Friday, June 7, 2002

Hi-tech security flaws exposed It has been a bad week for biometric computer systems. A series of exposes and tests have exposed the shortcomings of systems that use face recognition, iris scanning and fingerprints to improve security. Experts have found that the systems can be fooled using very simple techniques. An American civil liberties group has condemned plans to use biometric systems to protect some US landmarks from attack. [BBC] This indusry has been trying to take hold for years. The technology is a critical need in todays security climate. Sadly the two systems that are most up front are Fringerprints (too easy to spoof) and Facial (a joke). One can only hope that this can get fixed. It's too bad that ABI is buried in bad management and too many distractions to deal with this effectively. If only the money had been spent on research and marketing rather than nice homes and cars. Over $300,000 dollars wasted on bogus loans and millions on executive salaries...mj 3:50:44 PM

Friends and history... I have an interesting circle of friends. I think I am lucky to have them, and enjoy the things they bring into my life. I was helping one yesterday with his computer when he asked me how I knew so much about history. I replied that I learned it all in Boy Scouts. His reply..."they didn't teach us that in the Hitlers Youth." You see my friend was born in 1924. He grew up in post war Germany and saw the rise of Hitler as a child. He was almot 15 when the war started and like all children, he was required to belong the the Youth. He fought in eastern Europe, he was captured by the Russians, escaped from a POW camp, and made his way back to Germany. He's a very nice man and I enjoy our talks about history. His regrets, and his feelings about being in the midst of so much evil. He came to the US with his future wife in the early 50s. They ended up moving west after he got his engineering degree, where he spent the rest of his years working for Boeing. So much history, so many questions, so many tales. Our friends can provide us with so much, if we only choose to listen...mj 10:49:51 AM

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