A recent feature on AM, ABC Radio's flagship current affairs program, regarding a Melbourne Local Council’s plans to track employees' work hours with biometric technology garnered some interesting debate surrounding data privacy and security.
AM revealed that the City of Monash in Melbourne's south-east is considering vein scanning technology to capture time and attendance information for up to 100 library staff, including casuals.
The technology will capture the vein patterns in a person's fingers and store them as a template for future scans.
But while biometric technology like iris, fingerprint and vein scanning was once reserved for Hollywood and the stuff of sci-fi movies, isn’t it becoming more commonplace now?
With Public Sector agencies and corporate organisations around the country, such as Woolworths, already using biometric technology to check and verify the identities of their staff and record work hours. Even patrons at popular theme parks and venues, such as the Coogee Bay Hotel, are now required to present their fingers! (Read More: "You want a drink? Give us your fingerprints”)
So what’s the problem?
Judging by the feedback from the AM talk back show and the subsequent comments voiced by readers on ABC News, the vast majority are worried about privacy issues.
"They're concerned about where this information is going to be stored, what will happen with the information when they leave council, who owns the information, what's the legal ramifications," said Igor Grattan, Australian Services Union assistant branch secretary.
Indeed, this is an all to common reaction we, as Biometric Time and Attendance providers, come across when speaking to prospective clients and unions alike.
As Phil Scarfo, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing at Lumidigm Inc. explains, “Though most biometrics systems rely solely on templates, or mathematical representations of the physical characteristic, the general public is not aware of this fact. It is the misperception that people are storing fingerprint images in databases that creates concerns related to privacy.” (Read More: What’s behind the biometric template?)
As such, our presales process involves educating users and management that the multi-spectral biometric technology we utilise doesn't actually collect and store fingerprints.
Instead, when an employee enrols via our biometric clocking terminal, the system saves a mathematical representations of the fingerprint and reproduces this as a template. The template is then checked against those stored by the reader, for a possible match. If one is found, the employee’s registration is accepted - otherwise it is rejected.
Contrary to popular belief, this biometric template cannot be reconstructed back to the original fingerprint image.
If you would like to read more about common biometric misconceptions check out: “Dispelling the Myths About Biometrics: Misguided beliefs about biometrics should be investigated for proper understanding of the technology")
Isn’t it time you considered biometrics?
Biometrics can significantly improve the ROI associated with implementing an automated Time and Attendance solution. By utilising this technology oganisations can:
- Enhance site security – as no one without the proper identity is admitted, misplaced cards and staff borrowing “swipes” to gain access to controlled areas is no longer an issue
- Reduce time and attendance fraud – cut out ‘buddy clocking’ practices, where one employee clocks on for another
- Eliminate costs associated with physical ID card production and proximity fobs
- Facilitate accurate reporting – in the unfortunate event of an emergency supervisors have an up-to-the-minute view of exactly who is onsite/where they are located
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