Welcome to RILEEN Innovative Technologies, Inc.

• What is biometrics? 
• What is biometric authentication?
• What are the advantages of biometric systems for authentication?
• What are the most well known biometric features used for authentication purposes? 
• Which biometric features are most constant over time? 
• What is the difference between identification and verification? 
• What makes up a biometric authentication system? 
• Is biometrics more "secure" than passwords? 
• Where can biometrics be used?
• Are biometrics a threat to privacy?
• Where are biometric technologies currently deployed?
• Can Rileen help my organization with a biometric solution?

Biometrics is the science of measuring an individual's physical properties.

WHAT IS BIOMETRIC AUTHENTICATION?

By determining an individual's physical features in an authentication inquiry and comparing this data with stored biometric reference data, identification for a specific user can be determined and authentication for access can be granted.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS FOR AUTHENTICATION?

Advancing automation and the development of new technological systems, such as the internet and cellular phones, have led users to more frequent use of technical means rather than human beings in receiving authentication. Personal identification has taken the form of secret passwords and PINs. Everyday examples requiring a password include the ATM, the cellular phone, or internet access on a personal computer. In order that a password cannot be guessed, it should be as long as possible, not appear in a dictionary, and include symbols such as +, -, %, or #. Moreover, for security purposes, a password should never be written down, never be given to another person, and should be changed at least every three months. When one considers that many people today need up to 30 passwords, most of which are rarely used, and that the expense and annoyance of a forgotten password is enormous, it is clear that users are forced to sacrifice security due to memory limitations. While the password is very machine friendly, it is far from user-friendly. 
There is a solution that returns to the ways of nature. In order to identify an individual, humans differentiate between physical features such as facial structure or sound of the voice. Biometrics, as the science of measuring and compiling distinguishing physical features, now recognizes many further features as ideal for the definite identification of even an identical twin. Examples include a fingerprint, the iris, and vein structure. In order to perform recognition tasks at the level of the human brain (assuming that the brain would only use one single biometric trait), 100 million computations per second are required. Only recently have standard PCs reached this speed, and at the same time, the sensors required to measure traits are becoming cheaper and cheaper. Therefore, the time has come to replace the password with a more user friendly solution -- biometric authentication.

WHAT ARE THE MOST WELL KNOWN BIOMETRIC FEATURES USED FOR AUTHENTICATION PURPOSES?

• Biometric Trait Description
• Fingerprint Finger lines, pore structure
• Signature (dynamic) Writing with pressure and speed differentials
• Facial geometry Distance of specific facial features (eyes, nose, mouth)
• Iris Iris pattern
• Retina Eye background (pattern of the vein structure)
• Hand geometry Measurement of fingers and palm
• Finger geometry Finger measurement
• Vein structure of back of hand Vein structure of the back of the hand
• Ear form Dimensions of the visible ear
• Voice Tone or timbre
• DNA DNA code as the carrier of human hereditary
• Odor Chemical composition of the one's odor
• Keyboard strokes Rhythm of keyboard strokes (PC or other keyboard)

WHICH BIOMETRIC FEATURES ARE MOST CONSTANT OVER TIME?

• Fingerprint (Minutia) 
• Signature (dynamic)  
• Facial structure
• Iris pattern
• Retina 
• Hand geometry 
• Finger geometry 
• Vein structure of the back of the hand
• Ear form 
• Voice (Tone) 
• DNA 
• Odor 
• Keyboard strokes & Passwords

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IDENTIFICATION AND VERIFICATION?

In an identification, the recorded biometric feature is compared to all biometric data saved in a system. If there is a match, the identification is successful, and the corresponding user name or user ID may be processed subsequently. 

In a verification, the user enters her/his identity into the system (e.g., via a keypad or card), then a biometric feature is scanned. The biometric trait must only be compared to the one previously saved reference feature corresponding to the ID. If a match occurs, verification is successful. 
If a system has only one saved reference trait, identification is similar to verification, but the user need not first enter his or her identity, as for example, access to a mobile phone which should only be used by its owner. 

What are the advantages of verification over identification? 

Verification is much faster than an identification when the number of saved reference features/users is very high. Verification shows a better biometric performance than identification, especially when the number of reference traits/users is very high. 

What are the disadvantages of verification compared to identification? 

In a verification, the user must first enter his or her identity to the biometric system. User ID's can be forgotten and cards can be lost, making access impossible. (Note, this is only relevant when a biometric system has more than one user.)

WHAT MAKES UP A BIOMETRIC AUTHENTICATION SYSTEM?

A basic biometric system is made up of:

a sensor to record the biometric trait 
a computer unit to process and eventually save the biometric trait 
an application, for which the user's authentication is necessary 

In detail, the processing unit comprises a "feature extraction unit" which filters the uniqueness data out of the raw data coming from the sensor and combines them into the request template, a "matcher" which compares the request template with the reference template and delivers a "score" value as result, and a "decision unit" which takes the score value (or values) as well as the threshold to derive a two-valued decision (authorized or non-authorized).

IS BIOMETRICS MORE "SECURE" THAN PASSWORDS?

This question at least poses two problems: biometrics is not equal to biometrics, and the term "secure" is in fact commonly used, but it is not exactly defined. However, we can try to collect pros and cons in order to find at least an intuitive answer. 

It is a matter of fact that the security of password protected values in particular depends on the user. If the user has to memorize too many passwords, he will use the same passwords for as many applications as possible. If this is not possible, he will go to construct very simple passwords. If this will also fail (e.g., if the construction rules are too complex), the next fall-back stage is to notify the password on paper. This would transform "secret knowledge" into "personal possession". Of course, not every user will react this way. Rather the personal motivation plays an important role: is he aware of the potential loss caused by careless handling of the password? It is easy if the user is the owner. But often foreign possession (e.g., that of the employer) has to be guarded, whose value one often can hardly estimate. If motivation is missing, any password primarily tends to be felt bothersome. In this case, and that seems to be the normal case, it is assumed that biometrics has considerable advantages.

Contrariwise, passwords feature an unbeatable theoretic protection ability: an eight-digit password which is allowed to contain any symbol from an 8-bit alphabet offers 1020 possible combinations! This is a real challenge for any biometric feature. The requirements are obvious: such a password is maximally difficult to learn, it must not be written down, it must not be passed to anyone, the input must take place absolutely secret, it must not be extorted, and the technical implementations must be perfect. This leads us to the practical aspects: the implementation must be protected against replay attacks, keyboard dummies (e.g., false ATMs), wiretapping etc. Even biometric features have to cope with such problems. However, it can be assumed that the protection of biometric feature acquisition is not easier than the acquisition of the password, provided the implementation expense is comparable! 

Conclusion: Surely, there are cases where passwords offer more security than biometric features. However, these cases are not common!

WHERE CAN BIOMETRICS BE USED?

Biometrics can be used in almost any application that requires the accurate identification of an individual. This ranges from computers where a fingerprint scan on the mouse can verify the identity of a user to nuclear power plants where various biometrics are used to restrict access to the critical systems.

ARE BIOMETRICS A THREAT TO PRIVACY?

This is a difficult question and probably the main barrier to wider use of biometric systems. If a person's biometric information is stolen, then their privacy has definitely been breached. However, if certain standards in information collection and protection are met, then biometrics can be a privacy enhancing tool. It is the aim of the Biometrics Institute to see these standards and procedures put in place.

WHERE ARE BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGIES CURRENTLY DEPLOYED?

Biometrics are currently being used in the national identification card schemes of both Hong Kong and Malaysia. The USA has also begun the testing of biometrics to enhance airport security. Many companies are using biometric technology also with Disney employing biometric devices for season ticket holders. There are many thousands of biometric deployments around the world too numerous to list here.

CAN RILEEN HELP MY ORGANIZATION WITH A BIOMETRIC SOLUTION?

Yes! In fact we can help almost any organization incorporate biometrics into their existing structure, be they small or large, no matter what your concerns or needs are. Contact us today to talk to one of our biometrics experts and see what RILEEN can do for you.

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