BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGY ABSTRACT:

The term Biometrics is derived from the Greek words; Bio means life and metric means to measure.Biometrics refers to the automatic identification of a person based on his physiological / behavioral characteristics. Biometrics is the science and technology of measuring and analyzing biological data. In information technology, biometrics refers to technologies that measure and analyze human body characteristics, such as DNA, fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, voice patterns, facial patterns and hand measurements, for authentication purposes. .The Biometrics as the process of collecting, processing and storing details of a persons physical characteristics for the purpose of identification and authentication with the help of a Biometric Model. With the increased use of computers of information technology, it is necessary to restrict access to sensitive or personal data. By replacing PINs, biometric techniques can potentially prevent unauthorized access to fraudulent use of ATMs, cellular phones, smart cards, desktop PCs, workstations, and computer networks.PINs and passwords may be forgotten, and token based methods of identification like passports and drivers licenses may be forged, stolen, or lost . Thus biometric systems of identification are enjoying a renewed interest. Various types of biometric systems are being used for realtime identification. A biometric system is essentially a pattern recognition system, which makes a personal identification by determining the authenticity of a specific physiological or behavioral characteristics possessed by the user. An important issue in designing a practical system is to determine how an individual is identified. Depending on the context, a biometric system can be either a verification (authentication) system or an identification system.

There are two different ways to resolve a persons identity : Verification and Identification. Verification ( Am I whom I claim I am ?) involves confirming or denying a persons claimed identity. In Identification one has to establish a persons identity (whom am I?). Each one of these approaches has its own complexities and could probably be solved best by a certain biometric system. From identification of criminals for prevention of unauthorized access to ATMs, Cellular phones, Smart Cards, Desktop PCs, Workstations, Computer Networks, Biometrics has come along way. On its implementation into our daily lives we can look forward to a boost in security and surveillance. In the field of Commerce, financial transactions via telephone and internet will be the in-thing. In automobiles, usage of keys would be replaced with keyless entry