The Biometric System and Its Use - Essay Example

BIOMETRICS Information technology has revolutionized every aspect of our lives today. They have made our work simpler, fast and accurate. If we compare the technology of today to that of fifty years back, we will find that the advancements have surpassed the expectations of even the science fiction writers. The kind of technology and networking that exists around us has without doubt made life simpler for us. But, the extent to which it has made us safer is still being debated. While on the one hand we have advanced security gadgets, on the other the acts of sabotage too are being carried out in most sophisticated manner. Biometric technology is an effort to diagnose the problems and fill some of the loopholes in the security setup. As of now it is being said that it’ll be almost impossible to change the biometric features of human body, which in turn will help the security people to prepare a reliable database and identify the people with criminal background. Biometrics is one of the latest applications of IT and helps us in many different cumbersome tasks in an effective manner. The term biometrics has been used since the 20th century. Biometrics refers to the field of development of mathematical methods which are applied in data analysis of problems in biological sciences. The term biometrics has been widely used in two aspects, characteristics and processes. Automated recognition for an individual requires the measurement of certain biological/behavioral characteristics of them. This is where the term “biometrics” discusses characteristics. The second is biometrics as a process, where it refers to automated methods which are used to identify individuals based on their different measurable characteristics and behaviors (as said above). THE BIOMETRIC SYSTEM Before we study different biometric systems and their implications, it is important to know the structure of a biometric system. A typical biometric system comprises of the following five integrated components: 1. A sensor which is used to observe the characteristics and converts them into data which can be easily stored in electronic form for further use. 2. The signals read through these sensors are processes through “signal processing algorithms”. These algorithms perform quality control activities on the data that has been collected through the sensors. 3. One the data has been collected, it needs to be stored and hence, a biometric system consists of a storage component which manages all the data collected. 4. A matching algorithm that matches the newly collected data with the one that is stored in it. Hence called “matching” algorithm. 5. The information generated by the matching algorithm is now used for decision making, either automated or with the assistance of humans. (www.biometrics.gov, 2006) BIOMETRICS AND ITS USE “Biometric identification sounded like a way to prevent unauthorized users from accessing company property or info. But you may be surprised to learn how businesses are actually using the technology.” (Stuart, 2007) Biometrics has a wide variety of applications. One of the most notable one existing today is “identification” of individuals/beings. Biometric systems use automated comparisons of electronic data in order to calculate a match, or recognize. Identification is used to determine whether a person is known, or not. A software application is used to specific data points that are called match points. This identification only succeeds if the comparison of the biometric data sample to one existing in the database falls within a previously set threshold. Another application of biometrics is in “verification”. A one to one comparison of the collected biometric data is done with stored information to verify that the individual is the one he/she is claiming to be i.e. they are being verified. This is the most commonly seen today when we provide username passwords, IDs or cards for verification. Verification by using biometric systems/technology is becoming increasingly widespread in corporate and public security systems, point of sale (POS) applications and electronics. Biometric technology not only provides security (verification or identification) but also contributes to convenience in all these processes. A typical example of a biometric device is a finger scanner. (What is biometrics? 2008) Biometric Passport Biometric systems are widely being used at airports and other points of travel. The biometric passport is commonly known as the ePassport today. This passport contains the required biometric information in order to authenticate or verify a particular individual while traveling. These passports employ the use of the contact-less smart card technology in which no contact needs to be made with the biometric identifier system. A microprocessor chip along with an antenna is embedded onto or inside the passport. The picture on the next page shows the structure of the biometric passport: Source: Google Images All the critical information is on the passport as well as on the included chip. This chip might be vulnerable to people who might be willing to use one’s information for illegal or false purposes. To cater to this problem, a PKI – Public Key Infrastructure is used to authenticate the information on the chip making it practically impossible to crack through, if all security measures are implemented. Every technology has different aspects, pros and cons. Since the introduction of biometric passports, many threats have been presented and demonstrated. For example, an attacker may guess the required key required for reading important information from the chip. This way, a person may lose all his personal and critical information which may affect him if it is used in any illegal thing. (Witteman, 2005) Another potential threat that was presented after the introduction of ePassports was that they could be used to attack an individual. For example, a person might be traveling with his passport. Once he/she is detected within a range, they might be traced and attacked by their enemy. This not only compromises an individual’s privacy but also poses a threat to their lives. Face Recognition Systems This is another example of a biometric system. Face recognition systems are being widely used in organizations that do not compromise on their security. These systems verify individuals through the use of image processing and can be compared to fingerprint or eye iris recognition systems. Facial recognition systems are used because they are universal i.e. everyone has a face, everyone can enroll. They are non intrusive and have a non contact verification process. Moreover, these systems are really fast and responsive. The software “finds” the user’s face within a frame and starts making comparisons instantly. Sensors don’t need to be adjusted for height; spectacles don’t need to be removed; operatives don’t need to touch a scanner or present their face in a particular way. These systems work perfectly and in an accurate manner, with the verification time of just 1.5 seconds. (www.facerec.com, n.d.) The pictures given on the next page show the face recognition system at work: Read More