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Fingerprint protected memory stick: news.com

Fri, 10/22/2004 - 05:06 — charlie.collins

This is pretty neat and I had not heard of such a device before (obviously not that I was looking). It turns out that both Sony and Lexar sell USB memory sticks that protect the data and are only unlocked when the correct fingerprint is applied. Sony calls theirs Micro Vault and Lexar calls theirs JumpDrive TouchGuard. Just a pretty cool concept to have biometrics in such a small and portable device. Its just a first step, as are the fingerprint devices you can buy as an input device, but maybe soon we will have real security in important areas such as financial transactions and personal information (not just a signature or a social security number, neither is even close to authenticating anything). For more see the linked news.com article.   Memory stick turns fingerprints into passwords

Comments

Fri, 10/22/2004 - 06:53 — Phil McKrackin (not verified)

RE: Fingerprint protected memory stick: news.com

Perhaps most important for this board... are there Linux drivers for them? Microsoft has changed the way fingerprint devices interface with the OS to make it easier for third-parties to plug directly into an API (rather than having to build their own hardware/driver/software/plug-in/provider-chain compatible interface). Is there any chance we'll see this same thing pop-up in any Linux distros?

Fri, 10/22/2004 - 08:17 — atrox (not verified)

RE: Fingerprint protected memory stick: news.com

Well linux has excellent USB support. I would hope (though I do not know) that the software to recognize the print and encrypt/decrypt is ON THE DEVICE and no other drivers or any other nonsense other than USB support is required. I could be wrong but if this is not how these things operate (independent of the OS and any other software) then they are nowhere near as useful or valuable.

Fri, 10/22/2004 - 08:22 — anonymous (not verified)

RE: Fingerprint protected memory stick: news.com

I am not sure about the encrypt and biometrics part, but again I would guess thats just a built in on the device.

As to Linux and USB Flash Drives, yeah, its just a matter of USB in Linux and that works fine. You have to have a mount point and usb module in place and so on (as this article details Using a USB flash drive with Linux) but after that its just USB.

As to whether or not Linux will have an API independent of these devices to allow OTHER software to use such Biometrics, well thats a good question, dont have a clue.

Sat, 10/23/2004 - 01:31 — jeepmutt (not verified)

RE: Fingerprint protected memory stick: news.com

Actually, according to the product's documentation, they both are Windows only.

The Lexar one only lists Windows. The Sony says MacOS 9.0 and higher, but no password or fingerprint.

Sat, 10/23/2004 - 06:59 — atrox (not verified)

RE: Fingerprint protected memory stick: news.com

well if its not in the device then frankly thats stupid (although yes i realize it represents quite a few challenges, thats why i thought it was pretty cool). it the software to protect the data requires windows, or really any other outside anything, then its useless because this could be protected by any other similar input device that can be put in front of ANY data, USB flash or not. not nearly as neat as I originally thought it was. hell if i buy any fingerprint io device (which are available) i cant make a floppy drive "protected" in the same manner.

Mon, 10/25/2004 - 06:43 — Phil McKrackin (not verified)

RE: Fingerprint protected memory stick: news.com

I agree, inside the device would be optimal. Microsoft made a good decision by taking the burden off of the hardware manufacturers by letting them plug into their API. Previous to this API, vendors had to do all of the work, which is why the cost of the devices had come down so far so quickly. Five years or so ago, I paid close to $500 for a simple tumbprint reader.

More info: http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0%2Caid%2C68184%2C00.asp

Like I said, the question is... will the Linux distros follow suit? Yes, they have very good USB support, but this requires a bit more.

Mon, 02/07/2005 - 03:06 — mr. dinesh patrikar (not verified)

RE: Fingerprint protected memory stick: news.com

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Thu, 10/05/2006 - 10:59 — anonymous (not verified)

RE: Fingerprint protected memory stick: news.com

So, can't someone implement the API in mono to appease the proprietary software and do the authentication with native Linux?

Or is the universality of C Octothorpe just another marketing myth?

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