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Iris and retina scans, vascular imaging showing your vein network and 3-D face mapping are all technical security breakthroughs that most New Zealanders regard as sci-fi and unlikely to be experienced except while watching Mission Impossible.
Even in the post-9/11 world, workplace security can be taken for granted but there are some people here for whom the out-there sci-fi techo stuff used by Tom Cruise's character is everyday science.
Tim Hogan, Unisys New Zealand practice director of global communications, and his team have been certified as biometrics professionals by the United States-based Certified Biometrics Security Professional Institute.
These IT staff are experts in biometric technologies and how organisations can apply them, and what is involved in biometric standards, compliance, integration and privacy.
The team did the course at the Unisys Security Innovation Centre at the University of Canberra in anticipation of work opportunities in New Zealand.
Just as people use a registered electrician or a Microsoft certified IT professional, there will come a time when there is a demand for certified biometrics professionals.
At the moment, clients aren't asking about certification but, as the role of biometrics in security increases, that is expected, Hogan says.
"Biometrics is, in my opinion, relatively young in New Zealand compared with the impetus in the United States," he says. "However, it is now starting to grab a lot of traction, a lot of interest, specifically from the public sector.
"When they start to get real and start to move in this direction, which we believe we are going to do very shortly, then they are going to be starting to ask questions of any organisation that is going to front up and do the work."
New Zealand passports now have biometric photographs stored in a computer chip which can be compared with a photo taken by border security, and some people have fingerprint authenticity on their computer equipment.
Further use of biometric technology is likely to be introduced through government policy and, the more accepting the public is of the biometric, the easier it will be to incorporate it in security systems.
Unisys, a worldwide system integration consultancy, performs a quarterly survey of New Zealanders' views on security.
It shows that New Zealanders are more concerned with financial fraud and identity theft than they are with terrorism and personal safety. Generally speaking, New Zealanders support the concept of biometrics in aviation security, with 62 per cent saying they are prepared to provide a fingerprint or other biometric information to airlines.
It is the public sector where the biometrics work is mainly being done, such as government departments which deal with passports and identity.
Confidentiality and secrecy are an intrinsic part of such business, but the type of organisations following developments in this industry are Internal Affairs and Customs.
"Biometrics has the potential to add a substantially higher level of security to an application, whether in a government department or the fingerprint-scanner on my flash drive," says Hogan.
Applying biometrics to personal finances can reduce the potential for this kind of theft. This is because it moves authentication from what you know, such as passwords and secret questions, towards what you are, which is a more accurate way of authenticating identity. A lot of the biometrics work under way in New Zealand is being driven by international initiatives, rather than domestic concerns.
For instance, the passport with its biometric photo and chip was a requirement for New Zealanders to maintain their visa-waiver status with US Immigration.
Choosing the appropriate biometric security system for a task is part of the Unisys' team's work. Each type has its merits and costs. Iris scanning is commonly used overseas for ensuring secure access to places.
Universality and acceptability are key factors to consider when deciding which biometric measures to use.
The systems involve pre-registration for recognition purposes. The identity information needs to be collected and encoded. Thumb scans won't work for everyone because a small number of people don't have thumbs, he says. In an airport, people are likely to accept an iris scan before boarding a flight rather than swabbing saliva.
"You have to think of a biometric in terms of how easy it is to use and whether the people would actually want to stand in front of a laser scanner and have their retina read," Hogan says.
The biometrics industry is changing rapidly with university and private research and development teams experimenting with and perfecting new technology all the time in response to heightened security concerns since the 9/11 attacks.
There's lots of mathematics involved and research on how to make it easy to translate the maths into a computer model.
Some new and interesting biometric security measures include a bio password. The way in which people type is unique. The time between key strokes is measured, so if someone types a password in three times in succession, a computer programme can determine their identity.
In trial and production overseas is vascular mapping of the veins in your hand. "It is unique to an individual and relatively easy and quick to detect," Hogan says.
People's body odour is another biometric being investigated.
Fingerprinting has been used for centuries but having fingerprints taken has negative connotations for many people as it has been associated with crime-solving.
Plus there are many programmes to circumvent fingerprinting available on the internet.
Just as the scientists are developing new biometric security, there are just as many working to break the systems, Hogan says.
When he thinks of workplace security systems in 10 years' time, he believes swipe cards will be a thing of the past and different biometric methods will be the norm.
After all, it only takes only one security breach for an organisation to quickly tighten its system.
