Unit 6 Flashcards
Biometric
It relates to a measurement or set of measurements of human beings that can be used to identify them in the context of authentication
Biometrics can be divided into two types:
1)Physiological biometric
2)Behavioral biometric
Physiological biometrics
- They do not normally change throughout a person’s life, at least not after that person has reached adulthood
-Examples: fingerprint, iris pattern
Behavioral biometrics
- Do not normally change, but can change if the person put a sustained effort to change them
- Gait or way of signing one’s name
Biometric security system main advantage
1) People automatically have their identity token with them
2) A biometric cannot be forgotten or left behind
Biometric security system main drawback
Many biometrics are not secret and so can be imitated
Gait
- It is the way someone walks
- It is a behavioral biometric
Advantages of gait
1) Can be captured at a distance
2) Can be captured without the subject’s knowledge
Disadvantages of gait
1) It is relatively difficult to capture, normally involving working on a video sequence
2) It is also computationally intensive and so not suitable for real-time authentication
Fingerprint
- It has to do with the ridges and furrows on a fingertip
-It is a physiological biometric
Advantages of fingerprint
1) The ridge pattern on a fingertip stays the same throughout a person’s life (though it can become less pronounced), unless the fingertip is damaged
2) It is also highly distinctive - even identical twins have somewhat different fingerprints
3) A fingerprint is easy to capture
Disadvantages of fingerprint
1) An estimated 5% of people are not able to provide a fingerprint that is usable for security purposes due to an injury or worn-down ridges on the fingertip
2) It is also possible to lift a fingerprint off a surface and use it to produce a fake finger
Iris pattern
- It is the pattern of the iris in the eye
- It is a physiological biometric
Advantages of iris pattern
It is unique for each eye and for each person
Disadvantages of iris pattern
1) The capture does require the person’s cooperation so that the iris is at the correct distance from the camera (iris images can be captured at a short distance)
2) For some subjects, the light that is necessarily shone on the eye can cause irritation
Name signature
- The way someone signs their name, considering the way they hold the pen and the pressure exerted
- It is a behavioral biometric
(The signature itself is different from the way the hand moves the pen. The way the way the hand moves the pen has been studied recently with a view to capture it and using it in biometric security systems)
Advantages of name signature
It could well prove as acceptable as signatures themselves
Disadvantages of name signature
How people sign their names and the signature produced do tend to change with time
Typing pattern
- The way someone logs into their computer
- This is the way the keys are pressed:
- The pressure in which each key is tapped
- The intervals between key taps
- A behavioral biometric
Advantages of typing pattern
- It has the potential to replace signatures for computer-based activities
- Its capture does not require the subject’s cooperation, as the computer can be set up to capture it automatically at login
Disadvantages of typing pattern
Underdevelopment
Personal odor
- A physiological biometric
- Devices to capture and analyze odor are very expensive
Face
- It is a set of measurements relating to various facial features
- It is a physiological biometric
Disadvantages of face biometric systems
- Electronic equipment still has difficulty with facial recognition
- Facial characteristics tend to change with the effects of aging, facial expressions, disguises, different angles of the face to the camera and different lighting conditions
- Close relatives may have similar facial biometrics
- Currently, the use of this biometric requires the subject’s cooperation as they must stand a certain distance from the camera
Voice
- Can be considered as both behavioral and physiological biometrics
- Behavioral because it relates to how people speak
- Physiological, if it’s the frequency components of the voice that are being measured, as these relate to the vocal tract
Advantages of voice biometrics
Voice recognition is useable at a significant distance
Disadvantages of voice biometrics
- Humans recognize voices much more readily than electronic equipment can
- a sore throat can render a voice hard for a human to recognize, hence, it can make it impossible for electronic equipment to recognize
- close relatives may have voices that are so similar that identification is difficult for electronic equipment.
- Background noise is a problem for these systems.
- A subject’s voice can be pre-recorded without their knowledge and used to fool the recognition system
Characteristics of biometrics
1) Distinctiveness
2) Permanence
3) Universality
4) Collectability
5) Acceptability
6) Performance
7) Circumvention
1) Distinctiveness
Indicates how well the biometric separates one individual from another
2) Permanence
Indicates how well the biometric remains the same over time
3) Universality
Indicates how commonly the biometric is found in humans
4) Collectability
Indicates how easy it is to measure the biometric and translate it into electronic format