Surrey in England, has combined its facial-recognition technology with a smart-card system. This could make face recognition more robust and better suited to applications such as passport authentication and building access control, which, if they use biometrics at all, [...]

Face recognition software as an example of “function creep”

From Technology Review’s’ “Creepy Functions“:
Consider one example of function creep. The Electoral Commission of Uganda has retained Viisage Technology to implement a face recognition system capable of enrolling 10 million voters in 60 days. The goal is to reduce voter registration fraud. But Woodward notes that the system might also be put to work fingering [...]

Painter of kitsch … and security

From "Art for Everybody" in the 15 October 2001 issue of The New Yorker, an article about the immensely popular, incredibly kitschy painter Thomas Kinkaid:
… ten million people own some product featuring his name, and most editions are signed with ink containing DNA from his hair or blood, to prevent fakes. 

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