Answers to Questions about Confirming Identity

The following answers are brief and intended as guidelines only. Student answers may vary with the sources they use.

1.  How did the ancient Romans identify mercenary soldiers to discourage them from running away?

ANS: They tattooed them.

2.   What biometric method was used in ancient China to identify young children?

ANS: Fingerprinting.

3.   What did the Bertillon system measure?

ANS: Bony parts of the body.

4.   What two characteristics of fingerprints have made fingerprinting so popular as a system of identification?

ANS: Immutability of prints (they don’t change with age or other factors) and their uniqueness to the individual.

5.   Which three biometric identifiers are considered the most difficult for someone to falsify?

ANS: Fingerprints, retina characteristics, DNA.

6.   Which two biometric systems are being used by some schools today to identify students paying for school lunches?

ANS: Facial recognition and fingerprinting.

7.   Why is using the iris of the eye as an identifier not always reliable?

ANS: The iris can change if the person has been drinking or taking drugs, is pregnant, or has aged substantially since the original scan.

8.   Why are some people concerned about the use of biometrics to identify ordinary people?

ANS: They fear loss of privacy and freedoms, improper use of the information, and the idea that law-abiding citizens are being identified with systems used to identify criminals.

9.   Based on what you have read, how do you think the use of biometric systems will evolve over the next 20 years?

ANS: Answers will vary but might include that identity cards and other verifiers will probably become prevalent; banks and other institutions might require scans of some kind.