Biometrics For Dummies [Kindle Edition]

Peter Gregory (Author), Michael A. Simon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

What is biometrics? Whether you’re just curious about how biometrics can benefit society or you need to learn how to integrate biometrics with an existing security system in your organization, Biometrics For Dummies can help.

Here’s a friendly introduction to biometrics — the science of identifying humans based on unique physical characteristics. With the government’s use of biometrics — for example, biometric passport readers — and application of the technology for law enforcement, biometrics is growing more popular among security experts. Biometrics For Dummies explains biometric technology, explores biometrics policy and privacy issues with biometrics, and takes a look at where the science is heading. You’ll discover:

• How pattern recognition and fingerprint recognition are used
• The many vulnerabilities of biometric systems and how to guard against them
• How various countries are handling the privacy issues and what can be done to protect citizens’ privacy
• How a scan of the palm, veins in the hand, and sonar imagery establish identity
• What it takes to fully authenticate a signature
• How gait, speech, linguistic analysis, and other types of biometric identification come into play
• The criteria for setting up an implementation plan
• How to use authentication, authorization, and access principles

Written by a pair of security experts, Biometrics For Dummies gives you the basics in an easy-to-understand format that doesn’t scrimp on substance. You’ll get up to speed and enjoy getting there!

From the Back Cover

Dig into biometric identification the fun and friendly Dummies way!

Biometrics — the science of identifying humans based on unique physical characteristics — is growing in popularity among security experts and security-minded organizations. Once the realm of futurists and sci-fi, biometrics is now commonly used to reliably control whether to let you into a facility or allow you to use a computer system. Here's what it is, what it does, and how to use it.

• No lying eyes — how scans of the retina and iris establish a person's identity

• "Triple A" gets you there — understand how to use authentication, authorization, and audit principles

• Security vs. privacy — how various countries are handling the privacy issues and what can be done to protect citizens' privacy

• Ethics, please — understand the ethical issues raised by the growing use of biometric information

• Palm reading, 21st century style — how a scan of the palm, veins in the hand, and sonar imagery establish identity

• Sign here — what it takes to fully authenticate a signature

• Walk this way — using gait, speech, linguistic analysis, and other types of behavioral biometrics

• Securing the security — learn the many vulnerabilities of biometric systems and how to guard against them

Open the book and find:

• Behavioral as well as physiological biometric measures

• Tips for choosing the right biometric system

• What Triple A is and how to use it

• An overview of laws regarding biometrics

• How Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle affects signatures

• Criteria for setting up an implementation plan

• How facial imaging is used

• A look at where biometrics is heading

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 4228 KB
• Publisher: For Dummies (July 28, 2008)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001QCXWJW
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An informative and Easy Read, September 10, 2008

By 

Frank Conley (Gilbert, Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Biometrics For Dummies (Paperback)

Target Audience:

Business and management types who are tasked with implementing a Biometrics solution when they know nothing about Biometrics. This is a good overview for non-technical users.

Summary:

This is an easy read that will get you oriented into the world of Biometrics. For a technical person, the book will almost be boring at times, but give it a chance and you may learn a little bit. If you already know a bit jump to Chapter 12 and explore "Ten Tools Used in Biometrics" From there you can jump back to Part Two (Chapter 4) and explore Biometric systems in more depth.

Chapter 3 discusses Biometrics, law and society. On page 56 I was reminded why Biometrics is less of a problem in the EU. They have tougher privacy laws. The very accurate observation here was that Europeans are much more secure with Biometrics because they are much more protected. I can personally vouch for that. Been there, seen that.

The only real disappointment of this book is that they didn't touch more on RFID and Biometrics. It may have been beyond the scope of the book. That wouldn't stop me from buying it though. The list price is $29.99 US, but I can see that Amazon has it for much less, which makes it more attractive.

I have not compared this against other books on the subject. There may be better out there. What you get out of this is based on criteria, but again if you just getting started and are non-technical, this an easy start.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough and comprehensive overview of the state of biometrics, March 1, 2009

By 

Ben Rothke "Author of 'Computer Security: 20 ... (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Biometrics For Dummies (Paperback)

Don't judge a book by its cover. Contrary to its self-effacing title, Biometrics for Dummies provides a thorough and comprehensive overview of the state of biometrics.

Like all books in the For Dummies series, this one is reader-friendly and avoids jargon. It details the state of the art in biometric technology, covers various policy and privacy issues, and shows where the technology is headed.

For the uninitiated, biometrics is the science of identifying humans based on unique physical characteristics, such as a fingerprint, retina, or signature. Biometric identifiers have been used for decades in IT and physical security. It has remained a niche market, though even before 9-11, technology and security industry pundits were always predicting that the next year would be the "Year of Biometrics."

It is 2009, and that year has still not come, but more and more biometric technologies are arriving on the scene, and systems are being fielded on a sizeable scale. This growth is due in large part to various U.S. government mandates requiring biometrics for more effective authentication and identification, such as the Transportation Worker Identification Credential and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, which requires a biometric element in federal employees' identification credentials.

This work focuses on comparing the various types of biometrics and shows that there is no "best" solution. Rather, every biometric technology has its own set of plusses and minuses, and it is up to you to decide what is best for your organization. The authors give readers all of the pertinent information to make an educated decision. They also explain how to effectively implement a biometrics initiative.

What you can't find in the text itself, you can probably find using the comprehensive list of references and resources provided.

Don't be misled by the title; this book really is a comprehensive overview of biometrics. And if 2010 does prove to be the Year of Biometrics, Biometrics for Dummies will help you implement biometric technology effectively. Only a dummy wouldn't read a book like that.