The Security Week That Was: A Recap - Jan. 6-12, 2007

Biometrics has long been eyed for applications in financial transactions, and one of the ideas has been to use facial recognition at a person's computer to validate them before accessing their financial records. In this day and age of identity theft and network crimes, it sounds like a great idea. But here comes the sound of screeching brakes from a biometric company itself. Identity recognition firm Cogneto's CTO Patrick Audley told Bank Technology magazine in this month's issue that the technology is still 10 to 15 years away due to the prevalence of cheap Internet cameras that use low resolution sensors. Cogneto has reportedly found a way around that technology slow-spot by using the facial recognition it provides as only one component of the user verification process. You'll want to read the article to further understand exactly how they intend to overcome that roadblock.

We close with a look at our most popular stories of the week. From mobile surveillance to a new security fence around a section of rail track, this is what your peers were reading about:

• Going Mobile with Video Surveillance on Chicago's Bus System
• Nine Predictions for What IT Directors Will Be Saying in 2007
• What Security Executives Should Know about Ethics
• High Costs for the TWIC Security Card, But Will It Even Work?
• New Jersey to Build Security Fence Shielding Rail Cars
• Expanding to Home Technologies, Part 2: Being the Right Electronic Systems Contractor