CALIFORNIA FINGERPRINT BIOMETRICS TECHNOLOGY BEING USED ON COMPUTERS TO INCREASE SECURITY Biometrics puts security at a user's fingertips / No more jumble of passwords -- personal prints would be the only ID neededBiometrics puts security at a user's fingertips
No more jumble of passwords -- personal prints would be the only ID needed
Benjamin Pimentel, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, July 11, 2005

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Tired of remembering all those passwords to access computer networks and Web sites?

Computer-makers are now pushing a more convenient way of going online -- with the touch of a finger.

During the past nine months, companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Lenovo have rolled out notebooks equipped with biometric sensors that read fingerprints, instead of passwords, before allowing access to networks and Web sites.

The technology is catching on in the personal computing market in light of growing concerns about security and privacy, underscored by recent thefts of laptops containing the personal data of millions of people.

Fingerprint sensor technology has been around for years, but only now, as it has become cheaper and more reliable, has it become practical to use on PCs. It is also getting a boost from the clamor for security without the hassle of multiple passwords.

"Everybody uses passwords, and everybody hates them," said Clain Anderson, director of wireless and security products for Lenovo.

"If you have something in your PC that is worthwhile, a password by itself isn't enough (to secure it)," he added. "This gives you another alternative. Everyone carries a fingerprint with them all the time. It's low cost, and the technology has matured tremendously."

Last month, Hewlett-Packard, the Palo Alto tech giant, introduced its new HP Compaq business notebook with a built-in fingerprint sensor.

Since October, four ThinkPad models with fingerprint sensors have been introduced by IBM, and later Lenovo, which bought the company's PC business in December.

Most notebooks with fingerprint sensors are geared to the corporate market, although some companies, such as Fujitsu and Toshiba, which also recently introduced new products, offer consumer models.

"The technology is more reliable today and more cost effective, and miniaturization has helped us to more easily integrate it," said Matt Wagner, an HP product manager who specializes in wireless security.

Jim Burke, vice president of communications at AuthenTec, a Florida maker of biometric fingerprint sensors, said engineers have been developing the technology for the past 10 years.

Computer-makers such as the former Compaq and Acer began introducing PCs with fingerprint sensors in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

But the early models did not catch fire.

One reason was that the space required for the optical sensor on a keyboard was a 2-inch-square pad on which a user must press a finger, Burke said. Computer-makers eventually came up with smaller sensors, which are now typically a strip of plastic in one corner of the keyboard.

The cost of putting fingerprint sensors in PCs has also dropped, he added. About five years ago, fingerprint sensors used for door locks and other devices cost about $40 to $50, Burke said.

Three years ago, engineers came up with smaller sensors costing about $15 to $20 that PC-makers such as Acer and Samsung installed on notebooks.

Today's new generation of notebooks, tablet PCs and cell phones uses sensors that cost under $5 each, he said.

"In the past, the sensors were ordered in hundreds," Burke said. "Today they're in the thousands and millions."

Cell phones with fingerprint sensors have become a hit in Japan and China, where the devices are used not just for calls or text messages, but also for e-commerce transactions, he said.

Analyst Crawford Del Prete of International Data Corp. said he sees fingerprint sensors becoming a regular feature of PCs.

"The thing is going to get so cheap that it's going to be a feature that's just included," he said.

Greg Goelz, vice president of marketing at UPEK Inc., another fingerprint sensor-maker in Emeryville, said the technology is catching on faster in the corporate market, where companies, particularly their chief information officers, have been looking for better ways to manage their networks.

"The CIOs are pleased because this helps them to manage their networks," he said. "Their users are happy because they are not happy about changing their passwords every three weeks."

Many companies use fingerprints in conjunction with passwords to secure their networks.

Anderson of Lenovo noted, however, "There is no security measure that is totally invulnerable. There is no such thing."

He said a researcher in Japan recently created an elaborate system that included a fingerprint mold to access a network.

But Anderson said, "Living tissue has certain properties, and it's very difficult to simulate that.

"I'm pretty confident that whoever steals my machine will not have the wherewithal to simulate my fingerprint," he said. "The sensors are very difficult to fool."