Security

Biometric systems are more secure than traditional identification systems. But they only represent a secure identification process in that they provide a strong link between physical persons with their identity data. This means that the integrity of the linking process must be high. This will depend on the secure operation of each one of the four stages of a biometric identification process (enrolment, storage, acquisition, matching). In addition it cannot rely on secrecy, since most biometric features are either self-evident or easily obtainable.

On the other hand, since biometrics are only a part of the system, it is not enough to secure the biometric system if the rest of the process remains open to circumvention. In the end, the notion of a biometric identifier being absolute proof of identity has to be discarded. Biometric identification systems are subject to errors and circumvention and thus are not perfect. It is important for whoever uses biometric identification systems to understand this principle.