27-07-2012, 10:43 AM
Usable Biometrics
Usable Biometrics.doc (Size: 28 KB / Downloads: 48)
Overview
Biometrics literally means measurements of life from the Greek word “Bio” meaning Life and “Metric” meaning to measure. Technology that makes use of biometrics uses measurements of a person’s physiology and behavioral characteristics to do something. In security biometrics are often used for identification and verification.
Identification:
Identification is when the system tries to identify who the user is based on their biometrics. This is done by matching the current user’s characteristics to a large database containing all users.
Identification has the potential problem of mistaking one person for another. An example would be a facial recognition system that mistakes one twin for the other.
Verification:
Verification is when the user has stated their identity and the system merely needs to confirm it. The system pulls up the record of the previously recorded characteristics and compares them against the biometrics of the current user.
Types of Biometrics:
There are many different types of biometric measurements possible. The two major types are physiological and behavioral. As examples the talk featured examples of each type of biometric using movies.
Face:
Face recognition works by looking at specific nodal points on the user’s face and comparing it against a database of previously recorded patterns. Nodal points are specific characteristics of the face such as the distance between eyes or the width of the nose.
Face recognition is used in Airports and Las Vegas casinos to identify people who are on a watch list. NIST says it is 80-90% accurate in controlled condions.
Eyes:
There are two main types of biometrics involving eyes, retinal and iris. A retinal scan measures the pattern of blood vessels on the retina. This type of scan is fairly invasisve, the machine has to be very close to the eye and the subject has to hold very still. An iris scan examines the unique patterns of ridges on the colored portion of the eye. This is less invasive and the subject can be further away from the camera. Both eye scans are extremely accurate but won’t work on some groups such as the blind or people with cataracts.
Class Discussion:
Question: How identical are twins?
. Identical twins do not have the same fingerprints or eyes since both are created as a result of the environment not as a result of DNA.
. Twins do have very similar voices and faces.
. Fraternal twins as well as siblings also have very similar voices and facial features.
DNA:
DNA works by taking a sample of the subject for example a drop of blood or a hair. The length and protein sequence of the DNA is then looked at to generate a profile which is compared against other profiles. Currently this is used by law enforcement and in paternity cases. This is also a very accurate method, it’s a 6 billion to 1 chance of having two people with the same DNA unless there is an identical twin.
Class Discussion:
. Privacy concerns. In the movie used as an example people were judged based on their DNA and not themselves.
. Cleanliness concerns. How is a sample of the person collected? How much do you trust that needles are cleaned? What about HIV?
Usable Biometrics.doc (Size: 28 KB / Downloads: 48)
Overview
Biometrics literally means measurements of life from the Greek word “Bio” meaning Life and “Metric” meaning to measure. Technology that makes use of biometrics uses measurements of a person’s physiology and behavioral characteristics to do something. In security biometrics are often used for identification and verification.
Identification:
Identification is when the system tries to identify who the user is based on their biometrics. This is done by matching the current user’s characteristics to a large database containing all users.
Identification has the potential problem of mistaking one person for another. An example would be a facial recognition system that mistakes one twin for the other.
Verification:
Verification is when the user has stated their identity and the system merely needs to confirm it. The system pulls up the record of the previously recorded characteristics and compares them against the biometrics of the current user.
Types of Biometrics:
There are many different types of biometric measurements possible. The two major types are physiological and behavioral. As examples the talk featured examples of each type of biometric using movies.
Face:
Face recognition works by looking at specific nodal points on the user’s face and comparing it against a database of previously recorded patterns. Nodal points are specific characteristics of the face such as the distance between eyes or the width of the nose.
Face recognition is used in Airports and Las Vegas casinos to identify people who are on a watch list. NIST says it is 80-90% accurate in controlled condions.
Eyes:
There are two main types of biometrics involving eyes, retinal and iris. A retinal scan measures the pattern of blood vessels on the retina. This type of scan is fairly invasisve, the machine has to be very close to the eye and the subject has to hold very still. An iris scan examines the unique patterns of ridges on the colored portion of the eye. This is less invasive and the subject can be further away from the camera. Both eye scans are extremely accurate but won’t work on some groups such as the blind or people with cataracts.
Class Discussion:
Question: How identical are twins?
. Identical twins do not have the same fingerprints or eyes since both are created as a result of the environment not as a result of DNA.
. Twins do have very similar voices and faces.
. Fraternal twins as well as siblings also have very similar voices and facial features.
DNA:
DNA works by taking a sample of the subject for example a drop of blood or a hair. The length and protein sequence of the DNA is then looked at to generate a profile which is compared against other profiles. Currently this is used by law enforcement and in paternity cases. This is also a very accurate method, it’s a 6 billion to 1 chance of having two people with the same DNA unless there is an identical twin.
Class Discussion:
. Privacy concerns. In the movie used as an example people were judged based on their DNA and not themselves.
. Cleanliness concerns. How is a sample of the person collected? How much do you trust that needles are cleaned? What about HIV?