Iris Recognition

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Samsung Electronics' latest Galaxy Note 7 features an iris scanner. Iris recognition is said to be highly accurate with a one in a trillion error rate. There are also moves in the finance sector to replace the existing certificate verification method with iris recognition.

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A smartphone is held up to the user's eye, and ID verification is completed in one second. Infrared light reads the iris and verifies the person's ID. Financial transactions such as account transfers can be carried out this way, eliminating the need for a digital ID certificate.

[Soundbite] Lee Gyu-min(KEB Hana Bank) : "Simply a gaze at the smartphone enables verification. It's very fast and convenient to use."

A service that allows the use of automatic teller machines through iris scans alone is expected to be commercialized in the near future. But the technology is not limited to iris scans. Various biometric functions that sense veins in the palm, fingerprints and even voices have begun to be applied in personal identification. Once biometric recognition becomes widespread, complex verification certificates will no longer be required. Financial accidents are also expected to decrease. However, biometric information can't be changed in the manner of a password. Therefore, if leaked, the damage could be far greater. Measures are needed to safely manage biometric information and prepare against data leaks.