Back in the 1980s, I think I had one password-my ATM PIN number.
OK, maybe I had a gate code number, too. Today, I must have 100
passwords-who knows?
It seems as if a growing number of sites demand user names and
passwords-usually with special syntax that keeps me from using the
same pair everywhere. Then, I'm supposed to change them all
periodically for security's sake.
That's a joke. Research company Frost & Sullivan analyst
Jason Wright reminds us that password systems are relatively low
hurdles for hackers breaking into our LANs, Web sites or e-mail
systems. The average hacker-more often than not, an employee-need
only run free password-cracking software like Lophtcrack against a
fairly obvious set of user names (such as Mike_Hogan, Mike Hogan,
Mhogan and so on).
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Consumers know this intuitively. In a recent survey by
Yankelovich Partners, 38 percent of respondents said privacy and
security concerns limit their online spending, and another 31
percent said those concerns cause them to refrain from online
purchases altogether. In other words, real or perceived
short-comings in Internet security hit entrepreneurs right in the
bottom line.
But you may already have the solution to all your security needs
right in the palm of your hand-or, more likely, at your fingertips.
That's because biometrics offers an answer to all security and
authorization issues. These technologies rely on the uniqueness of
the human body to identify individuals, literally measuring your
biological features and behaviors. The technology can scan your
fingertips, hands, face, iris, retina, voice pattern or even
behavioral characteristics. For example, there's a technology
that measures the way you hunt and peck on a keyboard.
Biometrics has long been used by government and corporate IT
departments. Lately, it's gotten a lot cheaper and so reliable
that the chances of fooling a biometric scan are, like, one in a
billion.
The technology is only now getting into the hands of consumers
and businesses, although analysts believe the continued strong
growth of biometrics in traditional venues will help jump-start its
widespread use on the Internet.
IDC predicts that biometrics sales to IT departments alone will
grow more than 60 percent annually to $1.8 billion by 2004. But
it's hard to be precise about a market that's just being
born.
Mike Hogan, Entrepreneur's technology editor, can
be reached at mikehoganentrepreneur@juno.com.
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