Tampa company using biometrics to secure computer systems

Fingerprints aren't just for law enforcement anymore. They're also being used to protect corporations from fraud.

With a press or swipe, biometric technology recognizes the user's unique fingerprint, then enables computers to restrict or allow the user access.

Realtime North America, a Tampa-based company, is using the technology to help businesses and government agencies tighten up their computer security.

Realtime's clients include the Polk County School District and the Brevard County government as well as national clients such as Marathon Oil and Purdue Pharma, said Thomas Neudenberger, the company's chief operations officer.

"It generally turns their mindset upside down because we show them something they didn't think was possible," Neudenberger said, referring to the company's biometric-based system marketed under the brand name bioLock.

The system costs about $100,000 installed. Kenneth D. "Pete" Gunn, former director of safety and security for Space Florida, recommended the technology to the Brevard County government.

"The benefit is that the computer administrator can assign by terminal who has access to the information, and they have a recorded database, which shows who has access to data, when they accessed it, for how long and for what purpose," Gunn said. "If there's ever an investigation into who released information, they have a handle on it."

Besides special recognition software, the company recommends a special mouse and keyboard that scans in the user's fingerprint to obtain a match; the technology is then used to restrict the logon or the level of security clearance for various users. The system also keeps track of each user's activities, enabling a corporation to monitor who did what and when.

Neudenberger cited three high-profile corporate fraud cases that could have been prevented with biometric fingerprint technology: The 2001 collapse of energy giant Enron, the 2006 case of a former systems administrator who used a malicious code to steal $3 million from investment house Paine Webber, and a 2008 identity theft case at NASA, which raised questions about government computer security.

Neudenberger said all three crimes exposed a weakness in the traditional use of passwords to protect information. "Over 80 percent of all passwords are written down," he said.

The company believes biometrics is the final frontier in protecting personal and corporate data, a system that can potentially save companies millions in fraud losses. The challenge for now is persuading lawmakers to throw their weight-- and government funding-- behind the technology. Once that happens, Neudenberger sees endless potential.

"Projections for the next five to ten years are tremendous," he said.

To see more about the use of biometrics for computer security, watch News Channel 8 at 11 tonight.