Implementing Biometric Security

This is an immensely informative and practical reference, which is pleasantly surprising - at first appearance it looks like an academic (i.e. theoretical) work.The authors' premise is that biometric systems, relying on fingerprints, retinal scans, speech patterns and facial thermography, are a highly effective solution for the problems of network security and authentication. He then explains how to assess the most effective form of these biometric methods which will meet an organisations' needs, how to implement such systems and understand their overall strengths and weaknesses.Although security is a highly-important issue, the contents are of value to those interested in biometric systems in general - for example, this is a technology of interest to labour-hire organisations. Such companies may place many hundreds of casual employees on remote client worksites and need verifiable means to determine the employee's attendance and hours worked - in short, an unfoolable version of the old "time clock" punch-card system.The authors detail at length the foundational mathematics or principles behind each biometric system covered, and spend equal time describing genuine implementations - using readily available (commercial) hardware and software. Helpful screenshots, tables and diagrams accompany these practical components and give full confidence that the reader can reproduce the results themselves (with the appropriate hardware and software, of course). For software developers, sample source code is also provided showing how the biometric devices can be managed from within Visual Basic programs.Completing the book is a companion Web site with updated source code, articles and case studies.For those who see value in biometric systems within their organisation - whether for secure authentication or other purposes - this book is a welcome and useful reference, replete with expert advice and guidelines. It is definitely a "must read".

There is a lot of mystery and myth concerning biometrics and the authors did a good job of exposing the facts and revealing the truth. "Implementing Biometric Security" breaks down the various forms of biometric technology into easily understandable blocks of information. Very few books breakdown the different forms of biometrics to the point that this one does. This is a true guide in helping you choose between biometric authentication systems. I'd recommend it a must read prior to investing time or money into a biometric business solution. The book is chock full of data. I found myself learning something new on almost every turn of the page. The good news is that I found it a fairly easy read and a great reference book. As a bonus, there is a companion site that has some readily available programs to get your biometric effort up and running. An excellent book for your work or personal IT library.