Biometric Technology and Civil Liberties: Affirmative Argument

1. Biometric Technology and Civil Liberties: Affirmative Argument Presented by: Katie Bull Patty Escamilla Ryan Grace Shelby Kovant Susie Wallingford Computer Science 1: Debate Spring 2008 Professor Forbes

2. What are Biometric Technologies? • The “automated use of physiological and behavioral traits to verify identity.” • Physiological: fingerprints, iris recognition, face recognition, hand geometry, odor, DNA • Behavioral: voice and speech recognition, typing patterns/style, signature

3. Benefits of Biometric Technologies to Employers • Increased security • sensitive information can be protected with more than a password • Biometrics can deter and detect fraudulent account access • No badge sharing in secure areas • No shared or compromised passwords • Reduced costs

4. Benefits of Biometric Technologies to Employees • Convenience • No passwords to remember or reset (or have stolen) • Faster login • Security • Confidential files can be stored securely • Non-repudiation • Biometric transactions are difficult to refute

5. Other Benefits of Biometric Technology • Identity theft • Reduce the risk of identity theft • This can give people confidence and can bolster online commerce • Missing persons • Children whose parents store their biometric information can be tracked down more easily if kidnapped or missing

6. Other Benefits of Biometric Technology • Medical Information • In the case of medical emergencies, hospitals can use biometric technologies to transfer medical information • This information, if protected by biometric technology, can be held securely without as much risk of being lost or stolen • Reduce human error

7. Biometric Technology and Privacy • If designed with appropriate protocols to ensure privacy before implementation, there is little risk to personal security • Two part strategy: • These protocols can be part of the hardware (and thus designed into the system) and • enhanced through operational guidelines and systems oversight

8. Weaknesses in Current Security • Forms of security based on items and knowledge people posses have many weaknesses • Fake ‘blanks’ • Manufacturing equipment has placed the ability to forge these types of documents into the hands of a much larger group of criminals than ever before • Random credit card number generators have made identity theft much more common • Breaches of security in airports have led to acts of terrorism

9. The ‘technology’ in Biometric Technology • Determining matches: • Biometric templates are used to determine degree of similarity or correlation • Using templates is much more secure than a system storing detailed personal information • Security: • Templates are encrypted when in transit and storage to protect against being compromised • Ongoing Support: • Updated technology and security systems can be installed following the initial enrollment to further protect information

10. Ethics of Using Biometric Technology • Supporters of biometric technology do not believe that civil liberties should be compromised in the name of security • Biometric technologies will not necessarily be used by the government to catalog every person in the country • The Heritage Foundation has proposed a code of ethics for using biometric technology in the general public:

11. Code of Ethics for Using Biometric Technologies • Enrollment in biometric systems should be overt and not covert • Users should never unwillingly have to give up their biometric information • Biometric systems are better used for verification than identification • Gives the chance for a 1:1 match instead of 1:many • Biometric systems should be designed to operate with local storage instead of central storage • This will prevent large-scale theft of information

12. Code of Ethics for Using Biometric Technologies • One should prefer biometric systems that are optional instead of required • Biometric systems should use forms of verified pseudonymity • This will maintain anonymity • Biometric systems should have strong audit/oversight programs to prevent misuse • Privacy Act of 1874 limits the ability of federal agents to collect, use, or disclose personal information like biometric data

13. What Does Biometric Technology Mean for Americans? • Biometric systems should not be installed on everything – there is a time and place for their usage • Biometric systems should only be installed when they can increase security without putting civil liberties at risk

14. Biometric Technology and Airports • At airports, human screeners miss knives 70% of the time, guns 30% of the time, and simulated explosives 60% of the time • Increased use of biometric systems could increase efficiency and decrease human error • Biometric systems (ie, fingerprint scanner) could be used to identify criminals from frequent flyers • Someone with a criminal record would be stopped for additional screening, while a low-risk person could go through a less intense screening process

15. Biometric Technology and Terrorism • The Heritage Foundation: • Advanced technology is a competitive advantage for the United States • At the Congressional Joint Inquiry into the events of Sept. 11, it was realized that there were noting systemic failures that played a role in the inability to prevent the terrorist attacks. • Perhaps, if biometric technology had been used, these attacks may have been prevented • The development and implementation of biometric systems with appropriate safeguards will help avoid repeating this mistake

16. When to Apply Biometric Technologies • Reserve biometric systems for the use of protecting large or sensitive things • High level security jobs (ie, CIA, work with live viruses, etc) • Medical information • Cars or homes – lower level items that individuals could install biometric systems in (some car manufacturers already do this) • IBM has fingerprint scanners on some of its laptop models

17. Use of Biometric Technologies in Other Countries • Germany • In May 2005 the German Upper House of Parliament approved the implementation of the ePass, a passport issued to all German citizens which contain biometric technology. • Germany is one of the first countries to implement biometric technology at the Olympic Games to protect German athletes, sparked by Munich terrorism in 1972. • Israel • Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport has a fast check-in system which uses a biometric smartcard. For a traveler to pass through the smartcard system takes less than 10 seconds. • The border crossing points from Israel to the Gaza Strip and West Bank are controlled by biometric security gates through which authorized Palestinians may pass. • England

18. Biometric Technology and Civil Liberties • Much of the criticism of biometric technology seems to stem from a stigma Americans place on giving up personal information, not necessarily a legitimate fear of infringement on privacy • In reality, biometric systems are a secure way to protect private information; if used properly and supported by strong policies, biometric technologies can become a safe and effective way to keep personal information private

19. Work Cited Page Rosenzweig, Paul, Alane Kochems, and Ari Schwartz. “Biometric Technologies: Security, Legal, and Policy Implications.” Heritage Foundation. 21 June 2004. <http://www.heritage.org/Research/HomelandSecurity/lm12.cfm>. Biometrics: The Unique Identification of Human Characteristics. “Biometric Technology.” 31 March 2008. <http://et.wcu.edu/aidc/BioWebPages/Biometrics_Technology.html>. Biometrics: The Unique Identification of Human Characteristics. “Biometric outlook.” 31 March 2008.<http://et.wcu.edu/aidc/BioWebPages/Biometric_Outlook.html>. Biometrics: The Unique Identification of Human Characteristics. “Biometric Applications.” 31 March 2008.<http://et.wcu.edu/aidc/BioWebPages/Biometric_Applications.html>. Davies,Simon G. "Touching Big Brother: How biometric technology will fuse flesh and machine.” Information Technology & People 7.4 (1994). 31 March 2008 <http://www.privacy.org/pi/reports/biometric.html>.