UK users support biometric testing

UK consumers are happy to provide personal information, such as fingerprints and DNA, if it means tighter protection against digital fraud, according to computer group Compaq.

In a report sponsored by Compaq and conducted by research group Taylor Nelson Sofres more than 1,000 adults were questioned about their attitudes to internet security, and the results showed widespread concern.

Two thirds of UK consumers feel that credit card companies and banks have a responsibility to protect against fraud, and retailers in particular are seen as the worst at protecting against electronic fraud.

Dave Russell, a business development manager at Compaq UK, said that, although serious incidents of the leaking of customer details on the internet were rare, those few cases had received a lot of attention.

"Fraud is a business issue, and security is an IT issue. The two must work together to prevent online fraud and build public confidence in ecommerce," he said.

The news will endorse ecommerce minister Douglas Alexander's decision this month to give four UK universities £3m to research new technology for fighting ecommerce fraud.

Research group Forrester estimates that online spending will increase by 160 per cent on Christmas last year, but that £50m will be lost through online fraud.

Biometrics, such as voice recognition or iris and fingerprint scanning, would appear to be a popular solution, although Russell said it was too early to tell which technologies would prove the most successful or how long it would be before they became standard practice.

"At the moment we just recommend people to buy from sites they know and trust, whose brands are strong and reliable," he said.