Biometrics for Canadian passport office doesn't pass muster

The Canadian passport office commissioned a report to investigate the feasiblity of biometric facial recognition to spot nasty folks in the password application process. Apparently, the technology is not mature enough to implement:

Facial-scan technology unproven, says internal report on biometrics:

"Facial-scan technology unproven, says internal report on biometrics

Jim Bronskill

Canadian Press

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

OTTAWA (CP) - An internal federal report raises questions about the effectiveness of electronic photo-matching technology, a technique the Passport Office plans to use in an effort to prevent terrorists from obtaining travel documents.

The office recently tested a computer program that compares an image of a face with thousands of other mugshot-style photos and zeroes in on possible matches.

The government report, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, says while a digital system has the potential to sift through large batches of pictures and return likely matches, "its suitability for this purpose remains uncertain...."