Would-be MBA students getting ready to take the GMAT might be in for a little surprise when they show up at the testing center. In addition to all the usual security measures—including video monitoring and the computer adaptive test itself—test takers will soon be asked to submit to a new one: a biometric device that uses an infared light to capture the test-taker’s unique “palm vein pattern.”

Pearson VUE, the company that administers the GMAT for the Graduate Management Admission Council, plans to announce the new security effort tomorrow, but BusinessWeek got a sneak peak at it today.

The Fujitsu “PalmSecure” device will be rolled out next month at 16 testing centers in India and Korea for GMAT candidates. It goes live in the U.S. this fall, and when fully deployed will be used in 400 facilities in 107 countries by May 2009.

The announcement comes as the b-school world is embroiled in a cheating scandal involving the GMAT–users of a now-defunct test prep Web site, Scoretop.com, have been accused by GMAC of using it to post and access live test questions, and GMAC has said it will cancel the test scores of anyone who violated its rules.

But the new security measure is designed to stop a different kind of cheating–the use of professional test takers, or proxies, to take the exam on behalf of someone else. GMAC’s been burned by this type of cheater before. Back in 2003, it busted a half dozen people who took the GMAT for others for about $5,000 a pop. GMAC canceled 166 scores as a result, and five of the six imposters ended up at Rikers.

More : businessweek.com

Two researchers surprised the public in a convention of security during the last month of its finding a version of Microsoft Windows is more secure than Linux, an operating system competitor.

Download a copy of Windows vs. Linux study in PDF (265K).

This week, researchers released their finished report, and they contain more of a surprise: Microsoft was funded by the project long.

Researchers at the Florida Institute of Technology and Boston-based Security Innovation Inc., and defend their conclusions valid. They say they have “full control over all editorial research and analysis” on the project. His report details of its methods, and they invite other experts to examine and duplicate their work.

But their disclosure of the project, source of financing this week is agitation new debate on what has otherwise been encouraging messages for Microsoft in a field in which they fight. Researchers have been presented during last month’s RSA Conference, which attracts some of the biggest names in computer security.

“It was proof that Microsoft was better, and now the evidence unclean,” said Counterpane Internet Security founder Bruce Schneier, a long RSA Conference speaker. “The results may well, but now nobody is going to mind, because they all see, this is a prejudice that has not been revealed.”

But one of the researchers, Herbert Thompson of Security Innovation, said he and his colleagues have examined the final report, which has not gone presentation, the proper place for advertising. In addition, he said, the report presenting the detailed project research methods should be any concern about the possible prejudices.

“We knew that some of the criticism, which are collected in the report Microsoft is funding,” said Thompson. As a result, he said: “Our own method claim, it is very open and transparent. We wanted the recipe for humans, they could go further and recalculation of figures themselves. ”

The 37-page final report, published Tuesday, it is expressly Redmond on the role of the company: “This study and our analysis, under a research contract from Microsoft,” he says on the fourth page.

But during his presentation on February 16 on the RSA Conference, Thompson and Richard Ford Fellow researchers at the Florida Institute of Technology does not mention that one of the subjects of their research was part of a project financing.

Thompson said yesterday that it had decided it would be better to wait until the release of the final report on that disclosure. In part, he says, the idea was to avoid some of the divisiveness, which are often characterized by Windows vs. Linux debate.

The presentation of the RSA Conference “does not seem like the ideal place for the conduct of religious war,” said Thompson.

India Recognizing the need for a world-class facility for science and research, on Monday, the FM explains a RS-100 crore grant for the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

IISc director Goverdhan Mehta, said the Institute honoured by such a gift on the occasion of the National Science Day. “This support will help to strengthen in the pursuit of research at the Institute has already done,” he said. “It will help us to research in new areas and support the renewal of physical infrastructure.

What is the logic behind the money? “The government believes that investment in universities and R & D facilities are as important as investment in physical infrastructure and physical,” said the FM.

“What we need, world-class universities, and there must be a beginning to an institution. We need a university is a place alongside Oxford and Cambridge … I am pleased that the Assembly know that we have selected the Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore), a great reputation as a centre of excellence in R & D. We will ensure that IISc … a world-class university. I suggest , For an additional RS100 crore for a grant for this purpose. “