Biometrics in Movies: Fact or Fiction

Character from Monsters vs. Aliens scans his hand, a modality currently employed in the real world. (Provided by the Biometrics Task Force with permission of DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures)

A man frantically runs up to a massive steel door, the papers he’s holding fly every which way.  He scans his hand, foot, tongue, both elbows, and…his butt.  The steel door slides open…

Concerning biometrics, the line between what is fact and what is fiction on the big screen can be fuzzy to the lay person.

The scene described above from the 2009 DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures animated film Monsters vs. Aliens depicts biometrics being used for physical access.  This much is fact.  Securing the facility is accomplished by requiring verification of this person’s identity.  Additionally, in the real world, hand geometry scans are employed in security measures as a means of verification.  However, modalities such as the foot, tongue, elbows, and lastly, the butt, are not tools that are used to secure bases, facilities, computer systems, and the like.

Another feature film showing biometrics in action is 20th Century Fox’s Minority Report.  Tom Cruise plays the lead character, a police officer being framed for murder.  In this futuristic world set in 2054, iris scans are used for identification purposes.  Although taking place more than 40 years from today, technology such as this is currently used.
Here’s where fact and fiction become not-so-clear.  Tom Cruise’s character has an eye transplant to conceal his identity but uses a stolen eyeball to continue logging on to the police network.

Although not completely impossible, it is highly unlikely that one can fool a biometric system using stolen or severed body parts.  For one, a highly secure facility or network will have other safeguards such as guards and cameras.  Furthermore, severed parts could dry out and lose shape quickly, and therefore not be viable for very long.  Some systems have built-in liveness detection features that would defeat the use of a plucked eyeball or severed finger.  The iris systems look for minute rapid eye movements and pupil contraction, neither of which is present in a stolen eyeball.  Fingerprint systems can use heat, pulse detection, or even blood oxygen level to detect liveness.

A family of superheroes is the cast of the Disney/Pixar animated film The Incredibles.  Enter fashion designer to the stars and costume designer to the superheroes, Edna Mode.  In order to access her secret den where she fits the superheroes with state-of-the-art costumes, she must scan her hand, enter a personal identification number (PIN), scan her iris, and finally speak into a voice verification system.

Iris scan being used for physical access in Fort Belvoir, VA.

In fact, this scene is quite realistic.  Each of the modalities and systems Edna Mode uses to gain access are common practice in determining whether someone should be given or denied access.  And the PIN adds an additional layer of security.

Biometrics are gaining momentum in the fight against terrorism, both by securing bases and facilities and empowering the warfighter.  But their importance is also becoming more apparent to the general public via popular films.  Many technologies that were once thought to be limited to the fictional realm of movies are very much real.

(story by Ariadne Haddad, BTF media team)