Prologue: U.K. ID round upBiometrics remain a sticking point for U.K. ID plans

Unlike the United States, most countries are fairly comfortable with national identification cards. Yet that does not mean they are any better at mastering the necessary technology. Such is the case in England, where the 2006 Identity Cards Act is in trouble. As reported above, some of the issues involve government planning, but others are technical and are, perhaps, more difficult to resolve. A senior Home Office official last week shed some light on the matter, pointing out that the biometrics component of the new cards remained immature and in need of extensive additional testing. “I’m surprised how little we know about how people interact with this technology,” said Rejman-Greene, appearing on a panel discussion at the Biometrics 2006 show in London. “We don’t have any idea of the right things to do. We need more research about how people confront this technology, especially if the process goes wrong.”

Making biometrics user friendly is one of the industry’s greatest challenges. Users are sensitive both to time and to personal integrity (the latter explains why iris scanning, despite its evident scientific strength, remains unpopular for consumer and citizen-related security) and government planners must be careful not to diminish public enthusiasm lest they resist further measures sight unseen. As an example, Rejman-Greene pointed to the US-VISIT program, which relies on fingerprint scanning and a digital photograph for enrollment. “You have to present your left finger first, but the capture device is on the right — people automatically reach for the right first. When that’s done, people turn away, thinking the job is done. The assistant then has to remind people that a photo needs to be taken,” said Rejman-Greene.

The Home Office is not entirely insensitive to user concerns. In 2004 it conducted a six-month biometrics enrollment study, but that concentrated on customer experience and attitude during biometrics capture rather than ergonomics and usability. “It makes me laugh,” said one critic. “The Government are doing it back to front again. Any normal organization would have found out about the technology, decided what they were going to do, then have a law passed.” Instead, the British government seems to be floundering, with little idea either of what it wants or what the public wants. This is not a good sign, but it is a predictable one. Parochial American take note: your government is not doing much better itself, and it is not even attempting a nationwide identification card. Simply organizing dock workers is a big enough challenge for now.