A frequently asked question although many people will have seen different forms of biometrics in sci-fi and secret agent action movies. These are usually fingerprint and iris scanners which secure the biggest swag in the history of robberies. These representations of biometric security are normally on the bad side of advertising, as the villain or hero always manages to override them with a photo or a contact lens. In reality this wouldn’t actually work, but if you watched every movie in ‘real-terms’ you would stop watching them altogether.

Biometric devices are used within these sophisticated forms of security as biometrics entail automating a physical or behavioural trait to identify a user. A key, token card or password can easily be forgotten, stolen, duplicated, borrowed/lent, overheard or overlooked. Using a biometric form of identification means that no-one can be granted access unless they are the registered user and they can prove it!

(Incidentally, most scanners will check that a finger or eyeball is alive before granting authorisation.)