Let your fingers do the encrypting
Local entrepreneur’s flash drive uses fingerprints to secure it.
It could be right out of a science-fiction movie: opening secure computer files with a finger, no password required.
Orlando businessman Eric Delisle is readying a portable flash drive that uses fingerprints to encrypt access to its contents — conquering the hurdles of hackable passwords and the difficulty some find in setting them up.
“People believe there is no easy way to protect themselves,” Delisle said. “They feel helpless. If you’re not tech-savvy, you just give up.”
Consumers have long used flash drives to store computer files and data. But if the drive ends up in someone else’s hands, little stops them from checking out the files, which can be problematic if the files are sensitive.
Delisle says some area police departments have used the device as a way to keep files private and away from peering eyes.
As more companies collect data online, research has shown that consumers have become accustomed to giving away privacy and personal information in exchange for services. Delisle hopes his device can protect those who still have not become comfortable with that.
A finger pad on the device recognizes a person’s fingerprint pattern and requires a
“[Y]our privacy is your business. You don’t have to be doing something wrong to want privacy.”
Eric Delisle
user to swipe a finger to unlock files. The drive has an added security feature, as well, that can block access to some files depending upon which finger is used.
Experts say biometrics is a growing field that many large companies now incorporate into security features. Walter Conrad, who runs a franchise of the biometrics system installer Sonitrol in Ocala, said interest in the field has surged as stories of stolen identities and security breaches increase.
“People used to not be able to hack into a bank account and steal your money,” he said. “Now they can because they work off computers and ATMs.”
Security at private businesses have yet to completely move past the days of passcards and automated locks. But Conrad said he has seen more do so of late.
“A would-be criminal who has stolen your passcard will likely know who you are and what you look like,” he said. “With biometrics, you can’t do that unless a guy cuts your finger off.”
Conrad said he had not heard of another effort to put fingerprint scanners on flash drives.
“It seems as if he has found a unique way to put a password in place and the market may respond to that,” he said.
Delisle, who last year raised $100,000 on Kickstarter for an iCloak device that allows private Web browsing, will kick off a crowdfunding campaign this month for a fingerprint-encrypted portable flash drive that only allows specific people access to its files.
As reports of data breaches and hacking scandals increase, more people than ever have become aware of who has access to their personal information.
Delisle says the battle to keep information private has gotten more difficult.
“People fall into the false argument about privacy,” he said. “They say that if you don’t have anything to hide, then what are you worried about? But your privacy is your business. You don’t have to be doing something wrong to want privacy.”