JP Morgan Chase has told staff moving into its new headquarters in New York that they must share their biometric data to access the multibillion-dollar building.
The investment bank had previously planned for the registering of biometric data by employees at its new Manhattan skyscraper to be voluntary.
However, employees of the US’s biggest bank who have started work at the headquarters since August have received emails saying that biometric access was “required”, according to communications seen by the Financial Times.
Biometrics are not usernames. They are physical identifiers and unlike usernames you can’t change them.
I used to work in a datacenter that required you to go through a mantrap to access. It required three things:
To get to the datacenter floor you use a card key to open the door to the mantrap. It’s a small vestibule about the size of a phone booth. Once inside the door closes. You then enter your PIN on a keypad and place your hand on a biometric scanner. Once your hand is recognized the inner door opens and lets you into the datacenter. I was told the mantrap also weighed you and compared that with previous trips through to make sure somebody else didn’t sneak through with you.