Word: fingerprints
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Part of the problem is that forensics has always been equal parts art and science, a point made in January when a Philadelphia judge threw out fingerprint evidence in a murder case after an expert could not explain to his satisfaction why such identifications are considered reliable. The judge later reversed himself, but, says assistant federal defender Robert Epstein, who brought a challenge to the admission of fingerprint evidence in a robbery case, "even if the judges are going to let [fingerprint evidence] in, it doesn't mean juries are going to accept it uncritically anymore...
Sixty-two years later, Attorney General John Ashcroft has just unveiled a similar proposal tailored to this equally jittery but higher-tech moment. Set to take effect in the fall, the new program will fingerprint and photograph some 100,000 visitors from as many as two dozen nations deemed to pose an "elevated national security risk"; some visa holders already living here will also be questioned and printed. In a matter of seconds, the prints will be matched against an FBI database stocked with thousands of fingerprints lifted from locales as varied as al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan...
Will the new measures screen out the bad guys or merely multiply the INS workload without enhancing security? Since January, the INS has been testing a new fingerprint-identification system at the border and has used it to arrest 1,400 wanted criminals. None had terrorist ties, but two were accused murderers and one was an alleged international jewel thief. Though the Sept. 11 hijackers took pains to enter this country initially on legal visas, it seems unlikely that any self-respecting al-Qaeda operative will send a "just moved" postcard to the INS. Even some officials within the agency...
...small scanner to cart off as many groceries as they want. Developed by Indivos, a consumer biometric company based in Oakland, Calif., Pay By Touch may be the best thing since the express-checkout lane. It allows shoppers to authorize credit-card and bank payments using a fingerprint, a copy of which they have placed on file. "People like it for the same reason they like speed passes at gas pumps--mobility and speed," says Frank Pierce, Indivos' vice president of marketing. The company is testing the system at retail outlets, including fast-food restaurants, around the country...
FINGER FREE If you are serious about keeping your computer files safe, the Targus Defcon Authenticator ($120) may be for you. It's a biometric security device that scans your finger (you choose which one), memorizes your fingerprint and locks out all impostors...