指紋識別技術在當今社會的應用越來越廣泛，很多第三方支付平臺和網上銀行軟件都采用了這項技術。但據英國《每日郵報》報道，專家表示，老年人、體力勞動者和癌癥患者的指紋很可能因為衰老、磨損以及治療副作用等因素而發生改變，從而導致指紋無法被識別。

Millions of older people, manual laborers and cancer sufferers could be unable to use their fingerprints to log in to online bank accounts, Money Mail can reveal.
據《每日郵報》財經頻道報道，眾多老年人、體力勞動者和癌癥患者可能無法用他們的指紋登錄網上銀行賬戶。

Banks are investing millions of pounds in fingerprint technology to replace passwords and PINs.
銀行投入大量資金，用指紋技術取代密碼和個人識別碼。

Most already allow customers to log in to their mobile banking app by holding a finger against a sensor on their smart phone.
如今，大多數用戶只要將手指按在智能手機的傳感器上，就可以登錄他們的手機銀行應用軟件。

Others are trialing new credit card and cash machines where, instead of entering a PIN, people use their fingerprint to pay or withdraw money.
還有一些機構正在試用采用指紋技術的新型信用卡和自動柜員機。用戶無需輸入密碼就可以進行支付或者取款。

But banks may have to rethink these plans after warnings the technology could be fatally flawed.
但銀行可能不得不重新考慮這些計劃，因為有人警告，指紋技術可能存在致命缺陷。

Delegates representing major banks at a London cyber security conference were told many older people's fingerprints are too faded for the machines to recognize.
各大銀行代表在參加倫敦網絡安全會議時被告知，許多老年人的指紋消褪嚴重，以至于機器無法識別。

John Daugman, professor of computer vision and pattern recognition at the University of Cambridge, says: 'Skin dries with age, especially for older women.
劍橋大學計算機視覺和模式識別專業教授約翰?道格曼稱：“隨著年齡的增長，皮膚會越來越干燥，特別是對老年女性而言?！?/p>

'This shrinks the ridge pattern (already quite fine for women, with a spacing of around 0.3 mm), and wrinkles also develop which disrupt the fingerprint pattern.
“手指的指紋脊線會因此變淺（女性的紋線本身就相當淺，約為0.3毫米），而不斷生出的皺紋也會破壞指紋紋理?！?/p>

'Fingerprints can 'rub off' for bricklayers, stonemasons and other manual laborers — their skin becomes almost shiny.
“瓦匠、石匠以及其他體力勞動者可能將指紋‘擦掉’，他們的皮膚幾乎磨得發亮?！?/p>

'Gardeners often acquire a lot of scratches on their fingers, and people who work with chemicals, such as cleaners, also suffer erosion of fingerprints.'
“園丁的手指上經常會留下許多劃痕，而保潔工人等在工作中接觸清潔劑等化學制品的人群，指紋會被化學制品侵蝕?！?/p>

Medical professionals have also discovered that some treatments, such as chemotherapy, can cause fingerprints to disappear - sometimes permanently.
醫學專家還發現，化療等一些醫療方法有時甚至能讓指紋永久消失。

Jean Slocombe, a senior nurse at Cancer Research UK, says: 'Some chemotherapy drugs can cause hand-foot syndrome, where the skin begins to peel on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
英國癌癥研究所護士長珍?索坎比稱：“一些化療藥物可能引發手足綜合征，導致手掌和腳掌的皮膚脫落。”

'In severe cases, the fingers can peel, and it's possible this could change a patient's fingerprints.
“情況嚴重時，手指也會脫皮，病人的指紋可能因此改變?！?/p>

'This should improve once treatment ceases, but severe scarring can alter fingerprints long-term.'
“一旦治療停止，脫皮問題會有所改善，但嚴重的疤痕可能會長期改變指紋?！?/p>

Fingerprints are considered more secure than passwords, because they are difficult to replicate and can't be written down, told to anyone or guessed. They can't be forged like a signature, either.
人們認為指紋比密碼更安全，因為指紋難以復制，無法寫下來、不能透露給別人，也無從猜測。和簽名不同，指紋不能偽造。

At present, all banks give customers the option of entering a password or PIN to access their money online.
目前，所有銀行的用戶都可以輸入密碼或個人識別碼登錄網上銀行。

But technology experts have predicted that firms could do away with passwords altogether to reduce the risk of fraud.
但技術專家預測，企業可能完全廢除密碼，以降低欺詐風險。

If they replace them with fingerprint technology, millions of bank customers could end up locked out of their accounts.
如果他們用指紋識別技術取代密碼，那么許多銀行客戶可能再也無法解鎖他們的賬戶。

Banks have trialed other security measures, such as facial recognition and iris or retina scanning - but fingerprint technology is often favored, as it is fast and people are more familiar with it.
銀行也對其他安全措施進行了測試，例如，面部識別技術、虹膜或視網膜識別技術，但指紋識別技術通常是最受青睞的，因為其耗時短，且大眾更為熟悉。

Nick Dryden, chief executive of technology company Sthaler, says: 'Businesses like fingerprint technology because it's fast - with iris or retinal scanning, people have to remove their glasses and line up properly, so it can take too long.
科技公司Sthaler的首席執行官尼克?屈萊頓表示：“企業對指紋識別青睞有加是因為這種識別方式的速度很快，虹膜或視網膜識別技術需要人們摘掉眼鏡，對準掃描儀，這樣花費的時間太長了?！?/p>

But it's not reliable enough to be rolled out as a primary way of paying for things or logging in to accounts, because there are loads of ways you can lose or damage your prints.
但是指紋識別技術的可靠性還不足以使其成為一種首要的支付或賬號登錄方式。因為很多因素都能讓你失去或破壞自己的指紋。

'There must always be a back-up so that if it doesn't work, there is another way of paying, such as with a PIN or password.'
“必須要留一個備用方式，如果無法進行指紋識別，那么還可以用另外一種方式付款，比如個人識別碼或密碼?！?/p>

Dryden adds that using the veins in someone's fingers to identify them is more secure and means people with faded prints will not be left behind as technology advances.
屈萊頓表示，使用指靜脈識別技術更加安全，而且不會因為技術發展將指紋消褪的人拒之門外。

這一技術的原理是利用紅外線掃描顧客手指的靜脈，然后將這種獨一無二的生物特征與顧客的銀行卡相關聯。目前英國連鎖超市Costcutter已經率先采用了該支付技術。

Vocabulary

chemotherapy: 化療
iris: 虹膜
retina: 視網膜
vein: 靜脈

英文來源：每日郵報
翻譯&編審：董靜