Giving gadget thieves the finger - biometric security moves on

Devices are getting much smarter. Just a few years ago, it was all about us, as humans, as administrators of various guises, wanting to know which devices were where. Now, it's almost as likely to be about devices knowing who we are.

The first type of scenario is being taken forward with technology such as RFID tags, though a retail giant like WalMart canning its big trial is a set-back in this space.

The latter is made real in devices such as hand-held computers that will only work when a recognised fingerprint is applied. There is already an iPaq on the market that works in this way and today NTT DoCoMo in Japan announced a second-generation phone that can only be used when one of 10 stored fingerprints is recognised.

Using iris recognition technology may not be workable for such 'smart' devices, so it is fair to say fingerprints are the way forward. So why haven't we seen more roll outs?

For one thing, there is the cost, which certainly comes into the equation when so many end users don't feel their personal and business information warrants too much protection. Cheap devices still sell the best.

But as a survey out yesterday, cataloguing careless PDA usage, tells us, there is a need for better protection. Right now, information is literally walking out of companies - mostly on laptops and PDAs - every evening and devaluing millions spent on network and physical security.

One of the problems for device makers, according to the experts, is enrolment costs. This means that no provider of credit cards, point-of-sale equipment, phones or computers is likely to commit to integrating a certain type of biometric technology in millions of devices until there are assurances that there won't be a general change of direction soon afterwards.

In the meantime, expect plenty of smarter technology, plenty of biometrics, but few mass roll outs.