ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Having previously supported the use of biometrics in the federal government E-Verify program, the Security Industry Association (SIA) has released a set of recommendations to implement the technology in an effort to protect individual privacy and prevent identity theft.
The E-Verify program allows employers to use Social Security numbers to confirm if job applicants are legal United States residents and thereby lawfully work for them. In a Sept. 16 statement, SIA said the program is subject to significant error rates; however, the association maintains that biometrics will increase privacy and enhance identity assurance.
Among the latest recommendations include:
- Use biometrics to connect an individual to a credential associated with an identity based on presented biometric data and identity documents, which will be associated with a vetted Social Security number
- Use biometric authentication of the applicant, post-enrollment, with each subsequent verification of application for employment
- Avoid unnecessary distribution of biometric data by encoding biometric data to a smart card for possession by the person associated with the data
“Biometrics are the most accurate way of determining if people are who they say they are,” says MorphoTrak’s Robert Horton, chairman of SIA’s Biometric Employment Verification Working Group. “Adding biometrics to E-Verify would enhance privacy, reduce the risk of identity theft and increase the effectiveness of the program.”
View the full set of recommendations here.
