From AI to cloud services, every crucial tech tool in the connected age is fueled by collection and analysis of information, for which major firms as well as governments are also building storage capacity. Data centres are coming up across the Middle East as part of an infrastructure that will lay the foundation for a digital transition of businesses and public services alike.

But while processing data will be key to innovation in modern tech, the protection of personal information is also a major concern for netizens as well as administrations in the region. To protect the privacy of thousands of professionals entering data centres, Egypt has deployed a biometrics access system which screens a person but doesn't store personal details.

The secure mechanism developed by EyeLock, scans an individual's iris to grant entry into four data centres spread across Egypts new capital being built near Cairo. But the eye scanner doesn't pass on information about workers to any database, and instead relies on smart IDs.

A biometric template of the user is embedded on a smart card or in a smartphone, and is transmitted to an iris reader using a Bluetooth Low Energy frequency, that creates a restricted local network. Once the input from the scan is verified against the template on an ID, the person is allowed to pass through, while their privacy remains intact.

The technology by EyeLock uses 240 characteristics which are unique to every person's iris, and also relies largely on measurements of the eye. The scan can be conducted automatically or the reader can be activated through a smartphone.

Four data centres in the new city under development, will be equipped with 50 of these devices to fortify them with state-of-the-art security.

Biometrics are being used across the Middle East including Dubai's metro network, where facial recognition of passengers did raise concerns about privacy. Another similar system to catch people who use fake vaccine passports to enter workplaces, is also being marketed in the region.