City Upgrades Computer Security

"Biometrics, the analysis of physical features such as eye, face, and finger characteristics, might seem an extreme form of access control for city employees, but the driving factor was efficiency. Both the city's IT department and its approximately 2,000 employees had struggled to maintain up-to-date and secure password protection. "We struggled, users struggled, and independent auditors were pressing us to change our passwords at more frequent intervals," says Scott Harmon, assistant director of information services with the City of Glendale."