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from the I'm-sure-they'll-delete-the-records-when-they're-no-longer-needed dept.
JPMorgan requires staff to hand over biometric data to access new headquarters New York bank is imposing eye and fingerprint scans amid heightened security concerns at corporate offices
JPMorgan Chase has told staff moving into the US bank's new multibillion-dollar Manhattan headquarters they must share their biometric data to access the building, overriding a prior plan for voluntary enrolment.
Employees who have started work at its 270 Park Avenue skyscraper since August have received emails saying biometric access is "required", according to a communication seen by the Financial Times. This allows people to scan their fingerprints or eye instead of ID badges to get through the lobby security gates.
[...] Dave Komendat, chief security officer at Corporate Security Advisors, said biometrics had been used for decades at higher-security areas, such as government installations and data centres, but putting them in commercial buildings for large numbers of people would be used at a new and larger scale.
https://www.ft.com/content/d5351d3d-d64f-4a90-a3da-d1ef8e8bea66
https://archive.ph/YCV85
[Ed. question: Would this be a deal breaker for any of you for joining or continuing to work at the company?]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by looorg on Monday October 20, @11:19AM (2 children)
It sounds scary and over the top. But then I have already done it. I had my fingerprints on my work ID for at least the last two or three jobs I have had. They have photo, fingerprints and some biometrical data such as height on them. It's also the same on my national ID card and drivers license. I got a new ID card just a month ago. I got that one so I guess it wasn't a deal breaker. What are on American ID cards and drivers licenses if you have such an issue with this? Is it just a photo and a name?
I guess it's faster to scan your finger at the entry gate then to bring up a card and swipe. But not by much. After all they want you to have your corporate card visible and you need easy access to it to scan it at doors, the printer, elevators etc. So the time save is probably minimal. I guess the solve the issue of card-sharing. But unless they can prove that is a big problem I am wondering what kind of problem they are really solving. Did they have a large problem with that? Did they have a lot of people enter the building that didn't belong there? After all will this stop people with guns from entering the building for a massive work shooting spree in the lobby?
So I guess it was then. Did they not have an ID system? Which is why the gunman managed to enter the building and ride elevators and such before going on a rampage? Perhaps they should have just had more armed guards in the lobby? Which sounds like a horrible idea. But then they are a bank don't they have like an armed guard in the bank to make people feel all secure and such? I don't know, I never been to a bank in America, so this is all just taken from movies -- where there is always some retired cop in the bank and he gets shot first.
So they are focusing on what they consider to be the perceived benefits or positive aspects of it. Not the negative. Like can we keep this entire database of biometric data secure? Answer probably no.
It sounds a bit over the top for getting to the office. But I guess it's just the next step in "security". Just hope it doesn't escalate to wanting blood samples and such. There is a limit somewhere, but fingerprint and photo wasn't it.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Monday October 20, @01:31PM
Its not an individual case thing.
Imagine I was legally required to use the same password on every site on the internet for the ease and comfort of our local version of the KGB.
Its the same card to open or close an account at a bank, cash a check, request a deposit, enter a school district building, buy a beer if you look young, check out a library book with it, use my public gym, get a minor citation ticket from the police, etc.
Some of those places like the library and gym and bank prefer you bring their card or similar documents but are pretty chill if you walk up with a drivers license and a sob story about forgetting it at home.
Your DL in the USA is the simple, easily cloned, unchangeable root password to every account you have IRL.
(Score: 3, Informative) by quietus on Monday October 20, @01:44PM
I don't know about this particular case, but I can tell you that these buildings have some kind of cargo load bay(s) at the back or in a side street. If there is a security gate there, it's likely to be the kind that you can easily jump.