In true testament of innovative banking solutions, Cairo Amman Bank recently announced the integration of iris-recognition technology into its services. Supplied and supported by IrisGuard Inc., this biometric technology is likely to cause waves across both national and international landscapes. Zaina Steityeh sat down with Imad Malhas, CEO of IrisGuard Inc., to discuss the benefits, intricacies and future of applying iris-recognition technology to the banking sector through its latest iBank® Suite.

A typical morning scene for many persons probably involves dashing around the house for office keys, house keys, car keys and the wallet, currently the all-encompassing identity carrier, with ID cards, bank, check and credit cards, all wedged neatly into specially designed perforated slits. However, according to some biometric scientists and technology geeks, this chaotic process may all undergo a major change - and soon. While losing your wallet, with all that it contains, may prove to be your worst nightmare, there may soon come a time when this will be proven redundant, as various parts of your own body are used to distinguish you from the masses. The latter, scientifically known as biometric technology, has recently taken the world by storm, aided significantly by a whole range of Hollywood spy flicks. While traditionally fingerprints, facial recognition and DNA-matching still top the list in terms of popularity, a relatively new method is afoot. Iris-recognition technology, the science, art and genius of identifying individuals through the mesh-like muscles of their irises, has been widely deemed the “most accurate of all biometrics” and it has taken the world, and Jordan, by storm.

Earlier this year, a manifest of brave innovation came to light as Cairo Amman Bank (CAB), one of the Kingdom’s leading financial powerhouses, announced the integration of iris-recognition technologies into their product mix. The technology, supplied and supported by IrisGuard Inc., a leading iris-recognition software and hardware provider based in the UK and led by Jordanian CEO Imad Malhas, is to be integrated into the bank’s 54 branches, 190 ATM points and 96 points of sale throughout Jordan and the West Bank. The announcement, which posited CAB as the first bank in the world to have committed to a full roll-out of iris-recognition services, sparked the attention of world media, including Business Week, the BBC and National Geographic, and is sure to have raised the eyebrows of many businessmen, bankers and liberalist civil activists alike.

Biometric Beginnings
Currently, and as is commonly accepted, identity and its verification are based on one of two options: possessing identity authentication evidence, including a person’s ID, key or passport, or the possessing of unique knowledge in way of a password, number combination or secret answer. However, with an increasingly complex, insecure and faster world, scientists and technology experts have beckoned in a new era of identity conventions - one where a person’s identity is closely and intricately bound to their very own body.

Iris-recognition technology, one branch of the science generally known as biometrics, has since been applied to a wide spectrum of functions, including border and airport control access points, immigration control, as well as time and attendance applications and now, for the first time in Jordan and the world, in accessing and carrying out banking transactions.

“Our mission, at IrisGuard, is to find people in under two or three seconds. Seeing as iris recognition has been widely regarded as the most accurate and fastest biometric method in use today, it is where we decided to focus,” says Imad Malhas, the international company’s CEO. “We regard ourselves as iris specialists. When we started with iris recognition, it was no more than a laboratory experiment, and mostly used to open doors, where a wall-mounted camera would capture an image of a person’s iris and allow or reject his entry,” he explains. “We latched onto this concept and expanded on it, thereby advancing it from the lab and applying it on a larger scale. Metaphorically, we viewed a country as a building, with doors and windows in place of national border points,” Malhas continues, before contextualizing the conversation with IrisGuard’s background in border control and immigration.

IrisGuard’s award-winning flagship product, Iris Expellee Tracking System®, based on the company’s Iris Farm Architecture® (IFA), stands as the world’s largest national deployment of iris-recognition technology at national border checkpoints and immigration-control desks across the United Arab Emirates (UAE). So far, a total of 185 specially-designed iris cameras have been installed in all of the UAE’s land, air and sea ports of entry; a crucial undertaking for a nation, which, for all intents and purposes, is commonly exposed to the entry of unwanted foreigners. “More perhaps than any other country in the region, the UAE has a very specific and difficult challenge when it comes to patrolling its immigration procedures,” Malhas suggests.

The Jordanian CEO points to the fact that about 80% of those residing in the Emirates are foreign nationals and, in its bid to posit itself as an attractive haven for businesses and foreign investments, the UAE has relied heavily on characteristics pertaining to easy entry. “For example, as part of its ticket-issuing service, Emirates Airlines issues visas to passengers wanting to enter Dubai. Also, Gulf Cooperation Council citizens and nationals of countries enjoying visa-waiver programs complicate matters even further when it comes to the country’s permeability,” he explains. “Moreover, the country’s standard method for keeping unwanted individuals out using conventional database searches based on a name is somewhat limited. Essentially, if an unfavorable person were to be expelled or deported from the country, change his name and [attempt to] re-enter the country, be it the UAE or any other nation, the conventional systems will most likely fail,” he adds.

“In 2001, IrisGuard piloted its flagship iris-recognition application for nearly 18 months before the UAE government, spearheaded by His Highness Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed, the minister of interior, adopted it formally,” Malhas recalls. “At the country’s 27 deportation centers, our iris cameras were able to take photographic pictures of the deportees’ irises and attribute to each a unique iris code.

Thereafter, immigration officials merely have to check anyone applying for a new visitor’s visa, where an unwanted individual attempting to re-enter the country is scanned by the iris camera and rejected accordingly at any border point,” Malhas tells Jordan Business.

Marketing itself as the “most effective border control system in the world,” the UAE’s Iris System has impressive statistics to bolster its claims. Since the beginning of IrisGuard’s operations in the UAE, the Iris database has accumulated over 1,507,507 entries, registered over 160 nationalities, searched over 16,625,725 individuals and caught close to 235,522 unwanted entrants. The UAE project also won the Abu Dhabi Award for Technical Excellence, undoubtedly lending IrisGuard even more credibility as experts in the field of iris technologies.

“I expect the next country to implement this application will be Jordan,” Malhas responds when asked if local authorities had been approached. “While Jordan has different geographic realities and mounting security challenges, various security agencies will, in one way or another, benefit from the technology IrisGuard has to offer in this field,” Malhas says, with his own eyes giving away a true glint of the optimism he claims. “IrisGuard believes that the heart of all evil lays in identity concealment. Our job, first and foremost, is to find people, whether they want to be found or not,” he concludes.

As Unique As A Snowflake
Perhaps the most prudent starting block in explaining the intricacies and technicalities associated with iris-recognition technology lies within the iris itself. In way of a scientific primer, Malhas explains that the formation of the iris is at random, rather than genetically determined. In a process called chaotic morphogenesis that occurs during the sixth month of gestation, the eyes, as they revolve outwardly, cause random tearing of the involuntary muscles making up the iris. This process causes unique patterns to emerge, which differ even between the left and right irises of the same individual, including identical twins. “The involuntary muscles making up the iris have the sole purpose of holding the eye’s pupil in place and determining its dilation. It cannot be controlled at will and it is the only internal organ that is visible on the outside,” the informed businessman asserts. Indeed, worldwide estimates suggest that the probability of two irises coming up identical is a minute 1 in 10 to the power of 78.

Malhas is also quick to point to other characteristics that arguably make the iris the most unique part of an individual’s biology. “There is no surgery or disease that can affect or change the shape of the iris in any significant way. What’s more, our iris cameras are able to detect when a person is using contact lenses, and [even] sunglasses also prove to be an ineffective disguise,” he says triumphantly. Moreover, as the executive points out, after the age of 18 months, the iris is not only stable, but it is also protected  from external elements and well preserved due to the presence of the cornea.

A state-of-the-art iris camera, the first in IrisGuard’s arsenal, which looks roughly like those handheld police-speeding cameras, takes a photographic image of a person’s eye - more specifically, the concentric circles forming its boundaries and pupil - from about 15 to 25 centimeters away. Subsequently, an iris-recognition algorithm, in the form of complex mathematical computations, generates a one-way hash known as an iris template, which is specific to each iris. After “enrolling” the iris template, it can be compared to previously-enrolled templates in IrisGuard’s database, leading to a positive or negative match. The company has also pioneered the Iris Farm Architecture (IFA), which allows its technologies to be used by an unlimited number of clients simultaneously. By splitting the pre-registered iris templates into three equally-split engines, multiple searches from an unlimited number of clients can occur simultaneously, with the same accuracy and sustained speed.

“We’ve collaborated, over the years, with Professor John Daugman, OBE, of Cambridge University, widely-regarded as the grandfather of iris-recognition technology. His patent expired in 2005, and since then, many other players have been looking into the science and coming up with their own algorithms to generate and match iris templates,” explains a near-ecstatic Malhas. “We have been working with EPFL in Switzerland, Bath University in the United Kingdom, Deloitte, and the Chinese Academy of Science, as well as with the International Biometric Group located in the US. These are all internationally-recognized companies  and research centers that conduct iris-recognition research and development within [a] laboratory environment; it looks very different when you go into the field,” he continues.

IrisGuard Inc., explains its CEO, is an international company with offices in the UK, Switzerland, the UAE and Jordan. “We’re an end-to-end iris solution provider; we manufacture the front-end cameras, the bank-end iris recognition servers and provide the middleware too, in what is called the application programmer interface (API) that ties it all together,” Malhas enthusiastically explains. “The latter enables programmers to benefit from our technology without having to know the ins of its actual science. CAB, for example, doesn’t have to become an iris expert to integrate iris-recognition technology into its operations. They, utilizing our APIs, have managed to integrate everything related to iris recognition into their banking applicationd effortlessly,” he adds.

The company’s first single-lens camera, the IG-H100, misleadingly only weighs around 750 grams, but is loaded with the technology needed to power the above endeavor. While usually mounted on a tripod, the camera can also be handheld, or wall-mounted, allowing for different functionalities. “That was yesterday’s technology. Our new camera, the IG-AD100 can capture both irises at the same time. This is the new generation of iris cameras, and is expected to take over the world leadership position from the H100,” Malhas asserts. “It has a natural ergonomic shape, with one lens for the face and two lenses to capture both irises simultaneously. It also features a microphone a person can speak into, as well as big, wide speakers, and a display area with function buttons. All in all, it is a more dynamic piece of equipment, facilitating two-way communication, while, at the same time, producing the world’s most pristine iris images,” he continues.

Moreover, the executive tells Jordan Business that while it initially incorporated Sony lenses into its first-generation cameras, IrisGuard now designs and manufactures its own lenses, using three elements of the highest quality glass to capture the top-quality images needed for national iris deployments.  

Making A Case For Iris
In justifying the use of iris-recognition technology as the most suitable to high through-put applications that require speed, accuracy and efficiency, as exemplified by immigration controls at airports, borders or ATMs, Malhas is quick to validate his convictions. As aforementioned, the physiology of an iris extends characteristics of universality, meaning each person has one, uniqueness, permanence, collectability, and performance. The latter refers to the accuracy, speed and robustness of the technology in use, which, according to IrisGuard’s CEO, is a target the company has achieved. “Iris recognition’s accuracy, coupled with the speed at which it can be implemented, and our versatile, flexible and sturdy platform applications, posit iris recognition as the ideal biometric identity verification method in the world today,” Malhas says confidently. “It is extraordinarily fast; we’re currently clocking 580,000 transactions per second with a single Iris Engine, thus allowing us to give massively-scalable sustained performance suitable for mass transit points that cater to thousands of people every day,” he adds. “Furthermore, it’s non-invasive and doesn’t require human contact, dispelling anxieties over hygiene. Lastly and very significantly, it’s extremely safe. Indeed, there are considerably less emissions from any of our cameras when compared to the light bulb on the ceiling of your room,” Malhas says reassuringly.

A 2001 study, entitled Biometric Product Testing (Mansfield, T. et al), released by the UK’s National Physics Laboratory (NPL), ran comparative tests on the applications and viability of using various methods of biometric identification. Regardless of the biometric method used, a probability exists that the system incorrectly declares a false reject rate (FRR) resulting from a failure to match between a recognition pattern and an enrolled template in the corresponding database. Similarly, the system may also register a false accept rate (FAR), a situation that transpires when an unwarranted match is reported. “Both FRR and FAR are regarded as the menaces of biometrics due to the trade-off that exists between them. If you want to make the technology less likely to produce a false accept rate, then it will inadvertently increase the false reject rates and vice versa,” Malhas explains. “However, the NPL study shows, quite distinctly, that iris-recognition technology is far and beyond the most reliable of all biometrics with regard to seperating both,” the CEO adds.  

Bank By Iris
“There are two main reasons for adopting iris-recognition technology within banking operations,” says Kamal Bakri, general manager (GM) of CAB, now standing as the manifestation of banking innovation.

“Banking is considered a high-risk operation and these risks, including human errors, security breaches and operational risks that need to be calculated and minimized,” the bank’s GM points out. “This is definitely an area in which iris-recognition technology can be used to minimize the risks of day-to-day banking,” he adds. Moreover, the manager seems to be acutely aware of the fact that CAB, like other banks operating within the Kingdom today, has an extremely dispersed market share within an uncannily saturated market. “From another perspective, most banks [in Jordan] have the same product packages, with marginal variations existing across, for example, corporate loans, personal loans, financial planning packages and other financial services,” he explains. “Banks are thus forced to distinguish themselves in the services they provide. If a bank is able to utilize technology to increase the level and quality of its services, then I believe it can set itself apart, and this is exactly what CAB has tried to accomplish,” Bakri asserts.

Indeed, the adoption of IrisGuard technology has come in line with the bank’s re-branding campaign, which was launched in the last quarter of 2007. “We’ve redesigned our branches, our logo and created a new corporate identity. Adopting high-tech service applications is an integral part of CAB’s new [corporate] identity, and I expect, within the next two months, that 13 branches will be equipped with IrisGuard cameras,” adds Bakri. “Every renovated or new branch is going to be integrated with IrisGuard technology, and within the next three years, I hope to have all our branches, points of sale and ATMs across the Kingdom and the West Bank fitted with iris cameras,” he states.

“After garnering over six years of experience of practical implementation of iris-recognition technology through the world’s largest national deployment in the UAE, IrisGuard developed an alternative proposition. We decided to integrate the technology into the civilian model of daily life, using iris recognition for customer identification at ATMs, bank branches and home-Internet banking,” says Malhas, in reference to the diversification from a homeland security focus to more commercial endeavors. “The technology really has been tried and tested, and under tougher environments than those presented by the banking sector. We can sustain a response time and ensure the same level of accuracy in both scenarios,” Malhas continues. “Indeed, it’s easier to implement iris-recognition technology onto banking operations, merely due to the fact that when a customer walks up to an iris camera, he wants to be ‘positively’ identified. This isn’t the case at border controls, where the point of the exercise for some people is to elude positive identification,” concludes the animated CEO.  

Say Cheese
“It’s not a new invention, but rather the utilization of it, along with integrating it with existing banking technologies - therein lies the innovation,” says Bakri. IrisGuard cameras are being fitted at teller desks or mounted within CAB’s ATM machines, affording CAB clients the option of using iris recognition to access their bank accounts and perform daily banking activities without the use of a card or entering personal identification numbers (PIN) numbers.

“After the camera captures the image of a client’s iris, the iris template is encrypted, and goes across telecommunication lines to the bank’s server till it finds a match and a corresponding bank-account number,” Bakri explains. “The multi-level encryptions mean the entire process is totally secure using state-of-the-art hardware and software-encryption technology, and customers need not fret over the prospect of security breaches,” he added.

“Typically, it’s very hard for a person to lose his iris,” says Malhas jokingly. “The iris is a muscle. When the eye is dead, it relaxes totally, which means you have a fully-dilated pupil. This means that no one can acquire your iris when you’re dead, and, therefore, your identity, as Hollywood spinners have suggested,” he says, also with a hint of humor. “The entire process is much more convenient than traditional card and PIN conventions in that you don’t have to remember a PIN number, your ATM card or your ID card,” he continues. “In my opinion, the use of biometrics, and especially iris technology, actually protects customers’ privacy, as the iris template allows bank clients to interact anonymously, with only the central log knowing their identity,” Malhas says, although the argument presented may yet very well be rejected by civil-liberty activists.

The technology also leads to a direct reduction in the amount of time taken to process a client, especially from the teller’s point of view, or in-branch banking processes. “It’s a win-win situation for both the bank and the client,” Malhas remarks. “Increasing throughput by reducing the amount taken per transaction lies both within the client’s interest for expediency, and the bank’s interest for higher customer turnover,” he adds. Bakri supports Malhas’ assertion, and adds that integrating IrisGuard’s technology into their operating mix has meant that the amount of time taken to process a client’s banking request has gone down from an average of 10 minutes to an average of no more than two. “By using iris cameras to accurately identify the customer and link the teller to the customer’s bank account automatically, we’ve bypassed the need for ID cards and other variables, including a client forgetting his identity card, identity fraud or not knowing his account number,” explains CAB’s GM. “There is no doubt that the person standing in front of the iris camera is the owner of the bank account tagged onto the iris template. It also adds a personal touch to the entire process, as the teller is able to address a client by his name first, rather than ask for his account number first,” Bakri continues.

Laying The Groundwork
“IrisGuard cannot be the jack of all trades,” remarks Malhas. “Banking companies have their own banking software, as do security and healthcare companies, for example. We are the iris experts, so our job is to offer our technology to our clients, packed in a way that allows them to be the expert. This is what we call iris-enabling,” he explains. “We give them the application programmers’ interface that is very simple to use and complements their traditional software seamlessly. We work through these partnerships.” With CAB, for example, IrisGuard is working with a number of vendors, including CR2, a global provider of BankWorld ATM, as well as with Diebold and NCR, both also world-leaders in ATM hardware manufacturing.    

As with the national security program deployed in the UAE, a key stage in integrating iris-recognition software lies in the enrolment of irises. In the case of CAB, this involves the registration of all clients opting to use IrisGuard’s cameras. “Enrolment is a crucial part of the overall process. From now on, when a customer comes to the bank to open an account, a customer-service representative will perform the enrolment process by having the client look into an IrisGuard camera, thereby creating a unique iris template,” Bakri explains. “As is standard operating procedure for new accounts, the client’s identification will also be verified through other supporting documentation before the client is accepted into the system. Crucially, this allows the bank to remain compatible with Basel II, as it yields to the Know Your Customer (KYC) parameter,” says Bakri, obviously proud of the bank’s recent achievements.

The bank’s GM projects that enrolling pre-existing customers will take up to three years, and stresses that the use of the traditional card and PIN number model will not be eliminated and will remain an option. Malhas, on the other hand, believes that in the very near future, that option will prove to be redundant as “everyone will appreciate going to the ATM without having to remember their cards and PIN numbers. Other banks have been very receptive to the idea, and we’re currently preparing ourselves logistically for a major expansion. We’re making history here,” he says victoriously.

Displaying a very healthy appetite for big aspirations, Malhas seems ready to put the carriage before the horse. “In the very near future, we are going to approach a major retailer within the Kingdom and give them about 40 to 50 cameras, marked for Cairo Amman Bank Customers Only. This will allow CAB customers to pay for their groceries and purchases through the use of iris cameras, and I think everyone will then want a piece of the pie!” he says effervescently. The Jordanian CEO appears very aware of the uphill battle with switch providers and routing mechanisms that will have to be negotiated prior to these big dreams of paying through the “eye.”

“You need to distinguish who you are from what your transactions are. Your iris template can link you up to your individual account, your joint account or one of your several corporate accounts. It’s the way of the future,” the CEO contends. “IrisGuard is providing people with a unique and universal iris template within the confinements of their own bank that can be used to recognize them from anywhere in the world if they opt to do so,” he says. Malhas envisions that iris technology, not too far into the future, will be used to combat healthcare fraud, to create regional security databases, and in social welfare distribution and humanitarian system.  “This is the future of iris technology. Soon we’re going into people’s homes, so they can use iris recognition for home-Internet banking and other e-commerce services. This will remove the need for user names and passwords. It’s a major challenge, but we’re looking forward to it,” he says, concluding his interview with Jordan Business.

Eyeing Up the Future
While iris-recognition software has been implemented in airports around the world for some time now, such as in Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport that implemented the technology back in 2001, IrisGuard’s deployment in the UAE stands as the largest national use of the technology in the world to date. Moreover, banks in Australia and the United Kingdom have also toyed with the idea of integrating iris-recognition technologies into their banking processes, but none have opted to adopt it for wide-scale use across their entire branch network as CAB has just announced. While the reasons for this may rest in the burgeoning cost of the technology, which is now decreasing due to patent expirations, other reasons come to mind.

Although Hollywood has a knack for hyperbolic sensationalism and pushing the limits of reason and rationality, not many will forget scenes from the movie Minority Report, which portrayed a world where traveling undetected is an impossible feat due to the presence of iris recognition cameras at the entrance of each building. While the rest of the movie is subject to imaginative interpretations, one thing is certain: the implementation of iris-recognition technology will bring on inadvertent and unexpected challenges. The potential encroachment on civil liberties is a definite assumption to make, but the challenges ahead lie on both governments and manufacturers alike. Manufactures of the technology must ensure that databases will not be shared by any other organizations, with governments backing the effort through legislation to that effect. Moreover, standards for iris recognition, and its applications in the banking sector, will have to be agreed on in a process that is likely to require much negotiation over long stretches of time. One thing is for certain, it will be a lot easier to launch biometric-identification methods, including iris recognition, in a region with a relatively low understanding, tolerance and concern for privacy laws and social liberties.

The vast potential for the application and utilization of iris-recognition technology are as limitless as the CEO of IrisGuard stresses time and again. One thing that cannot be doubted, especially from the flurry of media attention, including documentaries by National Geographic and the BBC, iris-recognition applications through CAB and IrisGuard have marked out Jordan with a proverbial golden pin.

After serving as Jordan’s ambassador to the US for several years - one of the youngest in the Kingdom’s history - HE Karim Kawar recently returned home to resume his role as a prominent business leader. As chairman of IrisGuard Inc., Kawar is certainly no stranger to the local technology scene he helped shape. At the mere age of 20, he established his first information-technology (IT) company and eventually led an umbrella group that came to encompass ten information systems and software companies. Throughout his political career, Kawar also helped develop e-government initiatives, as well as computer-education programs, and as early as 1999, led a team of 40 Jordanian IT professionals under the pioneering REACH Initiative, which was at the forefront of developing the strategy that helped launch the IT industry in the Kingdom. Today, with IrisGuard Inc., Kawar is looking to take the banking landscape in Jordan, and indeed the world, to a whole new level.

JB: With the advent of iris-recognition technology within Jordan, most notably through Cairo Amman Bank’s integration of IrisGuard’s technology into its banking operations, how receptive have the Jordanian public and institutions been to these technologies?
KK: At IrisGuard, we believe that the public will appreciate this advancement in technology, which, at its core, simplifies consumers’ lives. The assurance that you can walk up to an ATM machine without a card or a PIN and withdraw cash from your own account will transform how we, as people, interact with banks. Of course, this will eventually be extended to homes through Internet banking and online shopping - all while knowing that the chances of anyone illicitly assuming anyone’s identity, or accessing their account and information, have been eliminated.

From an institutional perspective, we believe that this will enhance efficiency, reduce time wasted at the branch for identity verification, and will also enhance customer satisfaction at every point of interaction. At the end of the day, a bank bases its decision on a cost/benefit analysis. IrisGuard provides for those institutions the highest return on this investment using biometric technology.

JB: Can you shed more light on IrisGuard’s expansion plans over the next three to five years? Are any other banks posited to acquire the IrisGuard’s iBank Suite™  in the near future?
KK: IrisGuard will continue to grow its business in the area of homeland security, providing those agencies with the most effective method of identifying individuals who attempt to conceal their real identity. We will capitalize on our success in the United Arab Emirates and provide our flagship solution to other governments the world over. We will also continue to serve countries and governments through iris-enabling their existing identity-management databases in all areas where identity verification is essential.

For commercial applications, we expect banks to further adopt IrisGuard’s iBank Suite™ as an industry standard. This will enhance the customer experience and will affect their bottom line by helping eliminate fraud. E-commerce will be transformed by the ease of use and by doing away with cryptic passwords and access codes.

Without divulging confidential information, we see IrisGuard growing across various sectors and penetrating markets in new territories. IrisGuard’s solutions are universal by design and application, with over 180 various nationalities screened, checked and verified using our systems.

JB: How would you attempt to allay the concerns of those who feel that biometric verification methods, including iris-recognition technology, are encroaching on civil liberties and personal freedoms? Do you think it’s easier to implement iris- recognition technology in a region that has a high level of apathy and a relative lack of understanding when it comes to civil liberties in the first place?
KK: IrisGuard’s iBank Suite™ combats online-identity theft through its innovative iris-recognition technology, thus reducing the impact of identity theft on victims. Within the last year alone, over 10 million Americans have discovered that they were the victims of some form of ID theft. iBank Suite™ can be considered as the primary measure that protects bank customers against future cases of identity theft.

We respect civil liberties and thrive on personal freedoms. With that in mind, IrisGuard deploys multiple encryption techniques at all levels to insure that every iris is unique to a single designated institution’s application. This renders an individual’s iris record unusable in any other environment, thus insuring no cross-matching of irises across disparate systems.

Iris scanning in particular does not carry the criminal connotation of fingerprinting.  IrisGuard scanning is a non-intrusive method that is extremely fast, hygienic and socially acceptable.

Identity theft has been a large threat to many consumers in the developed world. The use of IrisGuard’s iris-recognition solutions will provide the sense of security that far outweighs any inhibitions regarding the perceived threat to civil liberties. In fact, one could argue that by having robust identifications, governments the world over will be better able to provide the services its citizens need. These include healthcare, social services and the like, which all depend considerably on being able to identify those legitimate citizens entitled to these vital services.

JB: Fast-forwarding to about nearly ten years from now, what ratio of national-security deployments/banking applications do you think IrisGuard will entertain?
KK: IrisGuard financed the first “proof of concept” deployment. When it was first presented, it was perceived as a proposition out of a sci-fi movie. Today, IrisGuard has proved, without a shadow of doubt, that it is the foremost total solution provider for trusted identity-verification systems.

We are witnessing a disruptive technology that will change the security notion for homeland security, banking, access control, data security and Internet transactions. In ten years, IrisGuard would have set the industry standard, where those who have not adopted this technology would seem as if they are still using rotary phones when the whole world has moved over to mobile telephony.