Americans will give biometrics to prevent ID theft
21 October, 2009
category: Biometrics
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. citizens are concerned about identity theft and 58% of Americas would be willing to provide biometric data to protect that identity, according to the latest Unisys Security Index report.
Of that 58% of consumers, 93% would be willing to use fingerprint scans, while 79% are willing to use iris recognition.
“Interestingly, Americans are willing to provide biometric data for identity verification, but we are not seeing the widespread use of biometrics in daily transactions with governments, financial or retail institutions, ” said Mark Cohn, vice president of enterprise security, Unisys. “Adoption of interoperable identity management systems and an investment in shared infrastructure would hasten widespread use of biometrics, taking advantage of the technology that’s available today and the public’s growing acceptance of biometrics. “
The report also shows that American don’t trust the government with personal information. Only 22 percent fully trust government agencies to keep personal information secure and private, and only 29% trust financial institutions such as banks.