After September 11th, security is the name of the game but is biometrics, anemerging technology, a safe security option? Martin Barry reports

Biometrics - the application of statistical analysis to biological data - is being touted as the technology that can defeat terrorism in the US. But some European specialists are raising doubts about the technology's effectiveness and its ability to provide accurate results.

The efficacy of the biometric iris scan, which is being promoted as a key component in post September 11th security technology, is being challenged by a leading Irish iridologist.

Ms Helen Begadon, the founder of the Irish School of Natural Healing, says the notion of using a scan of a person's iris as a fool-proof means of identification could be fundamentally flawed.

Biometrics is still an emerging technology whose purpose is to provide reliable identification of an individual from measurement of a physiological property.

Common current examples are fingerprints, palm geometry, facial features and the iris of the eye. The technology is used to enable IT systems to establish the uniqueness of identity of individuals.

But even as the Republic prepares to begin introducing biometric technology in line with the US Border Control Act which requires countries availing of the visa waiver scheme to introduce biometrics by October 2004, academics are questioning their use and effectiveness.

"While it is true to say that every person's iris is unique, it is false to assume that the iris does not change if a person becomes ill, lacunae, or blotches appear on the iris," says Mr Begadon.

Iridology is an age-old Chinese medical diagnostic technique premised on the understanding that a body's organ's nerve supply are mapped onto the iris's structural fibres.

"A clear structure of fibres around the liver, for example, is indicative of a good liver. Whereas if a person has, or develops, a lacunae or opening of the fibres [on a certain part of the iris], then it means that the nerves in the corresponding area are weak," says Ms Begadon.

Understandably, the biometrics industry, which is growing quickly in the Republic, does not agree with these findings.

Ms Fiona Darcy, head of marketing with Dublin-based biometrics firm Daon, disputes Ms Begadon's claims, saying the efficacy of any biometric depends on how it is used.

"It would depend whether it is integrated or not into another system, such as a card-based system, or if it is being used as a stand-alone," Ms Darcy says.

Another factor she cites is "how intuitive" the chosen software is.

"There are enrolment procedures involved in any biometric and over time what will happen is that intelligent systems will take a scan of your iris every time you present yourself to the system and it will update itself.

"This is what we call 'Template Aging' and specifically applies to fingers and face. Our software is intuitive and allows you to re-enrol individuals over time."

Dr Michael Pierce, an eye consultant who works for Daon, is more supportive of using the iris as a standard for biometrics.

He says the iris pattern does not change or deteriorate over time under normal conditions, unlike other physical characteristics such as face, hands or fingers.

During the first year of life, a blanket of chromatophore cells may change the colour of the iris, but the iris pattern itself is stable throughout a person's life, he says.

"Some medications used in the treatment of glaucoma, such as latanaprost and unoprostone, can darken the colour of the iris over time.

"However, this does not affect the iris recognition process since it does not use the iris colour, but instead captures the iris pattern under near-infrared light," he adds.

"No medications or drugs are known to alter the appearance of the actual iris pattern and most eye surgeries do not change the iris; iridotomy and iridectomy, both associated with glaucoma, may impact the iris, but re-enrolment after surgery will overcome any possible false rejections.

"Refractive surgery, cataract surgery and cornea transplants also do not affect the iris," says Dr Pierce. But he accepts that an iris may be altered by physical damage to the eye, as might occur in an extreme accident.

"Iris geometry may also change slightly over time, but the impact on matching accuracy is limited, and usually does not affect system performance," he says.

At present, biometric technologies, especially iris scanning, are still at pilot study stage.

One school in Britain utilises iris scanning for screening students entitled to free school dinners. It has also been deployed at border crossings in Germany and at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam.

Following a successful trial of iris-scanning software from biometric company EyeTicket at Heathrow, the Home Office has pledged to introduce iris scanning at more British sites as a means of identifying frequent non-UK passengers.

According to a report commissioned by the Department of Communications which was published last November, no single technology is right for all applications.

The most accurate it cites is finger print scanning, but such an imposition was likely to meet public criticism because of the criminal connotations.

This was borne out in the negative reactions to the US's recent decision to introduce finger-printing of all visitors who are not part of the non visa waiver scheme, which are already committed to introducing biometric passports by the end of the year.

Normal passport checks are now accompanied by a fingerprint scan using each index finger, along with a digital photograph. But to date, the Irish Government has yet to make a clear statement of policy on biometrics in general and the implementation of a passport changeover in particular, apart from the announcement last month of the introduction of a new type of Irish passport capable of incorporating a microchip containing biometric information

The International Civil Aviation Organisation, which sets standards for travel documents, has agreed that all countries will use the shape-of-face biometric and that they may include fingerprints or iris scans as additional biometrics.

Aside from the lack of public debate, the policy vacuum is largely attributable to the lack of a clear standard for the incorporation of biometric data, as specified by the US, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The spokesperson added that it was the Government's understanding that because a lot of other European countries would not make the October deadline, that the waiver scheme "would be extended to countries working towards introducing biometrics".

In the meantime, watch this space, as biometrics looks set to expand beyond air safety to extend across our daily lives with applications in everything from the provision of state services to criminal justice measures.

Whether it becomes accurate enough to enhance safety, remains to be proven.