Identity assurance and the protection of the civil infrastructure

Abstract

Purpose

Reviews current vulnerabilities of US civil infrastructure and how they might be addressed with identification/authentication technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

Paper presents brief overview of biometric technology – its history, evolution since 9/11 and current state of the technology. Paper then reviews identity‐based US civil infrastructure vulnerabilities and how they may be mitigated with the integration of biometrics into risk management systems.

Findings

Much has been achieved in the maturation of biometrics in the past five years with respect to standards development, scalability and testing; thus making them far more applicable to large scale deployment.

Practical implications

Biometrics, on a stand‐alone basis, but more often when integrated with other ID/authentication technologies can have a positive impact on the security of US civil infrastructure.

Originality/value

Paper offers those responsible for civil infrastructure protection new approaches to identify assurance.

Citation

Ryan, R. (2006), "Identity assurance and the protection of the civil infrastructure", Sensor Review, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 18-21. https://doi.org/10.1108/02602280610640625