CR80News | Wyoming schools’ biometric program upsets privacy advocates

Monday, March 16, 2009

Wyoming’s Natrona County School District has announced that they will be installing biometric systems in the cafeterias of all their junior high and high schools to improve the lunch accounts system, according to a Casper Journal article.

The system, which uses a student’s fingerprint to identify and debit the student’s account for lunch purchases, will be implemented April 1st.

Upon seeing the notification about the system, many parents expressed concern over the safety of the data being held and whether or not their child’s privacy rights are being breached. However, the information sent out to parents insists that the image of a fingerprint is never stored, but rather a number that matches key points on the individual’s fingerprint.

Additionally, parents have the ability for their child to opt out of the program by filling out the necessary paperwork.

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Concerns mount over new Canadian biometric programs

Privacy advocates in Canada have been raising concerns over the risk involved in two new biometric programs from the government that result in the sharing of private biometric data with other countries’ governments and possibly private corporations, according to an Embassy Magazine article.

Ohio elementary school gets biometric cafeterias

Munroe Elementary School in Tallmadge, Ohio is upgrading its cafeteria to be cash-free when the students return form winter break relying instead on biometrics for students to access accounts for their food, according to a Tallmadge Express article.

Biometrics Institute announces release of privacy charter

The Biometrics Institute, a biometrics industry organization engaged in the research, analysis and education of biometric technologies, announced the release of a privacy charter for early, according to a CIO article.

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Wyoming schools’ biometric program upsets privacy advocates