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Hi,
Has anyone tried the Targus DEFCON Authenticator? We are drowning in passwords, we don't want to pay for password sync software, and we don't have Active Directory so I'm running out of options.
If you've tried it or something like it, I'd love to hear your opinions.
Thanks
securlynn,
First of all, Welcome to AntiOnline!
I haven’t used Targus' in particular, however Precise Biometrics has been using fingerprints as well. Also you have many other options other than fingerprints. There are also Facial Recognition, Voice, Iris Recognition, Smart Cards, Signatures etc., devices. If you get tired of messing with passwords, why not try a combo of Bio’s
And of course implants are already being tested for Medical Records, so I’m sure they are just around the corner for other uses as well.
cheers
If I had to choose one of the other biometrics suggested by Relyt I'd pick Iris Scans (recognition). Their FRR, FAR and CER are incredibly low and the user interface is very friendly. This article I did on Iridian gives some of the details. I'm still waiting for them to release their linux desktop version.
Nice Article MsM and the accuracy rate is very impressive!
cheersQuote:
Their FRR, FAR and CER are incredibly low....
1 in 1.2 million (compared to 1 in 100,000 for fingerprints, 1 in 10,000 for hand geometry and 1 in 100 for various facial recognition technologies).
Realisticaly is Biometric hardware financialy viable, especialy as the poster has said, "we don't want to pay for password sync software, and we don't have Active Directory".???
Anyone an idea of the cost per instalation?
I noticed at my Bank the other day that they have started to use cards to access the work stations, from what i managed to glean from being nosey. The card is just user identity and a password or phraze is still required, probably has information regarding access rights also.
Anyway, the system above would seem to not be viable if you need to loose the passwords.
Fingerprint devices can be as low as $50.00 and a desktop version of Iris Scan for about $200.00
Obviously the sky would be the limit on the cost of some more capable units.
Edit: and shortly we'll be switching to the card readers as well.
You're right, it would be appropriate for that kind of situation. But Iridian did give me an example of what one of their clients, a bank, uses it for: vault access. In fact, the scanner is connected to a silent alarm that can tell the difference between left and right irises. If the normal access is done with the right, an "alarmed" scan is done with the left. Say the bank is being robbed and demands the vault be opened. The manager goes to the vault and gains access by having the scanner scan his left eye. This will open the vault while at the same time triggering a silent alarm to the police. IIRC, it can apparently also pick up stresses in an individual, it's that accurate.Quote:
Anyway, the system above would seem to not be viable if you need to loose the passwords.
Cheaper fingerprint readers have higher FAR/FRR/CERs and tend to have the problem of "gelatin" molds being able to trick them. That said, prices are definately coming down and the technology is certainly improving. One of the better options is a scanner that ensures that the biometric is attached to a living body (Minority Report anyone?).
The biggest thing is that we combine our authentication so that we're not relying on a single method ("What you know" or memory based authentication of user/pass). Using tokens like those by RSA, a smart card option or some other method along with the user/pass makes things more difficult for the attacker. Proper training, however, can make it fluid for the user. ;)