The two-fingerprint system used at U.S. borders to identify suspected terrorists is inadequate, Rep. Jim Turner (D-Tex.) warned Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge this week. Turner based his criticism on findings by Stanford Business Professor Lawrence Wein, a CISAC affiliated faculty member, and PhD candidate Manas Baveja, a CISAC fellow.

Citing the Stanford research findings, which Wein presented Sept. 30 before the House of Representatives' Select Committee on Homeland Security, Turner wrote that the two-fingerprint system "is no more than 53 percent effective in matching fingerprints with poor image quality against the government's biometric terrorist watch-list." Analyzing all 10 fingerprints would provide better data, Turner argued, echoing Wein's recommendations.

In the Washington Post article, "2-Fingerprint border ID system called inadequate," Robert O'Harrow and Scott Higham report on Turner's public caution against the current identification system.