QinetiQ gives evidence to Home Affairs Select Committee on 'ID cards'

Devices such as ID cards which hold information confirming an individual's identity, could deliver considerable consumer benefits and be produced for far less than £30 according to QinetiQ, Europe's largest science and technology company.

Neil Fisher, QinetiQ's director of security solutions, who gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee today, outlined the potential benefits of an appropriate biometric identity authentication system - one that incorporates a unique physical signature such as facial recognition. He says:

"Encapsulating individuals' biometrics in one or more authentication devices will ensure that their identity cannot be stolen and that they can prove, swiftly and simply, that they are who they say they are. In today's digital age, this will give them secure access to a huge range of services. Additionally, if a portable data storage device like a barcode is used, it can link people irrefutably to their possessions - to their luggage at an airport, to their cars, and even to their baby in a maternity ward."

2D barcodes and memory chips, two of several technologies looked at by QinetiQ to store data on identity authentication devices, are both well established and allow the storage of relatively large amounts of data securely and inexpensively. The barcodes, for example, are already used on driver ID cards in the USA.

Critically, the memory capacity of both technologies enables the storage of an individual's unique biometric data such as a scan of their face, iris or fingerprint. They can also be encrypted, ensuring identical levels to security as smart 'chips'. Commenting on the technologies Fisher adds:

"We automatically assume that the so-called smart chips, which are relatively expensive, will be used in identity authentication devices such as ID cards. But by using current technologies like 2D barcodes or memory sticks, which cost from fractions of a penny to less than £1 to produce, it is possible to develop low-cost data storage devices without compromising on security."

QinetiQ continues to develop a deep understanding of the technologies which support identity systems, through its testing and evaluation of existing biometric systems, its research into biometrics of the future, and its provision of IT security solutions for the public and private sector.