Fingerprints To Be Tested As Currency In Japan

Megalith

Megalith

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In other news, crime reports of Yakuza cutting off people’s fingers will be up by 200%.

Starting this summer, the government will test a system in which foreign tourists will be able to verify their identities and buy things at stores using only their fingerprints. The government hopes to increase the number of foreign tourists by using the system to prevent crime and relieve users from the necessity of carrying cash or credit cards. It aims to realize the system by the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. The experiment will have inbound tourists register their fingerprints and other data, such as credit card information, at airports and elsewhere.
 
Kind of poor wording. Fingerprints aren't the currency, but the means of access to a e-wallet.
 
They should also combine this with a PIN number as a secondary layer so that they can't just steal people's fingerprints or point a gun to their head. Also, they should have a security model that allows you to enter your PIN backwards in order to alert security if you're being forced to enter it under duress.

The reason I suggest it is that if you use a standard number, they could watch what you're typing and know it's 0911 or something... but they won't know if you're typing your own PIN number in reverse unless they already have it.
 
athenian200 said:
They should also combine this with a PIN number as a secondary layer so that they can't just steal people's fingerprints or point a gun to their head. Also, they should have a security model that allows you to enter your PIN backwards in order to alert security if you're being forced to enter it under duress.

The reason I suggest it is that if you use a standard number, they could watch what you're typing and know it's 0911 or something... but they won't know if you're typing your own PIN number in reverse unless they already have it.
Click to expand...

What if my PIN is 8008?
 
Now I just have to set up a booth next to the airport with a "special" pair of gloves to prevent fingerprint theft. If people can be scared onto wearing tinfoil hats, surely they can be convinced they need $500 tinfoil gloves. You know, for safety.
 
athenian200 said:
Oh, in that case you would enter it inside out... 0880. They had the idea to do this with bank PINs a long time ago, but it was never implemented. I think this might be a good time to employ the technology.
Click to expand...

What about those special people that use 8888? :p


This has bad idea written all over it. Fingerprint scanners are easily fooled.
 
ryan_975 said:
What about those special people that use 8888?
Click to expand...

Well, in that case all the digits would be incremented by 1.

0000 -> 1111
1111 -> 2222
2222 -> 3333
3333 -> 4444
4444 -> 5555
5555 -> 6666
6666 -> 7777
7777 -> 8888
8888 -> 9999
9999 -> 0000

And that's it.

I'm not brilliant or creative coming up with this... a guy named Zingher came up with SafetyPIN in the late 1990s, but no one wanted to pay to implement it.

This has bad idea written all over it. Fingerprint scanners are easily fooled.
Click to expand...

True, that's why I thought it should be combined with a PIN... it's not secure enough alone, IMO. Two layers would be better, and no system is perfect.
 
As someone who goes to Japan once/twice a year, I don't want to deal with this BS. How about making it easier to get out of the airport instead? Like more customs agents checking passports, so there isn't a massive line.
 
I think a better solution to the irrelevant PIN problem is to prevent people from using pins like 8008 or 8888. Makes the problem a lot easier. Just saying.
 
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