Danish Biometrics is a network founded with the purpose to promote sustainable use of biometrics as ID technology. In first line the target is Danish industry and public service. On sight the Scandinavian countries, Europe and further international markets are the markets for the network. The mission is to bring to the market easy to use biometric products and solutions for migration and integration on an open platform with special concern on privacy.
Biometric is not a new technology but the recent years of enormous research and developement in other countries for commercialising the technology has actualised the necessity for a Danish focus on biometrics. The implementation of an upcoming EU passport with biometric identifiers and the ICAO recommandations has further pushed a Danish initiative forward.
As a starting point biometrics can be defined as the most secure human identification and verification but the technology is not to be seen as ”black magic” without risks of failures and manipulation and it should therefore be part of convenient security structure together with other technologies as for instance PKI, smart cards and RFID among others. Therefore biometrics is not an ultimate but a potential good solution in itself.
A biometric implementation is based on perificals (for instance a fingerprint scanner) a SDK and an existing IT-infrastructure. Biometrics has two very significant advantages as it enables at the same time higher securtiy and convenience. Danish biometrics consider as its primary goal to contribute to the launch of the technology with focus on the latter parameter. A successful deployment is based on an easy migration both in connection to hardware as to existing IT-infrastructure.
Danish Biometrics is aware of the ethical, social and legal aspects of biometrics as an ID technology and these issues are of keen concern of the network.
In a letter October 2005 to the initiators of Danish Biometrics the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomes the establishment of the organisation emphazing that “by research and innovative exploitation of new technologies as biometrics we should strengthen our compositeness and our cohesive energy in society”.
In connection with the founding of Danish Biometrics in January 2006 Mr. Rudolf Strohmeier, Head of Cabinet, European Commission has stated the following:
“The Commission appreciates national initiatives to support the larger scale roll-out of biometric solutions for which the improvement of the technological basis is as important as the due consideration of ethical and social aspects. Therefore, I would like to encourage your consortium to maintain the holistic view to biometrics expressed in your vision document and to establish links to similar intiatives at national or European level. I would like to wish your initiative a successful start”
Danish Biometrics is indeed grateful and encouraged by the kind words from Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Mr. Rudolf Strohmeier.
Danish Biometrics has 54 members consisting of consultancies, engineering companies, IT integrators, technology providers, government agencies, universities, research and technology institutions, professional bodies as well as public and private end-user organisations and corporations being one of the biggest biometric networks in Europe (stand: April 2012).
Selected blog posts, a substantial amount of web feeds, audio and video podcasts and also information under videncenter (Knowledge Center) are in English.
