Biometrics is the measurement and statistical analysis of people's unique physical and behavioral characteristics. The technology is mainly used for identification and access control, or for identifying individuals who are under surveillance. In the mid to late 90s there was often confusion like this in the media when "biometrics" was used by the security and the pharmaceutical/medical world. Biometrics covers a variety of technologies in which unique identifiable attributes of people are used for identification and authentication. These include (but are not limited to) a person's fingerprint, iris print, hand, face, voice, gait or signature, which can be used to validate the identity of individuals seeking to control access to computers, airlines, databases and other areas which may need to be restricted. Every medium of authentication has its own advantages and shortcomings. With the increased use of computers as vehicles of information technology, it is necessary to restrict unauthorized access to or fraudulent use of sensitive/personal data. Biometric techniques being potentially able to augment this restriction are enjoying a renewed interest.