Personal identification with biometric and genetic methods

The need for personal identification is growing in many avenues of society. To " identify " a person is to establish a link between his or her observed characteristics and those previously stored in a database. To " authenticate " is to decide whether or not someone is the person he or she claims to be. These two objectives can now be achieved by analysing biometric data and genetic prints. All biometric techniques proceed in several stages : acquisition of an image or physical parameters, encoding them with a mathematical model, comparing the results of this model with those contained in the database, and calculating the error risk. These techniques must be usable worldwide and must examine specific and permanent personal data. The most widely used are facial recognition, digital prints (flexion folds and dermatoglyphs, that offer the advantage of leaving marks), and the surface and texture of the iris. Other biometric techniques analyse behaviours such as walking, signing, typing, or speaking. Implanted radio-transmitters are another means of identification. All these systems are evaluated on the basis of the same parameters, namely the false rejection rate, the false acceptance rate, and the failure-to-enrol rate. The uses of biometrics are increasing and diversifying, and now include national and international identification systems, control of access to protected sites, criminal and victim identification, and transaction security. Genetic methods can identify individuals almost infallibly, based on short tandem repeats of 2-5 nucleotides, or microsatellites. The most recent kits analyze 11-16 independent autosomal markers. Mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome DNA can also be analyzed. These genetic tests are currently used to identify suspected criminals or their victims from biological samples, and to establish paternity. Personal identification raises many ethical questions, however, such as when to create and how to use a database while preserving personal freedom ? How to control access to genetic data ? Do genetic polymorphisms delineate different human races ? To what extent should different databases be interconnected ? and What limits should be placed on individual files available on the web and on radiotrequency identification by implanted chips ? A balance must be struck between the need to ensure the security of persons and transactions and the need to protect individual freedom and privacy.