Silex: Biometrics for Wi-Fi
PC Magazine's Mark Hachman reports that Silex Technology has introduced a biometric attachment for a Wi-Fi router which uses fingerprint identify to secure the network.
The Silex Bio-NetGuard includes a Fujitsu MBF200 fingerprint sensor. Touching the sensor triggers the device, which scans its database of 27,000 fingerprint 'minutiae,' the key points of a fingerprint that uniquely identify it.
"The product is designed to work in a corporate or small-business environment that allows its workers to roam from conference rooms, to cafeterias, and back to their desks, using a Wi-Fi wireless network," Hachman writes. "Forcing users to physically authenticate themselves using the fingerprint reader helps prevent others roaming a campus or business park from accessing the network."
Gary Bradt, Vice President of the biometrics Division at Silex, says, "More and more people are using Wi-Fi networks, but are saying, 'Hey, we don't like having passwords and managing all this ID stuff.' Hence the product."