Chapter 11. The Biometric Transaction

Privacy is a part of each person's individuality . Trusting someone means sharing some of that privacy with him/her. For sharing of private information to occur, there must be security and confidence in the relationship. Security and confidence can be gained over time as a result of shared experiences.

A biometric trait is a very private matter. It is something unique to an individual and has great value. A biometric trait, unlike an issued identifier like a social security number, cannot be changed. This means that the use of the biometric trait should be treated with the utmost privacy. This privacy is supplied by securing the entire biometric transaction.

The value of a biometric trait is that it can be used to identify the owner with almost absolute certainty . Thus, to share this piece of privacy requires a relationship of trust and security between the individual owner of the trait and the biometric system itself.

The biometric transaction is composed of human and machine. The human provides the raw data and, in turn , trusts the machine to safeguard it and use it for the intended purpose. For this sharing of privacy to continue and the trust to remain , all aspects of this transaction must be secured and the confidence kept by both parties.