Nearly 70 percent of consumers worldwide support using biometrics technologies such as fingerprints or voice recognition administered by a trusted organization (e.g., a bank, healthcare provider or government organization) as a way to verify an individual's identity, according to new global research from Unisys Corp. (www.Unisys.com).
 
In the first worldwide survey of its kind to study consumer security preferences, the Unisys research also found that 66 percent of consumers worldwide also favored biometrics as the ideal method to combat fraud and identity theft as compared to other methods such as smart cards and tokens. This finding shows a slight increase from separate research that Unisys conducted in September 2005, which found 61 percent of consumers worldwide favored biometrics as the preferred method to fight fraud and identity theft.
 
"This research is revealing since many headlines today seem to question biometric adoption because of legitimate privacy concerns," said Mark Cohn, vice president, homeland security solutions, Unisys Corporation. "System developers and owners must address those concerns so that these technologies can move toward the mainstream on a large scale with appropriate protection and sensitivity."
 
The Ponemon Institute, a leading independent firm that specializes in privacy and security research, conducted the survey on behalf of Unisys. Additional interesting findings on biometrics include:

Convenience was the top reason for biometrics support with 82 percent citing the benefit of not having to remember separate passwords or other login data. More than three quarters of consumers cited improving the speed of the identity verification process as their primary reason for using biometrics.

Consumers from North America support biometrics for identity verification more than any other region (71 percent), followed by Europe (69 percent) and Asia Pacific (68 percent). In contrast, Latin Americans were the least supportive (58 percent).

Voice recognition is the most favored authentication method, cited by 32 percent of respondents, followed by fingerprints (27 percent), facial scan (20 percent), hand geometry (12 percent) and iris scans (10 percent), perhaps reflecting more consumer awareness of and experience with voice and fingerprint biometrics.

North Americans are significantly less supportive of facial scans compared to other regions, with only 10 percent citing it as the preferred method, compared to 27 percent consumers in Europe, 23 percent in Asia Pacific and 20 percent in Latin America.

Of those respondents who did not favor biometrics for identity verification, almost three quarters (74 percent) were suspicious of the technology, followed by 62 percent who cited they prefer to give non-biometric identification methods.

"Despite some geographic cultural differences with certain specifics of the technologies, overall as more and more people learn about biometrics, convenience seems to outweigh concerns," Cohn said. "Companies and governments can achieve the benefits of secure business operations with biometrics solutions through added efficiency and greater customer service."
 
Unisys is a leader in biometrics and related security issues and today opened a new biometrics Centre of Excellence in Brussels, which joins its other location in Reston, Va. The centers showcase real-life scenarios of biometrics technologies in such solutions as e-passports and other travel and customs applications, as well as identity verification in healthcare records, financial data, law enforcement and other situations.
 
The Unisys research is part of a broader analysis of identity authentication that Unisys will spearhead at the upcoming 15th World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT 2006). Unisys also will present policy proposals to WCIT delegates on the need for standards around procedures and practices in global identity authentication.
 
The Congress is expected to draw 2,000 business, government and academic leaders from 80 countries. WCIT 2006's goal is to explore pertinent issues in security and privacy, digital access and healthcare, and to make specific, actionable policy recommendations to the global IT community. A biennial global event, the 15th Congress will take place in Austin, Texas, May 1-5.