Report - Guardian

178 The LSE Identity Project Report: June 2005may be larger than the outlier population. Not all blind and visually impaired peoplewill be unable to use iris recognition technology. Indeed it is quite possible that mostpeople will interface with iris recognition, though perhaps with varying degrees ofdifficulty. Such situations will be covered elsewhere in this report.Research findings and medical literature indicate significant potential problems forblind and visually impaired people when using iris recognition systems.A 2002 technology assessment report by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO)highlighted a number of problems with the accuracy of iris recognition. 438 Whileacknowledging that the mathematics of the technique appeared sound, the enrolmentand verification elements of iris recognition were far from perfect. The Failure To EnrolRate was around half a percent, while the False Non Match Rate ranged from 1.9 to 6percent. This means that around 1:200 of the research population could not enrol, whilea further 1:18 to 1:50 could not match their enrolled iris.It is unclear how much of this failure was due to the inability of visually impairedpeople to interface with the technology, however the report does acknowledge that iristechnology can be hindered by poor eyesight. It also states that people without glasseshave a lower FNMR than people wearing glasses. Importantly, the report – one of themost substantial yet published – warns:“People with glaucoma or cataracts may not be reliably identified byiris recognition systems.” 439Biometrics researchers – and the industry itself - generally acknowledge the limitationsof iris technology for blind and visually impaired people. A report published in the FBILaw Enforcement Journal observed:“Although the theory requires additional research, some evidencesuggests that patterns in the eye may change over time because ofillness or injury. Therefore, eye identification systems may not workfor blind people or individuals with eye damage.” 440This view is reflected in various studies and reports. One industry report states:“Subjects who are blind or who have cataracts can also pose achallenge to iris recognition as there is difficulty in reading theiris.” 441A report for the European Commission observes:438 U.S. General Accounting Office, Using Biometrics for Border Security, Washington DC, 2002,http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03174.pdf.439 ibid p.73.440 Stephen Coleman, Biometrics: solving cases of mistaken identity and more. Source: FBI Law EnforcementBulletin v.69 no.6 (June 2000), p. 9-16, ISSN: 0014-5688 Number: BSSI00019069,http://www.nesbary.com/class/621w02/articles/coleman.htm.441 Penny Khaw, Iris recognition technology for improved authentication, SANS Institute, 2002http://www.sans.org/rr/papers/6/132.pdf.