The key element for any access control system is authentication - the process of determining whether someone is who they claim to be. With the expansion of enterprise infrastructures and the increased threat of security breaches, the need for strong authentication methods has grown to a multibillion dollar industry.

An identity can be authenticated using any of the following methods:

• Something the user knows, such as a password or personal identification numbers
• Something the user has, such as a security token or smart card
• Something the user is, such as a physical characteristic, also known as biometrics.

Biometric Authentication

Since biometric authentication is based on actual unique physical characteristics, it is widely regarded as the hardest method to forge or spoof. The following are some typical examples of biometric authentication methods:

• SIGNATURE DYNAMICS: Based on an individual's signature, but considered un-forgeable because what is recorded is not the final image but how it is produced.
• TYPING PATTERNS: Similar to signature dynamics but extended to the keyboard, recognizing not just a password that is typed, but the intervals between characters and the overall speeds and pattern.
• RETINA SCAN: A retinal scan is performed by casting an undetectable ray of low-energy infrared light into a person's eye as they look through the scanner's eyepiece. The results of the scan are converted to computer code and stored in a database
• IRIS RECOGNITION: A method of biometric authentication that uses pattern recognition techniques based on high-resolution images of the Iris of an individual's eye.
• FINGERTIP RECOGNITION: The method of analyzing fingerprints for matching purposes generally requires the comparison of several features of the print pattern, including patterns, which are aggregate characteristics of ridges, and minutia points, which are unique features found within the patterns.
• HAND OR PALM GEOMETRY: Relies on devices that measure the length and angles of individual fingers.
• FACIAL RECOGNITION: Based on distinctive facial features, including upper outlines of eye sockets, areas around cheekbones, the sides of the mouth and the location of the nose and eyes.
• SPEAKER VERIFICATION: The process of verifying a person's identity by their voice. The process involves capturing incoming data and matching that data against pre-registered voiceprints.

Voice Authentication

Voice Authentication is the most convenient and cost effective biometric authentication method. Requiring no specialized hardware and operational remotely, it is a natural and highly secured dynamic that can be implemented anywhere for a range of applications