Back in May, Delta announced that it would test allowing a subgroup of passengers to access its Sky Club lounge at Reagan National Airport using only a fingerprint. That test was apparently successful, and now the airline will begin allowing that same group of passengers to actually board the aircraft using their fingerprint instead of a boarding pass. [More]
fingerprints
Delta Tests Replacing Boarding Passes With Fingerprints For Lounge Access
By 5.31.17
While it’s trying facial recognition automated baggage drops in Minneapolis, Delta Airlines has implemented another form of biometric identification at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Ultimately, the airline plans to let passengers use their fingerprints in place of boarding passes to check in, check bags, and board their flights. [More]
Researchers Say Your Phone’s Fingerprint Scanner Is Easily Fooled
By 4.12.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
The more intertwined technology becomes in our daily lives, the more important it is to safeguard all that information we keep on our devices. One way smartphone manufacturers have developed to do that is fingerprint scanning, as no two prints are identical. But a new study suggests that system might not be as secure as you think. [More]
China Now Taking Fingerprints Of All Foreign Visitors
By 2.9.17
Heading to China soon? Be prepared to have your fingerprints taken when you arrive, as part of the country’s efforts to boost security at its borders. [More]
Court Rules That Police Can Force You To Tell Them Your Phone’s Passcode
By 12.13.16
Smartphones have taken over our lives faster than the law is able to deal with. For a few years now, it’s been kind of an open legal question whether or not law enforcement can force you to provide them with the password or PIN you use to unlock your phone. A few previous courts have ruled no, that having to provide your passcode is tantamount to self-incriminating testimony. But recently, an appeals court in Florida has found the other way. [More]
Feds Use Search Warrant To Make Everyone In Building Unlock Their Phones
By 10.19.16
If the cops show up with a search warrant, well, you expect they can search the premises. But showing up with a warrant that says every single person on a certain property has to unlock their fingerprint-reading phones and present them for search, too? That’s… pretty surprising. And yet, it turns out, earlier this year, that’s what happened in California. [More]
Flaw In Android Device Sensor Leaves Users’ Fingerprints Vulnerable To Theft
By 8.6.15
Using your fingerprint to open your phone may be convenient but it could also pose a security risk. That’s according to security researchers who discovered a way to breach Android devices to steal the unique prints. [More]
Can Police Force You To Unlock Your Phone With Fingerprint?
By 11.5.14
While the Supreme Court recently made it very clear that police can’t look at the contents of a suspect’s phone without a warrant, what remains unresolved is whether or not authorities with a warrant can then compel a suspect to unlock his/her phone. And does it make a difference if that unlocking involves a fingerprint instead of a passcode? [More]
Alaska Airlines Testing Fingerprint Scanning For Members-Only Club Access
By 10.13.14
Things are getting a bit more personal at Alaska Airlines. Travelers can now enter the airline’s member-only lounge by scanning their fingerprints rather than showing identification. [More]
GameStop Bonus: Trade In Video Game, Get Your Fingerprints Uploaded To National Database For Free
By 8.1.14
Trading in an old video game isn’t that complicated. Once you finally figure out what you did with the box (it’s under the old coffee mug) and get the cat hair off the disc and put the two together, it’s just a matter of bringing it down to your local GameStop and getting your pennies back so you can buy another game. But in one city, GameStop now won’t just collect your old games — they collect your fingerprints along with them, too. [More]
24 Hour Fitness Rolling Out Fingerprint-Based ID Entry System
By 8.13.10
Gym chain 24 Hour Fitness is getting some attention for a new program that uses members’ fingerprints to replace the gym’s existing photo ID system. [More]
Bank Of America Asks Armless Man For Thumbprint
By 9.1.09
A Florida man was unable to cash a Bank of America check because the bank required a thumbprint, and he had no arms.
Would You Buy Groceries With A Fingerprint?
By 7.25.07
Jewel-Osco, a Midwest supermarket, introduced a biometric payment system. After signing up and associating your fingerprint with your credit card, you can buy groceries just by pushing your finger on a reader at checkout and entering your “search number.”
