Re: Kroger Lets Shoppers Pay Via Fingerprint

[Paul Guthrie]

I'm not sure I agree with you, Todd. That's like saying "the plastic is on sale in aisle 37" regarding the use of credit or debit cards today. There is a big gap between the ability to purchase gelatin and the skills and intent to commit a fraudulent biometric transaction at a Kroger. Not only do you have to have these skills, you need the fingerprint of someone enrolled (and a good one), plus the criminal intent and skills to actually perpetrate the crime. Some of these systems also use dual-factor authentication requiring also a PIN (more used for identification to reduce the number of fingerprint samples to match against) or a frequent shopper card, raising the bar a little more.

Remember, security is all about risk management. Is the fingerprint biometric technology perfect? By no means (and it doesn't have to be), but the liveness checks get better every year, and perhaps will be good enough in a few years when (and if) this technology sees mass adoption. In the mean time, I'd wager that the fraud rates on this technology are significantly lower than any other payment form (possibly even cash) due to the complexity and deterrence of utilization of fingerprints at all, and that combined with shorter checkout times (as compared to check or perhaps credit card), there may be some real value here for supermarkets.

Regards,
Paul

On Wednesday, December 25, 2002, at 10:17 PM, Todd Boyle wrote:

The gelatin is on sale this week, on aisle 37
http://cryptome.org/gummy.htm
Todd

At 02:27 PM 12/25/2002, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=581&u=/nm/20021224/ tc_nm/retail_kroger_fingerprint_dc&printer=1

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Suppose you endured the checkout line at the grocery
store only to find that you were short on cash, or you'd forgotten your
wallet. What if you could settle the bill with just the
touch of your finger?

Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - news), the largest U.S. supermarket chain, is
offering some customers just that opportunity, testing finger imaging as a
method of payment in three of its Texas stores.

A machine scans the index finger, matching the customer's unique
fingerprint with the individual's account.

The company avoids the term "fingerprinting" because of its law enforcement
connotation - - the same reason the technology is applied to the index
finger, rather than the thumb

,, snip ..

--
Internet trivia, 20th anv: http://www.garlic.com/~lynn/rfcietff.htm



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