Biometrics Goes WiFi

SALT LAKE CITY -- silex technology america, Inc. today announced the release of Bio-NetGuard, an industry-first fingerprint-based access control system for WiFi local area networks (LANs).

"Today's workforce is becoming increasingly more dependent on mobility, which increases the need for access to wireless networks to conduct business," said Gary Bradt, silex vice president, biometrics division. "Bio-NetGuard takes the concern out of controlling a WiFi local area network by fully containing it through a biometric authentication device that works with any access point."

WiFi networks provide a tremendous solution to the demands of an increasing mobile workforce, but there are still concerns about verifying who can and cannot access the network. There have been ways to protect WiFi-enhanced equipment in the past, but no methods to authenticate those who connect to the wireless system. Bio-NetGuard allows an IT Manager to secure the network against unauthorized users by requiring biometric fingerprint authentication prior to gaining access to the network, either through their desktop or personal computers, laptops or PDAs.

Bio-NetGuard uses a Fujitsu MBF200 sensor and is 802.11a/b/g and 802.11i compliant. Bio-NetGuard is a DSP-based, fully-contained network authentication device that works with any WPA-compliant access point. It is a plug-and-play device and requires no more than a few minutes to install and configure. It supports up to 500 users and has a fingerprint match time of 400 milliseconds.

Bio-NetGuard works with a large number of WiFi access points including Netgear WG102, Linksys WAP54G, Cisco AIRONET 1100, D-Link DWL-7100AP, and a number of WiFi adapter cards and chipsets including INTEL Centrino, Netgear 11T, Linksys WPC11, Cisco AIRONET 350, and D-Link DWL-G650.

"In the past an organization could protect its equipment but were lacking a way to authenticate which users could and could not connect to its network," said Bradt. "Bio-NetGuard allows organizations and companies, no matter their size or industry, to secure their wireless devices and increase security of confidential information and files."

silex technology america Inc.