In this edition, we would
continue discussion on the characteristics that determine the suitability of a human
trait as a biometric attribute, otherwise called the seven pillars of
biometrics.
4: Circumvention or Security
A measure of how easy it
can be to fool a given attribute is an indication of its suitability (or
otherwise) for biometric purposes. Circumvention is a quality that evaluates the
ease with which a biometric trait can be fooled or bypassed by an attacker and to
what extent it can withstand being spoofed or defeated. The measure or degree
of difficulty required to bypass a biometric trait is an indication of its
security and usability as a biometric authentication technique, and also a pointer
to how vulnerable it might become to spoof attacks and identity fraud.
It is common occurrence for
two separate individuals to have the similar height or exactly same weight, but
it is rare to obtain a perfectly similar facial pattern or fingerprint from two
persons. This is why height and weight cannot be used as classical biometric
attributes, but facial pattern and fingerprints can be used because it is
difficult to obtain such similar values from different persons, hence they are
more secure. It is also more difficult (but not totally impossible) to fabricate
fake eyeballs or retina patterns than to obtain fake signatures.
In this sense
we say that even though both offer relatively high levels of security as
biometric attributes, retina patterns are more difficult to circumvent or forge
than signatures, thereby making retina patterns a more secure set of biometric
attributes than signatures, and a more preferred option for use at maximum
security facilities. Vein patterns have also been known to exhibit a more
secure biometric characteristics than voice prints.
5: Performance
Biometric performance is a measure of the speed and accuracy of
recognizing the trait while in normal use even in the midst of environment
effects. It is an indication of how well the biometric trait is able to
compensate for inherent losses during the processing of the samples. In general
biometric performance is closely tied to its efficiency to successfully complete
the identification or authentication processes in a timely manner while minimizing
errors.
As an illustration, it is faster and more probable to process 3D facial
patterns from babies and infants than to recognize their fingerprints. This is
because fingerprint formation naturally takes time to become fully-usable as a biometric
trait, resulting in the poor quality of fingerprint processes often experienced
with toddlerbiometrics. In this sense, we say that facialprints have better infant-related
performance than fingerprints.
… To be continued next week.
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About The Columnist
Kenneth Okereafor is an accomplished ICT professional and Cybersecurity expert with over 20 years computing experience in Enterprise ICT innovation management in both private and public sectors. He holds dual PhD degrees in Computer Science (Cybersecurity & Biometrics) and Management (ICT Administration and Governance) with a first class Electronics & Telecommunications Engineering background. He is a United Nations trained Network Security Specialist and is proficient in Network Optimization, Data Protection, Biometric Systems and Digital Forensics. In addition to many published works and conference papers, Kenneth has participated at many international technology events, and has contributed to several national ICT development programmes including the design and development of the National eHealth Strategic Framework 2015 - 2020. He has strong research interests in Digital Innovations, Cloud Security, Cybersecurity Education, Biometric Liveness Detection and Green Computing; and may be reached at nitelken@yahoo.com
