BIOMETRICS

The room was dimly lit with the curtains obeying the breeze passing

through the window. It was the evening of mid-October when I and my

cousin were shortlisting universities for her undergrad program in

psychology and debating whether education loans would do good or if

should she consider applying for scholarships and financial aid. "Alexa,

play Talking to myself by Linkin Park," my brother hollered across the

room. Music dominated the dangling voice of the wall hanging and I

wondered if Alexa had been eavesdropping even before my brother

called her name.

" A few weeks ago, my husband and I were driving home from work and

discussing where we should have dinner. I suggested a Restaurant that I

knew was somewhere on our way back and then opened up Google

maps to plot it. Turns out it was already marked on the map with a little

bubble," stated Madhumita Murgia in one of her TEDx Talks in 2017

[TEDx Talks]. (2017, May 23). How data brokers sold my identity |

Madhumita Murgia | TEDx Exeter [Video]. YouTube. The vagueness of

this incident was not unique to Ms Murgia as she and most intellectuals

are of an opinion that technology does cross its boundaries regarding

privacy.

Speaking of the invasive nature of technology, Biometrics cannot

certainly stay out of the frame. ‘Biometric authentication (or realistic

authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification

and access control. It is also used to identify individuals in groups that

are under surveillance’, Wikipedia contributors, (2022, September 9),

Biometrics, Wikipedia. In simpler words, Biometrics are unique biological

and physiological characteristics that can be used to identify individuals.

Fingerprint mapping, iris scanning, and facial and voice recognition are a

few special traits that define the uniqueness of an individual.

Rohingya biometrics scandal reveals horrific setbacks in embracing

biometrics. Since 2018, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees

(UNHCR) has registered thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladeshi

camps and the respected government has issued identity cards required

for aid and services. However, the Bangladeshi government used the

data to smuggle refugee details to the government of Myanmar for

possible repatriation, (Although shocking, the Rohingya biometrics

scandal is not surprising and could have been prevented)(2021, June

28). ODI: Think Change.

In a more recent incident, a user of the Chinese developer forum V2EX

published a post expressing that his Skyworth smart tv was scanning and

extracting data every 10 minutes. The TV set was sending back the

hostname, mac, IP and even the network delay time to a Chinese Data

analytics company. Impelli, M. (2021, May 4). Millions of Chinese Smart

TVs Scanned Wi-Fi Every 10 Minutes, Sent Personal Data to Company.

Newsweek.

To conclude, these scandals are enough to open our eyes to see

modern technology’s ill effects. However, we cannot pause technology

from advancing; someday surely we will witness the rise of transformers

in the future. I strongly do believe that biometrics is a curse and free

ticket for hackers and several leading companies to know every single

detail about us.