Page 22 - Security Today, March 2019

The Future Looks
a Lot Like You and Me
The rise of facial recognition is making us safer BSy Denis Petrov
ecurity and its technologies are, of course, ever-evolv- ing. From simple photo IDs of the past to 2D bar- codes and the now ubiquitous use of video cameras, businesses, schools and venues are constantly looking for better ways to protect people and property.
As with most things in life, the more sophisticated the systems, the greater the cost, which can keep better security beyond the reach of many organizations. That’s why new evolutions in facial recognition technology offer so much promise in allowing a wider range of busi- nesses and institutions to simply and easily enhance security with the most unique identifier this side of our fingerprints—the human face.
Today, I’m proud to say facial recognition is becoming increasing- ly accessible to organizations of all sizes, requiring only a video cam- era and a few lines of code. Through computer vision and machine learning, the technology can recognize and measure people in any video, image, or photo. Its uses are both practical and game-chang- ing, allowing organizations to scan the faces of those on or near their properties to spot potential threats and to verify individuals’ identi- ties. The benefits of facial recognition to highly-secure facilities are fairly obvious, but now that it’s more accessible, this technology has far reaching, practical uses for virtually any type of business, like re-
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tailers, clubs, hotels, entertainment venues, and casinos.
We all know fraud and identity theft are major problems respon- sible for millions of dollars lost and countless horror stories. Lexis- Nexis’ 2017 True Cost of Fraud report estimates the total amount of loss a merchant incurs, based on the actual dollar value of a fraud- ulent transaction, is up to $2.77 from the previous year’s figure of $2.40. Furthermore, the report notes that the volume of fraud has been on the rise in both successful and prevented fraudulent transac- tions. Also noted in the report is limited merchant access to fraud-
fighting solutions.
I’ve spent my entire career pioneering solutions to prevent identity
fraud, and have been inspired to make facial recognition more widely accessible to businesses and organizations of all types. Facial recog- nition means more secure environments in the places where we live, work, shop, and visit. Now, more than ever, facial recognition tech- nology is being used for access control and visitor management. A camera reads visitors’ faces as they approach an access control point, such as an automated door or reception desk. The person’s facial fea- tures are then validated against biometric data previously loaded into the system to ensure the person has authorization to enter.
This same system can also streamline visitor check in at office
BIOMETRICS
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