Biometric Identification

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Abstract
Accurate and automatic identification and authentication of users is a fundamental problem in network environments. Shared secrets such as PIN or passwords and key devices like smart cards just are not enough in some cases. What is needed is something that could verify that you are physically the person you claim to be - biometrics.
Biometric identification technologies have been associated generally with very costly top secure applications. Today the core technologies have evolved and the cost of the equipment is going down dramatically due to the integration and increasing processing power. Certain applications of biometric identification technology are now cost-effective, reliable and highly accurate. As a result, there is no technological or financial barriers for stepping from the pilot projects to widespread deployment. This paper introduces the biometric technologies and the problematic incorporated.
1. Introduction
Before we go any further let us define exactly what we mean when we talk about biometric technologies. The term 'biometrics' refers strictly speaking to a science involving the statistical analysis of biological characteristics. Here biometrics is used in a context of making analysis of human characteristics for security purposes. The distinction can be clarified with following definition: "A biometric is a unique, measurable characteristic or trait of a human being for automatically recognizing or verifying identity." This measurable characteristic, Biometric, can be physical, such as eye, face, finger image, hand and voice or behavioral, like signature and typing rhythm. Biometric system must be able to recognize or verify it quickly and automatically. It is often said that with biometric products you are able to reach the highest level of security. To help illustrate this point, a much-quoted definition is used by the biometrics industry. Three levels of security are:
The lowest level of security is defined as something you have in your possession, such as an ID badge with a photograph on it.
The second level of security is something that you know; such as a password used with computer login or PIN code to use your bank account card on ATM.
The highest level of security is something what you are and something that you do. This is essentially what biometric technology is all about. It is clear that people see exciting potential in this technology.
One has to keep in mind that biometric technologies are not even at their best the sole key to security problems. Only with proper system design and smart use of strong cryptography biometric identification systems can claim their big promises. On worst scenarios possibilities of whole new kind of fraud is also possible. This is due to the fact that biometric information of large amount of individuals stored on central databases is always a risk to our privacy.
1.1 Definitions
Biometrics can be used for identification and verification of different things about human beings. Identification a.k.a recognition is one-to-many comparing process of a biometric sample or a code derived from it against all of the known biometric reference templates on file. If the acquired sample matches a template stored within error marginal the identity of the enrollee is also matched to that of the previously stored reference. The stored identity information really should not reveal the physical identity of the owner of the biometric, but instead a role, which authorizes the use of service or access.
Verification is process of comparing a submitted biometric sample against single biometric reference of a single enrollee whose identity or role is being claimed. The reference template doesn't have to reside in large database but can be carried with oneself within a smart card or other security device. If the verification process is well designed the biometric information is not revealed to the system, only the result: match or non-match is confirmed. All biometric identification or authentication technologies operate using the following four stage procedure:
Capture - A physical or behavioral sample is captured by the system during enrolment and also in identification or verification process.
Extraction - Unique data is extracted from the sample and a template is created.
Comparison - The template is then compared with a new sample.
Match/Non Match - The system then decides if the features extracted from the new sample are a match or a non match.
When comparing different biometrics the probabilities of false rejection (FRR) of true owner of biometric and false acceptance of fraudulent user (FAR) are used to measure the accuracy and performance of biometric technology. Physical Biometric devices have 3 primary components:
An automated mechanism that scans & captures a digital or analog image of a living personal characteristic.
Another entity handles compression, processing, storage, and comparison of the captured data with the stored data.
The third interfaces with application systems.
On biometric systems there are various template storage options. The biometric template can reside in
Biometric device. This is usually the case on small, closed systems.
Database on central computer.
Plastic card or token (barcode, stripe, optical, pcmcia, smart card)