Wave Systems Corp. (fka WAVXQ)

[reach567]

Interesting to re-read this after today's news with Digital Persona.

Hopefully, the link works for everyone.

The document is titled:
The Case for Biometric Authentication
by Wave Systems
Published on Dec 01, 2006

http://productfinder.gcn.com/shared/write/collateral/WTP/51853_00627_13776_BiometricsWP5.pdf?ksi=145...

Here are a few of my favorite paragraphs.

"...The cost of reliable silicon sensors has dropped substantially and they are now available on a significant number of business-class laptops and PCs. The number of Dell PCs equipped with fingerprint sensors slated for shipment in 2007 alone is projected to be in the millions. Robust, low-cost software is also now commercially available. This off-the-shelf software is capable of matching fingerprints with unparalleled accuracy.

This whitepaper focuses on the emergence of fingerprint biometrics as an economical and feasible form of strong authentication for businesses - large and small alike."

"...With respect to administration, fingerprint authentication systems have made huge headway in recent years and are easy to deploy and maintain. Passwords and their hassles may even be eliminated entirely when the biometric validation is done at a central server. A server-based biometric implementation benefits network administrators by allowing them to enroll a user's fingerprints at a remote station. When fingerprint enrollment is done at a central location and the fingerprints are automatically distributed to the user's account across the network, the system administrator can verify the user's identity when he or she enrolls his or her fingerprint. In this scenario, users are also free to "roam" or, in other words, to log into different computers, all with a single fingerprint enrollment. To alleviate the fears that users may get "locked out" of their computers, administrators are able to specify a backup method of authentication in case of sensor failure, which is uncommon..."

"...Forrester Research has identified biometric authentication as one of the top ten identity management trends to watch in 2006 and predicts that it will go mainstream - extending beyond the market of early adopters. This prediction is coming true as sales of laptops with embedded biometric sensors have exceeded the expectations of major PC manufacturers.

Biometric sensors' lower cost and inclusion in PCs has caused fingerprint authentication to suddently become affordable and convenient. Many corporate users enjoy the convenience and novelty of using their fingerprint and trends indicate that biometric authentication will gain widespread adoption in the near future as a form of strong authentication in the corporate environment."