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Technology Stocks : Identix (IDNX) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: David who wrote (15847)	11/23/1999 1:33:00 PM
From: David	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 26039

Competitive biometric smart card advance: biz.yahoo.com This describes placing part of the biometric functions on the smart card itself, rather than using entirely off-card extraction and matching (as IDX is purported to do by an allusion in this release). The advantage to the user is not needing to key in a PIN when using the smart card. A couple of points: The PR doesn't suggest availability until mid-2000, so the production side couldn't be very close. It's more of a proof of concept situation right now. Second, we don't know if it can be done for a commercial price. Who has the biometrics here? The PR doesn't say, and I am trying to check, but given the reference to "sweeping" a finger, it matches up very well as the Thompson CSF hardware being used in NEC's Touchpass (with NEC software).

To: David who wrote (15847)	11/23/1999 5:48:00 PM
From: Hockeyfan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 26039

David, "The Entrust certificates will eventually work in conjunction with biometric technology. An individual will have to sweep a finger through a reader before a transaction is placed to verify a digital signature." That would explain this... Other Exciting Products Coming Soon BioLogon? 2.0? for Entrust© identicator.com See bottom of the page. While you are there why don't you pick up a $429.99 Cherry biometric keyboard?

To: David who wrote (15847)	12/13/1999 10:43:00 AM
From: David	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 26039

From today's Internet Week, on smart cards and biometrics: "Now that digital certificates are making headway at some businesses, when someone steals your laptop, they've also got your digital certificate. That's one of the biggest risks with digital certificate technology today. It may help secure a VPN session, but the only way to really protect your certificate from being stolen is strapping the laptop to your body-or never leaving your desktop. "One answer, of course, is a more portable way to store digital certificates-namely, smart cards. A smart card basically holds a user's digital certificate, so he or she swipes it through a card reader attached to a PC or laptop. The main trade-off is that they require hardware-the cards themselves as well as the readers. Most businesses deploying digital certificates say these cards are the next logical step in authenticating and validating users. Chevron Canada plans to go with smart cards sometime next year. "'We are moving certificates to smart cards instead of storing them on the hard drive and risking exposure,' says James Eaton, network specialist for Chevron Canada. 'So you take the smart card out of your PC when you go home, and you physically need access to the smart card and PC, as well as a PIN number.' "Not far behind is biometrics, in which a fingerprint or retinal scan triggers a user's access and privileges, which would be stored elsewhere on the network-most likely in a corporate directory. 'You will see biometric thumbprint readers built into machines, so then a person uses biometrics as the password to a certificate. It wouldn't replace a certificate,' says Jim Haw, vice president of security and standards for Mackenzie Financial Corp., which uses digital certificates for its financial planners."