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Biometrics: You Should Be Your Own Password

BIOMETRICS FAQ:

Why Biometrics?

Biometrics authentication refers to security measures for automatic identification of a person based on his/her physiological or behavioral characteristics.This method of identification is preferred over traditional methods involving passwords and PIN numbers for various reasons:

(i) the person to be identified is required to be physically present at the point-of-identification;

(ii) identification based on biometric techniques obviates the need to remember a password or carry a token. With the increased use of computers as vehicles of information technology, it is necessary to restrict access to sensitive/personal data.

BIOMETRICS FAQ:

How is it Done?

Here are some of the security measures biometrics authentication provides: By replacing PINs, biometric techniques can potentially prevent unauthorized access to or fraudulent use of ATMs, cellular phones, smart cards, desktop PCs, workstations, and computer networks.

PINs and passwords may be forgotten, and token based methods of identification like passports and driver's licenses may be forged, stolen, or lost. Thus biometric based systems of identification are receiving considerable interest.

Various types of biometric systems are being used for real-time identification, the most popular are based on face, iris and fingerprint matching. However, there are other biometric systems that utilize retinal scan, speech, signatures, veins, and hand geometry. These are also optimal for authentication.

Evolving Biometrics

INTERESTING VIDEOS:

TASER #1

TASER #2

Biometrics is a rapidly evolving technology which has been widely used in forensics such as criminal identification and prison security.

The security measures biometric authentication provides are tremendous. Recent advancements in biometric sensors and matching algorithms have led to the deployment of biometric authentication in a large number of civilian applications. There is an increas in complexity in algorithms data structures used in biometric sensors, from the fingerprint component to hand geometry recognition.

Biometric authentication methods can be used to prevent unauthorized access to ATMs, cellular phones, smart cards, desktop PCs, workstations, and computer networks. It can be used during transactions conducted via telephone and Internet (electronic commerce and electronic banking).

In automobiles, biometrics can replace keys with key-less entry and key-less ignition. Due to increased security threats, many countries have started using biometrics for border control and national ID cards.

Fingerprint Matching: One of the

types of biometrics system..

Among all the biometric techniques, fingerprint-based identification is the oldest method which has been successfully used in numerous applications. It has been the subject of much biometric marketing.

Everyone is known to have unique, immutable fingerprints. A fingerprint is made of a series of ridges and furrows on the surface of the finger.

The uniqueness of a fingerprint can be determined by the pattern of ridges and furrows as well as the minutiae points. Minutiae points are local ridge characteristics that occur at either a ridge bifurcation or a ridge ending.

Minutae-based and correlation based Matching

fingerprint matching techniques can be placed into two categories: minutae-based and correlation based. Minutiae-based techniques first find minutiae points and then map their relative placement on the finger. 

However, there are some difficulties when using this approach. It is difficult to extract the minutiae points accurately when the fingerprint is of low quality. Also this method does not take into account the global pattern of ridges and furrows.

The correlation-based method is able to overcome some of the difficulties of the minutiae-based approach.  However, it has some of its own shortcomings. Correlation-based techniques require the precise location of a registration point and are affected by image translation and rotation.

Matching Problems

Fingerprint matching based on minutiae has problems in matching different sized (unregistered) minutiae patterns. Local ridge structures can not be completely characterized by minutiae.

Researchers are trying an alternate representation of fingerprints which will capture more local information and yield a fixed length code for the fingerprint. The matching will then hopefully become a relatively simple task of calculating the Euclidean distance will between the two codes.

Fingerprint Reject Rates

A commercial fingerprint-based authentication system requires a very low False Reject Rate (FAR) for a given False Accept Rate (FAR). This is very difficult to achieve with any one technique. An easy technique may be a popular fingerprint recognition technique, but it will not necessarily yield the best results.

Researchers are investigating methods to pool evidence from various matching techniques to increase the overall accuracy of the system. In a real application, the sensor, the acquisition system and the variation in performance of the system over time is very critical. Every biometric system algorithm is different.

BIOMETRICS FAQ:

Is There More About Fingerprint Biometrics?

Large volumes of fingerprints are collected and stored everyday in a wide range of applications including forensics, access control, and driver license registration.

An automatic recognition of people based on fingerprints requires that the input fingerprint be matched with a large number of fingerprints in a database (FBI database contains approximately 70 million fingerprints!).

To cut the search time and computational complexity, it is desirable to classify these fingerprints in an accurate and consistent manner so that the input fingerprint is required to be matched only with a subset of the fingerprints in the database.

Biometrics of Fingerprint Classification

Fingerprint classification is a technique to assign a fingerprint into one of the several pre-specified types already established in the literature which can provide an indexing mechanism.

Fingerprint classification can be viewed as a coarse level matching of the fingerprints. An input fingerprint is first matched at a coarse level to one of the pre-specified types and then, at a finer level, it is compared to the subset of the database containing that type of fingerprints only.

Researchers have developed an algorithm to classify fingerprints into five classes, namely, whorl, right loop, left loop, arch, and tented arch .

Fingerprint Image Enhancement

A critical step in automatic fingerprint matching is to automatically and reliably extract minutiae from the input fingerprint images. However, the performance of a minutiae extraction algorithm relies heavily on the quality of the input fingerprint images.

In order to ensure that the performance of an automatic fingerprint identification/verification system will be robust with respect to the quality of the fingerprint images, it is essential to incorporate a fingerprint enhancement algorithm in the minutiae extraction module.

Biometric Enhancement

Researchers have developed a fast fingerprint enhancement algorithm, which can adaptively improve the clarity of ridge and furrow structures of input fingerprint images based on the estimated local ridge orientation and frequency.

They have evaluated the performance of the image enhancement algorithm using the goodness index of the extracted minutiae and the accuracy of an online fingerprint verification system. Because of the difficulty in determining why the fingerprint is different for each person, studies have been done. Experimental results show that incorporating the enhancement algorithms improves both the goodness index and the verification accuracy.

BIOMETRICS FAQ:

What is Biometric Hand Geometry?

Unlike fingerprints, the human hand isn't unique.   One can use finger length, thickness, and curvature for the purposes of verification but not for identification. 

For some kinds of access control like immigration and border control, invasive biometrics (eg., fingerprints) systems may not be desirable as they help security, but infringe on privacy.  In such situations it is desirable to have a biometric system that is sufficient for verification. Herein lies the value of

HAND RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY.

Biometrics of Hand Geometry

As hand geometry is not distinctive, it is the ideal choice.   Furthermore, hand geometry data is easier to collect.  With fingerprint collection good frictional skin is required by imaging systems, and with retina-based recognition systems, special lighting is necessary.  

Additionally, hand geometry can be easily combined with other biometrics, namely fingerprint.  One can envision a system where fingerprints are used for (infrequent) identification and hand geometry is used for (frequent) verification.

Face Detection Biometrics

The face retrieval problem, known as face detection, can be defined as follows: given an arbitrary black and white, still image, find the location and size of every human face it contains.

Human Face Detection

There are many applications in which human face detection plays a very important role: it represents the first step in a fully automatic face recognition system, it can be used in image database indexing/searching by content, in surveillance systems and in human-computer interfaces.

Why Face Recognition

It also provides insight on how to approach other pattern recognition problems involving deformable textured objects.

At the same time, it is one of the harder problems in pattern recognition.

Multi-biometrics

An automatic personal identification system based solely on fingerprints or faces is often not able to meet the system performance requirements. Face recognition is fast but not reliable while fingerprint verification is reliable but inefficient in database retrieval. A person can open a door by a scan of their retina, and there are other ways to resolve that problem. For instance, voice is becoming more popular as a biometric authentication, where private passwords are not acceptable.

Higher Biometric Performance

A biometric system which relies only on a single biometric identifier in making a personal identification is often not able to meet the desired performance requirements. Identification based on multiple biometrics represents an emerging trend.

Get Biometric Help

History of Biometrics

While biometrics did not show up in practice in Western cultures until late in the 19th century, it was being used in China by at least the 14th century.

An explorer and writer by the name of Joao de Barros wrote that Chinese merchants stamped children’s palm prints and footprints on paper with ink. The merchants did this as a way to distinguish young children from one another.

In the West, identification relied heavily simply upon “photographic memory” until the French police desk clerk and anthropologist Alphonse Bertillon developed the anthropometric system (later also known as Bertillonage) in 1883.

This was the first precise, scientific system that was widely used to identify criminals. It turned biometrics into a field of study.

How Biometrics Worked

It worked by precisely measuring certain lengths and widths of the head and body, as well as recording individual markings such as tattoos and scars. Bertillon’s system was widely adopted in the West until the system’s flaws became apparent – mainly problems with differing methods of measurement and changing measurements.

After that, Western police forces turned to fingerprinting – essentially the same system seen in China hundreds of years prior. In recent years biometrics has moved from simply fingerprinting, to many different methods that use various physical and behavioral measurements. The uses of biometrics have also increased, from just identification to security systems and more.

Definition of Biometrics

Biometrics (ancient Greek: bios ="life", metron ="measure") is the study of automated methods for uniquely recognizing humans based upon one or more intrinsic physical or behavioural traits.

In information technology, biometric authentication refers to technologies that measure and analyze human physical and behavioural characteristics for authentication purposes.

Examples of physical characteristics include fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, (which is known as

an iris recognition technology, or a retina recognition system)

facial patterns and hand measurements; while examples of mostly behavioral characteristics include signature, gait and typing patterns. Can you imagine opening the door to your house by some touchless sensors' approval?

Voice is considered a mix of both physical and behavioral characteristics. However, it can be argued that all biometric traits share physical and behavioural aspects.

Biometric System

In a typical IT biometric system, a person registers with the system when one or more of his physical and behavioral characteristics are obtained.

This information is then processed by a numerical algorithm, and entered into a database. The algorithm creates a digital representation of the obtained biometric.

If the user is new to the system, he or she enrolls, which means that the digital template of the biometric is entered into the database.

Templates for Biometrics

Each subsequent attempt to use the system, or authenticate, requires the biometric of the user to be captured again, and processed into a digital template.

That template is then compared to those existing in the database to determine a match. The process of converting the acquired biometric into a digital template for comparison is completed each time the user attempts to authenticate to the system.

The comparison process involves the use of a Hamming distance. This is a measurement of how similar two bit strings are.

Error Rates

For example, in this methodology two identical bit strings have a Hamming Distance of zero, while two totally dissimilar ones have a Hamming Distance of one.

Thus, the Hamming distance measures the percentage of dissimilar bits out of the number of comparisons made.

Ideally, when a user logs in, nearly all of his features match; then when someone else tries to log in, who does not fully match, and the system will not allow the new person to log in.

Current technologies have widely varying Equal Error Rates, varying from as low as 60% and as high as 99.9%.

Performance of Biometrics

Performance of a biometric measure is usually referred to in terms of the false accept rate (FAR), the false non match or reject rate (FRR), and the failure to enroll rate (FTE or FER).

The FAR measures the percent of invalid users who are incorrectly accepted as genuine users, while the FRR measures the percent of valid users who are rejected as impostors.

Real-world Biometrics

In real-world biometric systems the FAR and FRR can typically be traded off against each other by changing some parameter.

One of the most common measures of real-world biometric systems is the rate at which both accept and reject errors are equal: the equal error rate (EER), also known as the cross-over error rate (CER).

The lower the EER or CER, the more accurate the system is considered to be. An EER is desirable for a biometric system because it balances the sensitivity of the system.

Biometric Threshholds

Claimed error rates sometimes involve idiosyncratic or subjective elements. For example, one biometrics vendor set the acceptance threshold high, to minimize false accepts.

In the trial, three attempts were allowed, and so a false reject was counted only if all three attempts failed. At the same time, when measuring performance biometrics (e.g. writing, speech etc.), opinions may differ on what constitutes a false reject.

If a signature verification system is trained with an initial and a surname, can a false reject be legitimately claimed when it then rejects the signature incorporating a full first name?

DNA & Biometrics

Despite these misgivings, biometric systems have the potential to identify individuals with a very high degree of certainty.

Forensic DNA evidence enjoys a particularly high degree of public trust at present (ca. 2004) and substantial claims are being made in respect of iris recognition technology, which has the capacity to discriminate between individuals with identical DNA, such as monozygotic twins. There are multiple iris biometrics system api's.

Biometric Comparison

The figure below (Yun 2003) compares several biometrics with each other against seven categories:

* Universality describes how common a biometric is found in each individual.

* Uniqueness is how well the biometric separates one individual from another.

* Permanence measures how well a biometric resists aging.

* Collectability explains how easy it is to acquire a biometric for measurement.

* Performance indicates the accuracy, speed, and robustness of the system capturing the biometric.

* Acceptability indicates the degree of approval of a technology by the public in everyday life.

* Circumvention is how easy it is to fool the authentication system.

Yun ranks each biometric based on the categories as being either low, medium, or high. A low ranking indicates poor performance in the evaluation criterion whereas a high ranking indicates a very good performance.

A comparison of biometrics from: Yun, Yau Wei. The ‘123' of Biometric Technology, 2003

Biometric System Issues and Concerns

• plant DNA at the scene of the crime
• associate another's identity with his biometrics, thereby impersonating without arousing suspicion
• fool a fingerprint detector by using a piece of sticky tape with an authentic fingerprint on it
• fool an iris recognition camera by showing a photo of an iris pupil
• interfere with the interface between a biometric device and the host system, so that a "fail" message gets converted to a "pass".

BIOMETRIC FAQ:

Are There Problems with Biometrics?

Concerns about Identity theft through biometrics use have not been resolved. If a person's credit card number is stolen, for example, it can cause them great difficulty.

If their iris scan is stolen, though, and it allows someone else to access personal information or financial accounts, the damage could be irreversible. There has to be high security.

Often, biometric technologies have been rolled out without adequate safeguards for personal information gathered about individuals. Also, the biometric solution to identity theft is only as good as the information in the database that is used for verifying identity.

Problems of getting accurate and usuable initial information -- witness the current troubles with the No fly list of the Dept of Homeland security.

Presumably after the initial information is correctly stored, future computer error or vandalism (hacking) would prevent biometrics from being 100% foolproof against idenity theft.

BIOMETRIC FAQ:

Are There Fears About Biometrics?

Though biometrics often are touted as a way to restrict criminality, privacy advocates fear biometrics may be used to diminish personal liberties of law abiding citizens as well.

Developments in a huge range of new technologies besides biometrics - digital video, infrared, x-ray, wireless, global positioning satellite systems, image scanning, voice recognition, DNA, and brain wave fingerprinting - provide government with new ways to "search" individuals and collect vast databases of information on law-abiding members of the public. The fingerprint login device is a favorite, as it only has to search through a fingerprint database. In fact, many consumers are now purchasing biometric fingerprint sensor laptops.

Biometric identity verification has a huge lead in fingerprint software.

Canada and Biometrics

Canada has recently introduced biometrics in the use of passports with the help of digitized photos. The passports contain a chip that holds a picture of the person and personal information such as name and date of birth.

This technology is being used at border crossings that have electronic readers that are able to read the chip in the cards and verify the information present in the card and on the passport.

This method allows for increased efficiency and accuracy of identifying people at the border crossing. CANPASS, developed by Canada Customs, is currently being used by some major airports that have kiosks set up to take digital pictures of a person’s eye as a means of identification.

United States & Biometrics

The United States government has become a strong advocate of biometrics with the increase in security concerns in recent years. Starting in 2005, US passports with facial (image-based) biometric data are scheduled to be produced.

Privacy activists in many countries have criticized the technology's use for the potential harm to civil liberties, privacy, and the risk of identity theft. Currently, there is some apprehension in the United States (and the European Union) that the information can be "skimmed" and identify people's citizenship remotely for criminal intent, such as kidnapping.

Biometric Passport Control

A Biometric passport is an Information Age identity document that uses biometrics to authenticate the citizenship of travelers. The passport’s critical information is stored on a tiny computer chip, much like information stored on smartcards. Like some smartcards, the passport book design calls for an embedded contactless chip that is able to hold digital signature data to ensure the integrity of the passport and the biometric data. The current staged biometrics for this type of identification system is fingerprint recognition, digital imaging, and retinal scans.

For example, this would allow a computer to verify your identity by measuring the distance between your eyes.

Opposition to Biometrics

Privacy Activists in many countries question and protest the lack of information about exactly what the passports' chip will contain. The main problem they point out is that data on the passports can be transferred with touchless radio frequency identification (RFID) technology systems (like wireless technology) which can become a major vulnerability. Although this would allow ID-check computers to obtain your information without a physical connection, it would also allow anyone with the necessary equipment to perform the same task. If the personal information and passport numbers on the chip aren't encrypted, the information might wind up in the wrong hands. Vendors may provide a sample RFID door access program before institutions go ahead with any purchase decisions.

Other Concerns

Additional concern has been raised about the technical feasibility of biometrics in large-scale, real-world security applications.

This, combined with worries over added or unforseeable costs to the bearer, led to strong oppostion against the bill allowing the development of the British biometric national identity card, which uses the same biometric identification technology as the proposed European biometric passport. The British national passport latest security chip system has been hailed as very successful.

US Biometric Passport

A high level of security became the top priority in 2001. This tightened security required border control to take bold steps in cracking down on counterfeit paper passports. This concern led to the idea of biometric security.The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) issued awards to the top bidders of a program. The awards totaled to roughly $1,000,000 for startup, development, and testing. The driving force of the initiative is the US Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 that stated such smartcard IDs will be able replace visas.

US Visa Waiver Program

Countries participating in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program are now required to start production of machine-readable passports

that comply with international standards and support biometric identification. The citizens of these 27 countries will be able to offer their country’s biometric passport to retain their activity with visa-free traveling to the US. The goal of participating countries finally comes together; now tightened security exists aiding in the re-establishment of traveling ease.

Biometric Word List

A biometric word list is a list of words that can be implemented to authentically and reliably communicate numeric information by voice. The words in the list correspond to one of each of the 256 unique byte values, and are carefully chosen for their phonetic distinctiveness. The properties of the human voice as the authentication mechanism. The idea was originated by Phil Zimmermann , the inventor of PGP , and Patrick Juola , a computational linguist .

Zimmerman's List

The first (and only?) biometric word list is one developed by Zimmermann and Juola, with the assistance of Zhahai Stewart and Grady Ward . It was developed to permit the verbal authentication of Diffie-Hellman key exchange , and of cryptographic key fingerprints . The information conveyed using a biometric word list can also be conveyed by simply reading decimal or hexadecimal numbers. However, some numbers sound similar to each other ("five" and "nine"; "B" and "D"; etc.) and can lead to errors in "transmission", so the conversion to words is used. It is similar to the use of the military alphabet for the communication of letters.

British national identity card

After many years of discussion through successive governments, in 2003 then British Home Secretary David Blunkett announced that the government intends to introduce a British national identity card linked to a national identity database, the National Identity Register, which ID card detractors fear will track all residents of the UK throughout their lives. The NIR database is planned to perform a key role in the delivery of Government services over the Internet in the future.

Expectations of Biometrics

The cards and database will record biometric data, including fingerprints, digitised facial scan and iris scan. With biometrics face recognition and advances in science behind biometrics iris scanning, many changes in society are expected. It is expected that by 2013 up to 80% of the working population will have some kind of biometric identity document, with the cards becoming compulsory then.

Bill's Focus

Although the focus of the proposal is on the identity cards themselves, not least in the title of the Bill, it is the National Identity Register database that is the key component.

Due to the data stored on the Register, cards will not be essential to establish identity, since all that will be required will be to submit to a biometric scan.

Other UK & Ireland Concerns

It has been reported in the Republic of Ireland that the introduction of the card in the United Kingdom may lead to an Irish scheme. The details were announced after the London bombings. The main motivation of this is the Common Travel Area and proximity of Northern Ireland. In July 2005 the UK indicated that it would use its European Union Presidency (July-December 2005) to develop moves towards a Europe-wide biometric ID scheme

Facial Biometrics

A facial recognition system is a computer-driven application for automatically identifying a person from a digital image. It does that by comparing selected facial features in the live image and a facial database. It is typically used for security systems and can be compared to other biometrics such as fingerprint or eye iris recognition systems.

The London Borough of Newham, in the UK, has a facial recognition system built into their borough-wide CCTV system.

These systems are not all the same. One special type is a facial thermography biometric system.

Biometric Algorithms

Popular recognition algorithms include eigenface, fisherface, the Hidden Markov model and the neuronal motivated Dynamic Link Matching. A newly emerging trend, claimed to achieve previously unseen accuracies, is three-dimensional face recognition. Another emerging trend uses the visual details of the skin, as captured in standard digital or scanned images.

Biometric Criticism

Critics of one such technology complain that it has, as of 2004, never recognised a single criminal, despite several criminals in the system's database living in the Borough and the system having been running for several years. An experiment by the local police department in Tampa, Florida, had similarly disappointing results.

3-D Facial Biometrics

Three-dimensional face recognition (3D face recognition) is a modality of facial recognition methods in which the three-dimensional geometry of the human face is used. It has been shown that

3D face recognition methods can achieve significantly higher accuracy than their 2D counterparts, rivaling fingerprint recognition.

3-D Accuracy

3D face recognition achieves better accuracy than its 2D counterpart by measuring geometry of rigid features on the face. This avoids such pitfalls of 2D face recognition algorithms as change in lighting, different facial expressions, make-up and head orientation. Another approach is to use the 3D model to improve accuracy of traditional image based recognition by transforming the head into a known view.

3-D Biometric Limitations

The main technological limitation of 3D face recognition methods is the acquisition of 3D images, which usually requires a range camera.

This is also a reason why 3D face recognition methods have emerged significantly later (in the late 1980s) than 2D methods. Recently commercial solutions have implemented depth perception by projecting a grid onto the face and integrating video capture of it into a high resolution 3D model.

This allows for good recognition accuracy with low cost off-the-shelf components.

Biometric History - Europe

Elsewhere in the world up until the late 1800s, identification largely relied upon "photographic memory." In the 1890s, an anthropologist and police desk clerk in Paris named Alphonse Bertillon sought to fix the problem of identifying convicted criminals and turned biometrics into a distinct field of study. He developed a method of multiple body measurements which got named after him (Bertillonage).

Biometric History - Europe

Bertillon's system was used by police authorities throughout the world, until it quickly faded when it was discovered that some people shared the same measurements and based on the measurements alone, two people could get treated as one.

After the failure of Bertillonage, the police started using finger printing, which was developed by Richard Edward Henry of Scotland Yard, essentially reverting to the same methods used by the Chinese for years. The technology just wasn't up to the job at the time.

Modern Biometrics

In the past three decades biometrics has moved from a single method (fingerprinting) to more than ten discreet methods. Companies involved with new methods number in the hundreds and continue to improve their methods as the technology available to them advances. Prices for the harware required continue to fall making systems more feasible for low and mid-level budgets.

Biometrics Systems of Today

As the industry grows however, so does the public concern over privacy issues. Laws and regulations continue to be drafted and standards are beginning to be developed. While no other biometric has yet reached the breadth of use of fingerprinting,

some are beginning to be used in both legal and business areas. Sometimes decisions are based on economics. The author is doing research on biometric palm scanner prices.

Usage of Biometrics

Biometrics measures are used in two major ways: Identification and Verification. Identification is determining who a person is. It involves taking the measured characteristic and trying to find a match in a database containing records of people and that characteristic.

This biometric method can require a large amount of processing power and some time if the database is very large. It is often used in determining the identity of a suspect from crime scene information.

Verification

Verification is determining if a person is who they say they are. It involves taking the measured characteristic and comparing it to the previously recorded data for that person. This method requires less processing power and time, and is often used for accessing places or information. You may have seen an airport biometrics security access system, where they try to use the best biometrics security control techniques-fingerprint and otherwise.

How Biometrics Works

Biometric devices consist of a reader or scanning device, software that converts the gathered information into digital form, and a database that stores the biometric data for comparison with previous records.

When converting the biometric input, the software identifies specific points of data as match points. The match points are processed using an algorithm into a value that can be compared with biometric data in the database.

Speaker Recognition

How it Works:
User speaks into microphone his password or access phrase. Verification time is approximately 5 seconds.

To prevent recorded voice use, most devices require the high and low frequencies of the sound to match, which is difficult for many recording instruments to recreate well. Also, some devices generate random number sequences for each verification.

Signature Biometrics

How it Works:
The user signs on a tablet or on paper that is laying over a sensor tablet. The device records the signature and compares it to its database. Verification takes about 5 seconds.

Keyboard Biometrics

The user types his password or phrase on the keyboard. The system then records the timing of the typing and compares the password itself and the timing to its database. Verification takes less than 5 seconds.

Retinal Scan Biometrics

Retinal scanning analyses the layer of blood vessels at the back of the eye. Scanning involves using a low-intensity light source and an optical coupler and can read the patterns at a great level of accuracy. It does require the user to remove glasses, place their eye close to the device, and focus on a certain point. Whether the accuracy can outweigh the public discomfort is yet to be seen.

How Retinal Scan Works

The user looks through a small opening in the device at a small green light. The user must keep their head still and eye focused on the light for several seconds during which time the device will verify his identity.

This process takes about 10 to 15 seconds total.

History of Retinal Scan

Retina scan is actually one of the oldest biometrics as 1930's research suggested that the patterns of blood vessels on the back of the human eye were uniqueto each individual.

While technology has taken more time than the theory to be usable, EyeDentify, founded in 1976, developed The Eyedentification system 7.5 personal identification unit, the first retina scan device made for commercial use, in 1984.

Usage of Retinal Scan

Contrary to popular public misconceptions, and reflective of what is seen in the movies, retina scan is used almost exclusively in high-end security applications. It is extremely difficult to fake retinal scanners.

It is used for controlling access to areas or rooms in military installations, power plants, and the like that are considered high risk security areas.

Evaluation of Retinal Scan

Retina scan devices are probably the most accurate biometric available today. The continuity of the retinal pattern throughout life and the difficulty in fooling such a device also make it a great long-term, high-security option.

A Concise Definition of Biometrics

Biometrics are automated methods of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic.

They include fingerprints, retinal and iris scanning, hand and finger geometry, voice patterns, facial recognition, and other techniques. The biometric technologies are becoming the foundation of an extensive array of highly secure identification and personal verification solutions.

How Can Biometrics Help National Security?

Biometrics is expected to be incorporated in solutions to provide for Homeland Security including applications for improving airport security, strengthening our national borders, in travel documents, visas and in preventing ID theft. Now, more than ever, there is a wide range of interest in biometrics across federal, state, and local governments. Congressional offices and a large number of organizations involved in many markets are addressing the important role that biometrics will play in identifying and verifying the identity of individuals and protecting national assets. 

How About Other Applications?

There are many needs for biometrics beyond Homeland Security...

• Enterprise-wide network security infrastructures,
• Secure electronic banking, investing and other financial transactions,
• Retail sales,
• Law enforcement, and
• H ealth and social services

... are already benefiting from these technologies. A range of new applications can been found in such diverse environments as amusement parks, banks, credit unions, and other financial organizations, Enterprise and Government networks, passport programs and driver licenses, colleges, physical access to multiple facilities (e.g., nightclubs) and school lunch programs.

How are Other Applications Implemented?

Biometric-based authentication applications include workstation, network, and domain access, single sign-on, application logon, data protection, remote access to resources, transaction security and Web security. Trust in these electronic transactions is essential to the healthy growth of the global economy. Utilized alone or integrated with other technologies such as smart cards, encryption keys and digital signatures, biometrics are set to pervade nearly all aspects of the economy and our daily lives. All things that a biometric marketer can give you amount to security. There are many predictions related, therefore, to the biometric fingerprint industry and growth.

What is the Consistency and Accuracy?

Utilizing biometrics for personal authentication is becoming convenient and considerably more accurate than current methods (such as the utilization of passwords or PINs). This is because biometrics links the event to a particular individual (a password or token may be used by someone other than the authorized user), is convenient (nothing to carry or remember), accurate (it provides for positive authentication), can provide an audit trail and is becoming socially acceptable and inexpensive.