ABSTRACT
Biometrics is a relatively new area of technology that uses unique and measurable physical, biological, or behavioral traits of people to establish or to verify their identification. Identification and verification are some separate operations. There is a need for biometrics in federal, state, and local governments, in the military, and in commercial applications. Biometrics has been used in the criminal justice system, in US immigration and naturalization services, and in place of passwords or keys for e-commerce. The active biometric requires users to submit to some form of measurement such that they are aware a sample is being taken. This form of biometric would be used more in a verification role, where individuals wish to prove their identity, such as for log-on to a computer network or in making a banking transaction. In contrast, passive biometrics are those that can be sampled without user cooperation or knowledge.
