ISL Biometrics signs deal with The Home Office Security Industry Authority

ISL Biometrics – the market leader in the design and manufacture of biometric authentication and application access solutions has been chosen by the Home Office’s newly formed Security Industry Authority (SIA) to provide biometric authentication solutions to enable office and remote workers to gain access to their laptops and PCs.

The SIA has been launched to regulate and licence the private security industry and to raise standards of professionalism and skills within the security industry as well as to promote and spread best practice. The first two pilot start-ups for licensing door supervisors in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight went live on 1 March.

Tim O’Neill – Assistant Director for IT at the SIA said “The pilot scheme has gone extremely well and all 100 staff using the biometrics to access their computers have taken to it very quickly, especially because of its ease of use, reliability and most importantly its security.”

O’Neill continues, “The SIA chose biometric authentication from ISL Biometrics over passwords for a number of reasons including:
– Security, with the technology providing strong authentication, encryption and access control. Plus people don’t have to remember passwords, share them with other staff or family members or need to write them down for fear of forgetting them.
– Cost-savings – we have made large savings on help-desk calls and IT support as people no longer forget their passwords.
– Convenience and ease of use – staff like it because at the touch of their finger, using the fingerprint reader embedded into the Siemens mouse they are logged on.
– Staff acceptance – as this system holds digital images not optical images users are comfortable that it does not infringe on their privacy or the Data Protection Act.
– Accountability – users feel happier because they know that no-one else can access their work or log in under their name. They are therefore, accountable for their own actions.

Derek McDermott – Director of ISL Biometrics said “Biometrics as an identification method is certainly picking up momentum and gaining in popularity as has been seen by the UK passport office and the US Department of Homeland Security. It is encouraging and exciting to see that the SIA a division of the Home Office have embraced this technology and that it is working so well for them.”

ISL Biometrics provide “click-to-enable” authentication with SentriNET v3, which allows biometrics to appear seamless to the user and integrates with legacy applications, web applications, portals and networks as well as remote and physical access systems.

About ISL Biometrics

ISL Biometrics, Ltd. is a market leader in the design and manufacture of biometric security middleware and software appliqués. ISL has developed a range of quality, easy-to-install, easy-to-support biometric security solutions. SentriNET(r) is a biometric-based user authentication schema for Windows(r) or Novell(r) Netware operating system, Web or ODBC compliant providing biometric authentication and verification techniques with options for smart card or USB token authentication (with/without PIN) for workstations, networks, applications or data access control.

SentriNET(r) consists of two elements: workstation software for Microsoft(r) Windows 98, NT, ME, 2000, XP and Novell(r) to extend existing directory services to accept fingerprint and/or other biometric templates. SentriNET is hardware independent and supports leading biometric hardware devices. Unique to SentriNet is avoidance of additional server infrastructure and non-code development savings as salient characteristics. ISL Biometrics supplies to both Government and private sector organisations worldwide.

Security solutions from ISL Biometrics
www.isl-biometrics.com