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HandReaders provide faster employee throughput

IR Recognition Systems recently announced that Digex, a leading fully managed Web and applications hosting service, uses the company's HandReaders to access offices and rooms at its locations in California, England and company headquarters in Maryland, USA. HandReaders positively authenticate users by the shape and size of their hands, not their keys, cards or codes.

"Hand geometry is the best biometric solution for our needs," explains Digex director of security, James Callahan. "As a managed hosting company, it is important that our clients know that their information is secure both logically and physically. We need to provide a high level of assurance that people are who they claim to be.

"We must prevent unauthorised access to hardware and critical information.

"We also need flexible, fast authentication with a biometric that handles a large population without holdups," Callahan adds. "It is important to get employees quickly in and out. According to my research, approximately 4% of the population cannot use fingerprint technology because of dry skin. Others have excessive moisture in their fingers which makes finger scans impractical for large populations. If you have 1000 people to push through a day, you cannot afford to create a work-around for the 40 who cannot get through. Iris is accurate but too slow. We need to get our people through in a reasonable amount of time."

According to Callahan, security at Digex is compartmentalised. They use a single enroll, single location, TCP/IP protocol. IR Recognition Systems' HandNet software integrates the HandReaders with other access control systems. At Digex, HandReaders are used at the front doors and stationed in critical portions of the data centres, often layered two and three deep, allowing some authorised people into one room but not adjoining second and third rooms.

"The HandReaders also give us a 'Fort Knox' attitude," explains Callahan. "This attitude is not only conveyed to clients but to employees as well. This mind-set puts our employees more on guard and generates a heightened state of alert."

Oracle Surveillance Systems implemented the biometric system at Digex. According to Inc. magazine, the video/access control system integrator is one of the nation's fastest growing private businesses.

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