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ARTICLE · 12 DECEMBER 2017

Cybersecurity 2018 – The Year In Preview: Biometrics

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This is the fifth in a multi-part end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year.

United StatesPrivacy
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Foley Hoag LLP
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Editors' Note: This is the fifth in a multi-part end-of-year series examining important trends in data privacy and cybersecurity during the coming year. Previous installments include analyses of HIPAA compliance, emerging security threats, federal enforcement trends, and state enforcement trends. Up next: Education.

The term "biometrics" may conjure up images of Gattaca or Minority Report, but the use of unique biological attributes for identification purposes is nothing new. Something as familiar as fingerprinting, for example, is a form of biometric identification. Even Inspector Lestrade knew enough to tell Sherlock Holmes that "no two thumb-marks are alike." And biometrics have long been used by the federal government to, for example, facilitate oversight of immigration, trade and travel, among others.

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