A tentatively successful biometric security initiative at Jordan Credit Union here is now defunct, according to CEO James Hofeling, due to a mix-up with the technology provider, San Jose, Calif.- based SecuGen Corp.
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"Our communication with SecuGen came to a standstill," Hofeling told The Credit Union Journal. "I don't know what happened to them."
Several attempts by The Credit Union Journal to reach the company by telephone were also not successful, and it could not be reached for comment. Its website (www.secugen.com remains operational and includes no mention of any difficulties.
The biometric authentication service provider supplied the necessary hardware, software and tech support for a teller identification program at no cost to Jordan Credit Union, which in turn acted as a beta site, said Hofeling.
At issue is the trial software license afforded by SecuGen to the 21,000- member credit union, which allows installation for only 45 days at a time, he said.
Plenty Of Hurdles To Jump
The $115-million Jordan CU jumped hurdles before finally getting the product to positively identify branch tellers. Then, said Hofeling, the fledgling operation ran into a significant glitch.
"When we got into it hot and heavy, we found out that we had to reinstall the software every 45 days," Hofeling explained. With 50 user sites, reinstallation is Sisyphusian, he said.
Contrary to his expectations, Hofeling said SecuGen has declined to provide the credit union with a permanent license for the software. This snafu may just be the price paid for a free ride, he acknowledged.
"As a beta site you take a certain risk, because it's not a firmed-up agreement," Hofeling said. "If we were to do it over again, we would start with a letter of commitment stating what we expect to get out of it."
That letter of commitment, he said, might have ensured "uninterrupted flow."
Instead, Hofeling now believes that SecuGen's intention was to provide the software free for 90 days, and that thereafter Jordan CU would pay for licensing. In their last communication this spring, Hofeling said that Secugen told the credit union, "just reinstall it every 45 days and you can keep it."
The potential benefits of free biometrics have been far outweighed by lost time and effort, Hofeling said. "Set-up took place over such a long length of time and there were so many snags, so many patches and so many communications back and forth. Employee time was eaten up."
In the future, Hofeling would also ask that a third party agree to a project timeline.
Licensing Is The Problem
Jordan Credit Union still has the biometric hardware, but the biometrics are rendered useless by the software licensing. Hofeling finds it strange that SecuGen would abandon its equipment. "You would usually have a solid return from someone who puts out that sort of cost upfront."
Last October, Jordan Credit Union began testing PC mice embedded with an optical finger-imaging thumb pad that verified tellers' identities in an effort to safeguard against fraud.
As is common with test sites, seamless integration was at first elusive. The CU struggled with conflicts- such as network compatibility and ceilings on user numbers-which were eventually resolved.
Biometric authentication promises positive identification, replacing PINs and passwords and the administrative costs of maintaining them.
The technology is attracting renewed attention after last month's terrorist attacks, in addition to offering possible solutions for ongoing fraud at financial institutions.
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