Hello,

I need two responses of at least 150 words each for the below students discussions for this week. Also in the bold below are the questions the students at answering.

1) Discuss potential problems that biometrics can have on society. I.e. the use of facial recognition in Islamic countries where the hijab is common.

Student one:

Hey Class,

Due to the nature of biometric technology and it’s storage of peoples’ biological and behavioral characteristics, privacy will always be a major concern (NRC, 2010). Privacy is probably the most apparent concern for biometric systems being used throughout society, but there are other concerns that deserve the attention of developers and designers.

The success of biometric systems can be influenced by cultural, social, and legal factors that affect the way that users interact with the system. A person could choose to avoid using a fingerprint scanner because of their fingernails interfering with a proper reading, the presence of germs on the scanner, or they have a disease/condition that inhibits their ability to properly use the scanner (NRC, 2010). Likewise, a person may avoid or be unable to use facial recognition for various reasons. Use of the system may require them to disregard cultural practices, remove items needed for cultural or health reasons, the unwanted shaving of head and facial hair, or they simply may wish to avoid these photos being saved and stored somewhere (NRC, 2010).

Disenfranchisement and surveillance are also reasons users may wish to avoid the system. For example, a system being placed in a community where people are not all willing/able to use it can cause issues. If people notice other users having difficult times with the system and being heavily inconvenienced, that could affect the trust of the system (NRC, 2010). Covert surveillance has numerous privacy concerns that could outweigh the benefits of deploying these systems. For example, imagine a camera system that picks up and records faces, iris data, and certain actions made by every individual. Sure, the system may be able to prevent some violence, theft, and other crimes, but it would have to actively conduct surveillance of every individual, regardless of their actions. Most would probably see this as being immoral.

References:

National Research Council. (2010). Biometric Recognition: Challenges and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12720/biometric-recognition-challenges-and-opportunities

-Ricky

Student two:

Biometrics is becoming more accepted in today’s world. We use biometrics for banking, receiving benefits and identifying who we are at work and social gatherings. There is often a problematic side to the use of biometrics in a real world application. These problems become really noticeable in face recognition.

One of the major problems with face recognition is the different variables in the face. Currently facial recognition remains as one of the less reliable and less accurate biometric techniques ( Moradoff 2010). The other problem with facial recognition is the use of covering of the face like a hijab. Facial recognition is unreliable in this scenario due to the only features that are shown are the eyes. Facial recognition use many different features of the face and this is why it is one of the most unreliable in countries where hijabs are in use. There are other potential problems with using other biometric systems as well in today’s society.

Fingerprinting of to days youth is another potential problem with biometrics in use today. The use of biometrics in schools has taken on a different approach. Schools have adopted the project of fingerprinting our youth, because of potential threats of missing children or if the child gets in trouble at school. Alot of times this fingerprinting is done without parent consent ( Ashbourn p151). The process of fingerprinting can have a negative impact, and often cause psychological effects on the subject. Fingerprinting for unknown reasons causes a person biometric data to be stored , and could get hacked and be used for illegal purposes.

Some of the other problems with the use of biometrics is in globalization. When you have someone controlling access to your genetic information, this can pose a threat to you monetarily and psychologically. The problem in this scenario is that once biometric data is stored it is there for the right person to hack and use this biometric information to steal your identity or money. This also affects the person by that biometric data can no longer be used.

There are many different problems with using biometrics in society. The way to mitigate this is to be careful who has access to your information, and know how your biometric data is being stored. Biometrics as they get used more in everyday use will have to constantly be safeguarded from potential threats.

References

Ashbourn, J. (2014). Biometrics in the New World: The cloud, mobile technology and pervasive identity. Berlin: Springer.

Moradoff, N. (2010). Biometrics: Proliferation and constraints to emerging and new technologies. Security Journal, 23(4), 276-298. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy2.apus.edu/10.1057/sj.200…

-William