Research into the use of biometric authentication to curb the growing problem of identity theft is the subject of a seminar at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Bathurst Campus on Monday 30 June. Mr Jason Howarth, a lecturer at the School of Computing & Mathematics, said the research will affect individuals and organisations alike. Mr Howarth explained that identity theft (IDT) refers to any impersonation or misappropriation of an individual's identity. “It can take many forms, such as misusing personal information to open new credit card accounts, take out loans or obtain passports. Aided by the increase in digitization and online information, identity theft is rapidly becoming a major worldwide problem for businesses, governments and citizens. Biometrics has emerged in recent years as a way to combat identity theft because it can unequivocally identify individuals, but little is known about consumers’ readiness to accept biometric identification (such as palm prints).”