A

SEMINAR REPORT ON
BIOMETRIC SECURITY SYSTEM
SUBMITTED TO
RAJASTHAN TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
(IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE)
OF
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

SESSION 2009-2010

Submitted By: GAZAL GUPTA

B.Tech. IV YEAR
ROLL NO: - 06EJGIT020

Guided By:Mr.Surendra Yadav

(H.O.D)

JAGANNATH GUPTA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING &

TECHNOLOGY
JAIPUR
1

PREFACE

The objective of the seminar engineering is to learn something

from practical concepts. Engineering is not only a theoretical study
but it is a implementation of all we study for creating something
new and making things more easy and useful through practical
study.
It is an art, which can be gained with systematic study,
observation and practice. In the college circulation we usually get
the theoretical knowledge to increase the productivity or efficiency
of the industry.
The Report describe about my detailed analysis on the
requirement of biometric, detail analysis of face detection & finger
print recognition ,biometric applications, combination of biometric
with smart cards which can a very useful step in the security of the
transaction taken todays life software and the future use of
biometric security systems

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Firstly I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Almighty

for His solemn presence throughout the seminar study. I would also
like to express my special thanks to the Surendra Yadav (H.O.D.)
for providing an opportunity to undertake this seminar. I am deeply
indebted to our seminar coordinator Mrs. Shipra Choudhary,
Lecturer in the Department of Information Technology and
Engineering for providing me with valuable advice and guidance
during the course of the study. I would like to extend my heartfelt
gratitude to the Faculty of the Department of Information
Technology and Engineering for their constructive support and
cooperation at each and every juncture of the seminar study.
Finally I would like to express my gratitude to Jaganath Gupta
Institute of Engineering and Technology for providing me with
all the required facilities without which the seminar study would
not have been possible.

Gazal Gupta
VIII SEM
06EJGIT020
Information Technology.

BIOMETRICS SECURITY SYSTEM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page No.

1.

2.

ABSTRACT

BIOMETRICS -AN INTODUCTION

1.1

INTRODUCTION

1.2

DEFINITIONS OF BIOMETRIC

1.3

WHAT IS A BIOMETRIC?

BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGY

2.1

10

THE BIOMETRIC MODEL

3.

BIOMETRIC TYPES

12

4.

DETAIL ANALYSIS OF BIOMETRIC SECURITY

16

SYSTEM USING FACE DETECTION

5.

4.1

DEFINITION & RELATION

16

4.2

AS A PATTERN

16

4.3

APPLICATION

17

4.4

IMPLEMENTATION OF TRACK EYE

19

4.5

CONTINUOSLY ADAPTIVE MEAN SHIFT

ALGORITHM

20

4.6

HAAR FACE DETECTION METHOD

21

DETAIL ANALYSIS OF BIOMETRIC SECURITY

SYSTEM USING FACE DETECTION
4

22

6.

7.

5.1

FEATURE OF FINGERPRINT

23

5.2

HOW DOES FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION

WORKS

24

5.3

COMPONENTS OF A FINGERPRINT SYSTEM

25

5.4

FINGERPRINT CAPTURE & DETECTION

27

5.5

METHOD OF FINGERPRINT DETECTION

28

5.6

CLASSIFYING FINFERPRINTS

29

SELECTING BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGY

31

6.1

EASE OF USE

32

6.2

ACCURACY

33

6.3

COST

BIOMETRIC APPLICATIONS

36

7.1 INDIAN INITIATIVES

7.2 GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
8

COMBINING BIOMETRIC WITH SMART CARD

8.1 ENHANCED PRIVACY

38

8.2 PERSONAL DATABASE

8.3 PERSONAL FIREWALL
8.4 ENHANCED SECURITY
9.

THE FUTURE OF BIOMETRICS

41

10.

CONCLUSION

43

11.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

44

ABSTRACT
With the increasing use of electronics and electronic commerce in our
day-to-day lives, the importance of fraud-proof identification and
recognition systems for use in security applications has grown .The
improved understanding of biological systems and the ability to model them
using computer algorithms has led to utilization of biometrics in
authentication systems. Voice, Iris, Face, Signature, Hand Geometry are the
biometrics that have been studied and applied to various kinds of
identification and authentication systems.
Biometrics is a means of using parts of the human body as a
kind of permanent password. Technology has advanced to the point where
computer systems can record and recognize the patterns, hand shapes, ear
lobe contours, and a host of other physical characteristics. Using this
biometrics, laptop and other portable devices can be empowered with the
ability to instantly verify your identity and deny access to everybody else.

CHAPTER 1
BIOMETRICS - AN INTRODUCTION
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Biometrics is a rapidly evolving technology that facilitates the automatic
identification of an individual based on his or her physiological or behavioral
characteristics.
These characteristics are referred to as biometric identifiers and are
unique to each and every one of us. Physiological or physical identifiers do
not change overtime and include a persons fingerprint, facial features, iris,
and retina patterns, along with geometric shape of your hand. Behavioral
identifiers do change over time or with mood and include a persons voice,
signature and the way one types at keyboard.

As networking grows, so does the number of electronic transactions used

for both conducting business and gathering information. This fact has led to
realization that the traditional methods involving passwords and pin numbers
used to gain entry in these networks, no longer provides adequate security
against unauthorized access to sensitive and / or personal data.

Users PIN and passwords can be forgotten and token-based ids such as
smart cards, employee badges, passports and drivers license can be lost,
stolen or forged. Biometric identification systems provide a solution to these
problems, since they require the user to be physically present at the point of
identification and unique biometric identifiers are based on who you are, as
opposed to what you know or have in your possession.
7

1.2 DEFINITIONS OF BIOMETRIC

1. Biometrics refers to the method of automatically identifying or verifying
identity based upon behavioral or physical traits. It is the science and
technology of measuring and statistically analyzing biological data, data that
is represented in humans by patterns unique to every individual. [1]
2. Biometrics identification technologies that measure the human body.
Biometrics include finger scan (finger print), Iris scan, retina scan, voice
verification, hand geometry and signature verification. [2]
3. Biometrics identification devices rely on unique physical characteristics,
such as fingerprints, hand shape, or facial appearance to screen and verified
individuals authority for access and other kind of transactions. [3]

4. Biometrics is a science of measuring the unique physical characteristics

of a person such as voice, a face or a fingerprint. These personal features are
analyzed and stored as bioprints in a reference database, on a smart card or
an embedded chip. They are used to verify the identity of the person by
comparing them to the previously stored bioprints. [4]
1.3 WHAT IS A BIOMETRIC?
The security field uses three different types of authentication:
-Something you knowa password, PIN, or piece of information
-Something you havea card key, smart card, or token
-Something you area biometric.
8

Of these, a biometric is the most secure and convenient authentication

tool. It can't be borrowed, stolen, or forgotten, and forging one is practically
impossible.

Biometrics

measure

individuals

unique

physical

or

behavioral

characteristics to recognize or authenticate their identity. Common physical

biometrics include fingerprints; hand or palm geometry; and retina, iris, or
facial characteristics. Behavioral characters include signature, voice,
keystroke pattern, and gait. Of this class of biometrics, technologies for
signature and voice are the most developed.

Figure 1 : Process involved in using a biometric system for security

Capture the chosen biometric; Process the biometric and enroll the
biometric template; Store the template; Live-scan the chosen biometric;
Process the biometric and extract the biometric template; Match the scanned
biometric against stored templates; Provide a matching score to business
applications; Record a secure audit trail with respect to system use.

CHAPTER 2
BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGY
2.1 THE BIOMETRIC MODEL

DATA COLLECTION

SIGNAL

DECISION

PROCESSING
BIOMETRICS

DECISION
PATTERN
MATCHING

PRESENTATION

DATA STORAGE
SENSOR

QUALITY
CONTROL
FEATURE
EXTRACTION

DATABASE

SMARTCARD

TRANSMISSION
IMAGE STORAGE
COMPRESSION

TRANSMISSION

EXPANSION

Figure 2 : The biometric model

A generic biometric model consists of five subsystems, namely data

collection, transmission, signal processing, decision-making, and data
storage.

Data collection involves use of sensors to detect and measure

individuals physiological or behavioral characteristics. The measured
biometric must be unique and repeatable over multiple measurements.
10

Biometric System Components and Process

2.1

Components
Three major components are usually present in a biometric system:
A mechanism to scan and capture a digital or analog image of a living
persons biometric characteristic.
Software for storing, processing and comparing the image.
An interface with the applications system that will use the result to
confirm an individuals identity.

2.2
Process
Two different stages are involved in the biometric system process
Enrollment and Verification.

2.2.1 Enrollment.
As shown in Figure 3.1, the biometric image of the individual is
captured during the enrollment process (e.g., using a sensor for fingerprint,
microphone for voice verification, camera for face recognition, scanner for
eye scan). The unique characteristics are then extracted from the biometric
image to create the users biometric template. This biometric template is
stored in a database or on a machine-readable ID card for later use during an
identity verification process.

11

Figure 2.2 Schematic of an Enrollment Process

2.2.2 Verification.

Figure 3.2 illustrates the identity verification process. The biometric

image is again captured. The unique characteristics are extracted from the
biometric image to create the users live biometric template. This new
template is then compared with the template previously stored and a
numeric matching score is generated, based on the percentage of
duplication between the live and stored template. System designers
determine the threshold value for this identity verification score based
upon the security requirements of the system.

Figure 3.2 Schematic of a verification process

12

Secure identification systems use biometrics for two basic purposes: to

identify or authenticate individuals.
Identification (1-to-many comparison) verifies if the individual exists within
a known population. Identification confirms that the individual is not
enrolled with another identity and is not on a predetermined list of prohibited
persons. Identification will typically need a secured database containing a
list of all applying individuals and their biometrics. The biometric for the
individual being considered for enrollment would be compared against all
stored biometrics. For many applications, an identification process is used
only at the time of enrollment to verify that the individual is not already
enrolled.

Authentication (1-to-1 comparison) confirms that the credential belongs to

the individual presenting it. In this case, the device that performs the
authentication must have access only to the individuals enrolled biometric
template, which may be stored locally or centrally.

13

CHAPTER 3
BIOMETRIC TYPES
1. Fingerprint Verification
There is variety of approaches to fingerprint verification. Some of them
try to emulate the traditional police method of matching minutiae, others are
straight pattern matching devices, and some adopt a unique approach all of
their own, including moir Fringe patterns and ultrasonic. Some of them can
detect when a live finger is presented, some cannot. There is a greater variety
of fingerprint devices available than any other biometric at present.

Figure 3: Verification by finger scanning and its comparison with database

Potentially capable of good accuracy, fingerprint devices can also suffer

from usage errors among insufficiently disciplined users such as might be
the case with large user bases. One must also consider the transducer user
interface and how this would be affected by large scale usage in a variety of
environments. Fingerprint verification may be a good choice for in house
systems where adequate explanation and training can be provided to users
and where the system is operated within a controlled environment. It is not
14

surprising that the workstation access application area seems to be based

almost exclusively around fingerprints, due to the relatively low cost, small
size (easily integrated into keyboards) and ease of integration.

2. Voice Verification [5]

Voice authentication is not based on voice recognition but on voice-toprint authentication, where complex technology transforms voice into text.
Voice biometrics has the most potential for growth, because it requires no
new hardwaremost PCs already contain a microphone. However, poor
quality and ambient noise can affect verification. In addition, the enrollment
procedure has often been more complicated than with other biometrics,
leading to the perception that voice verification is not user friendly.
Therefore, voice authentication software needs improvement. One day, voice
may become an additive technology to finger-scan technology. Because
many people see finger scanning as a higher authentication form, voice
biometrics will most likely be relegated to replacing or enhancing PINs,
passwords, or account names.
3. Retinal Scanning
An established technology where the unique patterns of the retina are
scanned by a low intensity light source via an optical coupler. Retinal
scanning has proved to be quite accurate in use but does require the user to
look into a receptacle and focus on a live of the eye related biometrics. It
utilizes a fairly conventional ccd camera element and requires no intimate
contact between user and reader. In addition it has the potential for higher
than average template matching performance. It has been demonstrated to
work with spectacles in place and with a variety of ethnic groups and is one
15

of the few devices, which can work well in identification mode. Ease of use
and system integration have not traditionally been strong points with the iris
scanning devices, but we can expect to see improvements in these areas as
new products are introduced.

4. Signature Verification
Signature verification analyzes the way a user signs his/her name.
Signing features such as speed, velocity, and pressure are as important as the
finished signature's static shape. Signature verification enjoys a synergy with
existing processes that other biometrics do not. People are used to signatures
as a means of transaction-related identity verification, and most would see
nothing unusual in extending this to encompass biometrics. Signature
verification devices are reasonably accurate in operation and obviously lend
themselves to applications where a signature is an accepted identifier.
Surprisingly, relatively few significant signature applications have emerged
compared with other biometric methodologies. But if your application fits, it
is a technology worth considering.

5. Facial Recognition
Face recognition analyzes facial characteristics. It requires a digital
camera to develop a facial image of the user for authentication. This
technique has attracted considerable interest, although many people don't
completely understand its capabilities. Some vendors have made extravagant
claimswhich are very difficult, if not impossible, to substantiate in
practicefor facial recognition devices. Because facial scanning needs an
extra peripheral not customarily included with basic PCs, it is more of a
niche market for network authentication. However, the casino industry has
16

capitalized on this technology to create a facial database of scam artists for

quick detection by security personnel.

6. Hand Geometry
Hand geometry involves analyzing and measuring the shape of the hand.
These biometric offers a good balance of performance characteristics and are
relatively easy to use. It might be suitable where there are more users or
where users access the system infrequently and are perhaps less disciplined
in their approach to the system.

Accuracy can be very high if desired and flexible performance tuning

and configuration can accommodate a wide range of applications.
Organizations are using hand geometry readers in various scenarios,
including time and attendance recording. Ease of integration into other
systems and processes, coupled with ease of use, and makes hand geometry
an obvious first step for many biometric projects.

7. Software Analysis
Smart protector allows software products to be simply and effectively
protective against piracy. Part of application code, completely developed in
VB 6.0 is recompiled and transferred at run time executed into a smart card
where, due to physical protection, it is in accessible .Smart protector makes
it possible also for developers who are not expert of smart card technology to
set up, in a very short time, protected and non duplicable software
applications.

17

CHAPTER 4
DETAIL ANALYSIS OF BIOMETRIC
SECURITY SYSTEM USING FACE DETECTION

Face detection is a computer technology that determines the locations and

sizes of human faces in arbitrary (digital) images. It detects facial features
and ignores anything else, such as buildings, trees and bodies.
4.1 Definition and relation to other tasks:Face detection can be regarded as a specific case of object-class detection;
In object-class detection, the task is to find the locations and sizes of all
objects in an image that belong to a given class. Examples include upper
torsos, pedestrians, and cars.
Face detection can be regarded as a more general case of face localization;
In face localization, the task is to find the locations and sizes of a known
number of faces (usually one). In face detection, one does not have this
additional information.
Early face-detection algorithms focused on the detection of frontal human
faces, whereas newer algorithms attempt to solve the more general and
difficult problem of multi-view face detection. That is, the detection of faces
that are either rotated along the axis from the face to the observer (in-plane
rotation), or rotated along the vertical or left-right axis (out-of-plane
rotation), or both.
4.2 Face detection as a pattern-classification task:Many algorithms implement the face-detection task as a binary pattern
classification task. That is, the content of a given part of an image is
transformed into features, after which a classifier trained on example faces
decides whether that particular region of the image is a face, or not.
18

Often, a window-sliding technique is employed. That is, the classifier is used

to classify the (usually square or rectangular) portions of an image, at all
locations and scales, as either faces or non-faces (background pattern).
4.3 Applications:Face detection is used in biometrics, often as a part of (or together with) a
facial recognition system. It is also used in video surveillance, human
computer interface and image database management. Some recent digital
cameras use face detection for autofocus. Also, face detection is useful for
selecting regions of interest in photo slideshows that use a pan-and-scale ken
burns effect so

4.4Implementation of Track Eye:The implemented project is on three components:

1. Face detection: Performs scale invariant face detection
2. Eye detection: Both eyes are detected as a result of this step
19

3. Eye feature extraction: Features of eyes are extracted at the end of this
step

4.5 Face Detection:Two different methods were implemented in the project. They are:
1. Continuously Adaptive Means-Shift Algorithm
2. Haar Face Detection method
4.6 Continuously Adaptive Mean-Shift Algorithm:Adaptive Mean Shift algorithm is used for tracking human faces and is based
on robust non-parametric technique for climbing density gradients to find the
mode (peak) of probability distributions called the mean shift algorithm. As
faces are tracked in video sequences, mean shift algorithm is modified to
deal with the problem of dynamically changing color probability
distributions. The block diagram of the algorithm is given below:

20

CHAPTER 5
DETAIL ANALYSIS OF BIOMETRIC SECURITY SYSTEM
USING FINGERPRINT RECOGNITION
Fingerprints are a distinctive feature and remain invariant over the
lifetime of a subject, except for cuts and bruises. As the first step in the
authentication process, a fingerprint impression is acquired, typically using
an inkless scanner. Several such scanning technologies are available. Figure
5A shows a fingerprint obtained with a scanner using an optical sensor. A
typical scanner digitizes the fingerprint impression at 500 dots per inch (dpi)
with 256 gray levels per pixel. The digital image of the fingerprint includes
several unique features in terms of ridge bifurcations and ridge endings,
collectively referred to as minutiae.

The operational issues in an automated fingerprint identification system

(AFIS) are somewhat different from those in a more traditional passwordbased system. First, there is a system performance issue known as the fail to
enroll rate to be considered. Some people have very faint fingerprints, or no
fingers at all, which makes the system unusable for them. A related issue is a
Reject option in the system based on input image quality. A poor quality
input is not accepted by the system during enrollment and authentication.
Note that non-cooperative users, improper usage, dirt on the finger can cause
poor quality inputs, or bad input scanners. This has no analog in a password
system. Then there is the fact that in a biometric system the matching
decision is not clear-cut. A password system always provides a correct
responseif the passwords match, it grants access but otherwise refuses
access. However, in a biometric system, the overall accuracy depends on the

21

quality of input and enrollment data along with the basic characteristics of
the underlying feature extraction and matching algorithm.

5.1

FEATURES OF A FINGERPRINT

A fingerprint is composed of valley and ridge lines. They follow a

pattern. The general shape of this pattern may be classified according to 5
classes. The second sets of features of a fingerprint are cores and deltas. The
core is located by a square while the delta is located by a triangle as shown
in figure 5.2.

Figure 5.2 shows core by squares and delta by a triangle

The AFIS allows a classification using more than one criterion versus a
search based only on a single fingerprint pattern, reducing the number of
fingerprints inspected. The pattern classification divides all fingerprint
templates into five sets. Interestingly, the distribution of fingerprints in these
5 classes is not homogeneous among all people:
22

 Left loop class represents 34% of the total

Number of fingerprints
Right loop class represents 31% of the total
Number of fingerprints
Whorl class represents 27 % of the total number
Of fingerprints
Arch class represents 4% of the total number
Of fingerprints

Figure 5.3 Fingers can then be sorted in the pattern classifications after
computing the core and the delta:
Tented arch class represents 3% of the total
Number of fingerprints
Less than 1% for unusable fingerprints (scar,
Illness of the skin, etc)

5.2

HOW DOES FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION WORK?

The first step in fingerprint identification is collecting the fingerprint,

named enrollment. In this step, the applicant acquires the reference
fingerprint for later authentication. The reference fingerprint is called the
template of the fingerprint.
23

Most often in order to ensure that a good template is obtained, the fingerprint
needs to be captured more than once. Twice is most common but at times an
additional capture may be requested. After the capture of the template, it can
be stored in a database, on a token with 2D barcode, or in a smart card.

At this point, the applicant is registered and the next stage is to

compare the fingerprint with the template to the fingerprint read by the
sensor. After reading the fingerprint, the authentication system extracts the
minutiae in the same way as it did during the enrollment process. Since the
fingerprint is never captured in the same position, the verification algorithm
must perform rotation and translation of the captured fingerprint in order to
adjust the fingerprint minutiae with the template minutiae.

The matching process calculates a score of the probability of a

successful fingerprint read. Once every minutia is processed, a total score is
computed and compared to a threshold score, which leads to the decision of
a fingerprint hit or no hit.

5.3

Components of a Fingerprint System

There are two ways a matching algorithm can be implemented, using either
identification matching or authentication matching. In identification
matching, one fingerprint is compared to many fingerprints using an
Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) that is comprised of
several computers and a database storage system. In authentication
matching, where there is a one to one fingerprint comparison, there needs

24

to be only one fingerprint terminal and a token loaded that contains the
fingerprint template. The matching could be done on token, in the terminal
Or in both the terminal and token.

5.3.1 The Sensors

Electronic fingerprint sensors are manufactured in different ways

using capacitive, optical, thermal, or pressure sensitive (resistive)
technology. These different types of sensors are able to produce an image of
the fingerprint when the ridge is darker than the valley. The most common
sensors currently on the market are capacitive and optical sensors. Optical
sensors provide the best image quality but are expensive and can be fooled
by some fake fingers. Sensors based on capacitive technology provide a
balance of image quality and cost although, some fake fingers can also fool
this technology. However, the most common fake fingers made of silicon
cannot fool a capacitive sensor because the fake finger does not possess
electrical properties.

25

Figure 5.4 Components of a fingerprint system

26

5.4 Fingerprint capture and detection:1. Live scan devices

A fingerprint scanner

Fingerprint being scanned

Fingerprint image acquisition is considered the most critical step of an

automated fingerprint authentication system, as it determines the final
fingerprint image quality, which has drastic effects on the overall system
performance. There are different types of fingerprint readers on the market,
but the basic idea behind each capture approach is to measure in some way
the physical difference between ridges and valleys. All the proposed
methods can be grouped in two major families: solid-state fingerprint readers
and optical fingerprint readers. The procedure for capturing a fingerprint
using a sensor consists of rolling or touching with the finger onto a sensing
area, which according to the physical principle in use (capacitive, optical,
thermal, acoustic, etc.) captures the difference between valleys and ridges.
When a finger touches or rolls onto a surface, the elastic skin deforms. The
quantity and direction of the pressure applied by the user, the skin conditions
and the projection of an irregular 3D object (the finger) onto a 2D flat plane
introduce distortions, noise and inconsistencies in the captured fingerprint
27

image. These problems result in inconsistent, irreproducible and nonuniform contacts] and, during each acquisition, their effects on the same
fingerprint results are different and uncontrollable. The representation of the
same fingerprint changes every time the finger is placed on the sensor plate,
increasing the complexity of the fingerprint matching, impairing the system
performance, and consequently limiting the widespread use of this biometric
technology.

3D fingerprint
In order to overcome these problems, lately, non-contact (or touch less) 3D
fingerprint scanners have been developed. Employing the detailed 3D
information, 3D fingerprint scan acquisition provides a digital analogy to
this cumbersome analog process of pressing or rolling the finger. By
controlling the distance between neighboring points, the resolution is scaled
to 500/1000 PPI
5.5 Methods of fingerprint detection
Since the late nineteenth century, fingerprint identification methods have
been used by police agencies around the world to identify both suspected
criminals as well as the victims of crime. The basis of the traditional
fingerprinting technique is simple. The skin on the palmar surface of the
hands and feet forms ridges, so-called papillary ridges, in patterns that are
unique to each individual and which do not change over time. Even identical
28

twins (who share their DNA) do not have identical fingerprints. Fingerprints
on surfaces may be described as patent or latent. Patent fingerprints are left
when a substance (such as paint, oil or blood) is transferred from the finger
to a surface and are easily photographed without further processing. Latent
fingerprints, in contrast, occur when the natural secretions of the skin are
deposited on a surface through fingertip contact, and are usually not readily
visible. The best way to render latent fingerprints visible, so that they can be
photographed, is complex and depends, for example, on the type of surface
involved. It is generally necessary to use a developer, usually a powder or
chemical reagent, to produce a high degree of visual contrast between the
ridge patterns and the surface on which the fingerprint was left.
Developing agents depend on the presence of organic materials or inorganic
salts for their effectiveness although the water deposited may also take a key
role. Fingerprints are typically formed from the aqueous based secretions of
the eccrine glands of the fingers and palms with additional material from
sebaceous glands primarily from the forehead. The latter contamination
results from the common human behaviors of touching the face and hair.
The resulting latent fingerprints consist usually of a substantial proportion of
water with small traces of amino acids, chlorides, etc., mixed with a fatty,
sebaceous component which contains a number of fatty acids, triglycerides,
etc. Detection of the small proportion of reactive organic material such as
urea and amino acids is far from easy.
Crime scene fingerprints may be detected by simple powders, or some
chemicals applied at the crime scene; or more complex, usually chemical
techniques applied in specialist laboratories to appropriate articles removed
from the crime scene. With advances in these more sophisticated techniques
some of the more advanced crime scene investigation services from around
the world are now reporting that 50% or more of the total crime scene
fingerprints

29

5.6 Classifying fingerprints

Before computerization replaced manual filing systems in large fingerprint
operations, manual fingerprint classification systems were used to categorize
fingerprints based on general ridge formations (such as the presence or
absence of circular patterns in various fingers), thus permitting filing and
retrieval of paper records in large collections based on friction ridge patterns
independent of name, birth date and other biographic data that persons may
misrepresent.
In the Henry system of classification, there are three basic fingerprint
patterns: Loop, Whorl and Arch. They constitute 60-70, 25-35 and 5 percent
of all fingerprints, respectively. There are also more complex classification
systems that further break down patterns to plain arches or tented arches.
Loops may be radial or ulnar, depending on the side of the hand the tail
points towards. Whorls also have sub-group classifications including plain
whorls, accidental whorls, double loop whorls, peacock's eye, composite,
and
central pocket loop
whorls.

Loop
(Right Loop)

Arch

Arch
(Tented Arch)

Whorl
30

CHAPTER 6
SELECTING BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGY

Biometric technology is one area that no segment of the IT industry can

afford to ignore. Biometrics provides security benefits across the spectrum,
from IT vendors to end users, and from security system developers to
security system users. Different technologies may be appropriate for
different applications, depending on perceived user profiles, the need to
interface with other systems or databases, environmental conditions, and a
host of other application-specific parameters.

Table 1: Comparison of biometrics [2]

Hand
Characteristic Fingerprints Geometr Retina Iris
y
Ease of Use

High

Error
incidence

Dryness,
dirt, age

Accuracy

High

Cost
User
acceptance

*
Medium

Face

Mediu
m
Lightin
Hand
Poor
g, age,
injury, Glasses
Lighting glasses,
age
hair
Very Very
High
High
High High
*
*
*
*
Mediu
Mediu
Medium
Medium
m
m
High

Low

Medium

Signature Voice
High

High

Noise,
Changing
colds,
signature
weath
s
er
High

High

Medium High

Required
High
security level

Medium High

Very
High

Mediu
Mediu
Medium
m
m

Long-term
stability

Medium High

High

Mediu
Mediu
Medium
m
m

High

*The large number of factors involved makes a simple cost comparison impractical.
31

6.1 EASE OF USE

Some biometric devices are not user friendly. For example, users without
proper training may experience difficulty aligning their head with a device
for enrolling and matching facial templates.
6.2 ACCURACY
Vendors often use two different methods to rate biometric accuracy: falseacceptance rate or false-rejection rate. Both methods focus on the system's
ability to allow limited entry to authorized users. However, these measures
can vary significantly, depending on how you adjust the sensitivity of the
mechanism that matches the biometric. For example, you can require a
tighter match between the measurements of hand geometry and the user's
template. This will probably decrease the false-acceptance rate, but at the
same time can increase the false-rejection rate. So be careful to understand
how vendors arrive at quoted values of FAR and FRR.

False accept rates (FAR) indicate the likelihood that an impostor may be
falsely accepted by the system.

False reject rates (FRR) indicate the likelihood that the genuine user may
be rejected by the system.

Because FAR and FRR are interdependent, it is more meaningful to plot

them against each other, as shown in figure. Each point on the plot
represents a hypothetical system's performance at various sensitivity settings.
With such a

32

Plot, you can compare these rates to determine the crossover error rate. The
lower the CER, the more accurate the system.

Figure 9: Crossover error rate attempts to combine two measures of biometric accuracy

Generally, physical biometrics is more accurate than behavioral

biometrics.

6.3 COST

Cost components include:Biometric capture hardware

Back-end processing power to maintain the database
Research and testing of the biometric system
Installation, including implementation team salaries
Mounting, installation, connection, and user system integration costs
User education, often conducted through marketing campaigns

33

CHAPTER 7
BIOMETRICS APPLICATIONS

7.1 INDIAN INITIATIVES

Bioenable Technology, Pune, is a software company that develops

biometric products to cater to tough Indian working conditions and
environments. The firm has developed intelligent biometric solutions for
physical access control, banking transaction, timing, and attendance
applications.

Siemens Information System Limited (SISL), Bangalore, has developed

a text-independent autonomous speech recognition system to identify and
authorize a speaker by analyzing his voice. Central forensic laboratories,
Chandigarh, use this system to track down and identify criminals by
comparing their voice samples using SISL software. Other innovations of
SISL include fingerprint identification and management system (FIMs),
language-independent speech recognition system, and optical character
recognition system.

Axis Software, Pune, deals in fingerprint, iris and face recognition

technology and is planning to add voice recognition technology to its range
of voice authentication products and systems. The axis system stores
biometric records in an encrypted template in digital form. The record by
itself is of no use to a stealer and cannot be reconstructed to reveal a persons
identity to someone else.

34

Jaypeetex, Mumbai, has introduced biometric technologies for security,

access control, timing, and attendance applications.

Biometric society of India (INBIOS), affiliated to international society

of computational biology (ISCB), provides innovative professional solutions
and services dedicated to bioinformatics.

7.2 GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS

Internet security: Litronix, USA, a leading provider of public key
infrastructure (PKI) based internet security solutions, has developed
biometric identification techniques for use in electronic data applications
such as digital network and smart cards. The smart card, integrating voice
and handwritten functions, incorporates the appropriate biometric template
to deliver the final match and authorization. The company plans to
incorporate capture, manipulation, enrollment and extraction features in
smart card reader also.

Windows Biometrics: Microsoft has announced plans to integrate

biometric authentication technology in future versions of its windows
operating systems. For this it has acquired I/O software Inc.s biometric API
technology (BAPI) and secures suites core authentication technology. The
software will enable windows users to log on and conduct secure ecommerce transactions using a combination of fingerprint, iris pattern, and
voice recognition instead of password.

Net Nanny Software International has developed biometric software to

provide extra security to Windows NT networks. The biopassword log on
35

feature for Windows NT will back client/server biometrics application to

recognize a users typing pattern and use it to authenticate the user to the
network. The software uses a mathematical algorithm to record pressure,
speed, and rhythm as a user name and password.

Biometric smart cards: Polaroid and Atmel have developed secure

identity cards that merge ultra-secure smart cards, fingerprint verification,
biometric identification, and digital imaging. These cards will be used in
ecommerce, online, remote access, and any it environment where
authentication is required.

Biometrics cellular: fujistu microelectronics has developed an

innovative fingerprint identification system that combines sweep sensor
technology with advanced algorithms to provide a powerful, dependable,
easy to use authentication for vices. A single fingerprint sweep across the
sensor captures features to rapidly authenticate users of cell phones and
PDAs.

36

CHAPTER 8
COMBINING BIOMETRICS WITH SMART CARDS

Smart cards are widely acknowledged as one of the most secure and reliable
forms of electronic identification. To provide the highest degree of
confidence in identity verification, biometric technology is considered to be
essential in a secure identification system design. This section summarizes
the key benefits of a secure ID system that combines smart cards and
biometrics.
8.1

Enhanced Privacy
Using smart cards significantly enhances privacy in biometric ID

systems. The smart card provides the individual with a personal database, a
personal firewall and a personal terminal. It secures personal information on
the card, allowing the individual to control access to that information and
removing the need for central database access during identity verification.
8.2 A Personal Database.
How and where an ID system keeps personal information about its
members is an important privacy consideration, affecting a systems real and
perceived privacy behavior. Most ID systems store personal information for
all system members in a central database. This centralization leads many to
be concerned that their personal information is less protected, or at a
minimum, more vulnerable to compromise. Smart cards store and safeguard
personal information on the individuals card.
The use of smart card IDs can promote confidence in an ID system by
offering each member a unique secure, portable and personal database,
separating their information from other members data. With a smart card ID
37

the cardholder maintains physical possession of private information. This

enhances the trust relationship with the system, as the cardholder now shares
in the decision of who is allowed to use their personal information for
identity verification and in the responsibility to protect it. The smart card
personal database is portable and can be used in a variety of devices and
networks. An ID system can take advantage of this portability by using
closed local networks or standalone devices to carry out different
identification tasks, rather than relying on a centralized system. By enabling
local identity verification, smart card based secure ID systems can help
alleviate concerns that the system is centrally tracking ID older activities.
Unlike other ID card technologies that act as simple data containers,
smart cards are unique in acting more like data servers, where data is not
directly accessed but must be requested from the server (in this case the
smart cards microprocessor). When used in combination with biometrics, a
smart card ID becomes even more personal and private. A biometric
provides a strong and unique binding between the cardholder and the
personal database on the card, identifying the cardholder as the rightful
owner of this card. The biometric cannot be borrowed, lost, or stolen like a
PIN or password, and so strengthens the authentication of an individuals
identity.

8.3 A Personal Firewall.

In smart card based ID systems, the card is not just a data repository
but also an intelligent guardian a personal firewall for the cardholders
information. When information is requested from the ID card, a smart card
can verify that the requestor is authorized to perform such an inquiry. A
smart card ID also has the ability to behave differently based who is
checking the ID. For example, most individuals will cooperate with a
38

uniformed officer who requests to see an ID. But is this officer a valid
officer? And what portion of the personal information is he or she authorized
to see? With a smart card ID, the card would authenticate the officer through
a portable card reader and release only the information that is relevant to the
officers responsibilities. The same ID card could be used to prove legal age
when purchasing from a bar. In this case, the smart card ID would just
confirm age, but not divulge any other personal information. Once personal
information is released, it is very hard to control what happens to the
information, including how it might be used. It is an important privacy
consideration for individuals to clearly understand when and to whom
personal information is released by an ID system. The release of personal
information is hard to control when carried out by a centralized database
somewhere on a network, without the information owners knowledge or
consent. A smart card based ID system gives the cardholder control over
who can access personal information stored on the card. A biometric further
enhances this control, ensuring that only the rightful cardholder can
authorize access to personal information.

8.4

Enhanced Security
Biometric technologies are used with smart cards for ID system

applications specifically due to their ability to identify people with minimal

ambiguity. A biometric based ID allows for the verification of who you
claim to be(information about the cardholder printed or stored in the card)
based on who you are (the biometric information stored in the smart card),
instead of, or possibly in addition to, checking what you know (such as a
PIN). As shown in Figure 10.1, this increases the security of the overall ID
system and improves the accuracy, speed, and control of cardholder
authentication.
39

Figure 10.1 Impacts of Smart Cards and Biometrics on Security

As the importance of accurate identification grows, new technologies are

being added to ID systems to improve their security.

40

CHAPTER 9
THE FUTURE OF BIOMETRICS
There are many views concerning potential biometric applications, some
popular examples:
ATM machine use:

Most of the leading banks have been experimenting with biometrics for
ATM machine use and as a general means of combating card fraud.
Surprisingly, these experiments have rarely consisted of carefully integrated
devices into a common process, as could easily be achieved with certain
biometric devices. Previous comments in this paper concerning user
psychology come to mind here and one wonders why we have not seen a
more professional and carefully considered implementation from this sector.
The banks will of course have a view concerning the level of fraud and the
cost of combating it via a technology solution such as biometrics. They will
also express concern about potentially alienating customers with such an
approach. However, it still surprises many in the biometric industry that the
banks and financial institutions have so far failed to embrace this technology
with any enthusiasm.

Travel and tourism :

There are many in this industry who have the vision of a multi
application card for travelers which, incorporating a biometric, would enable
them to participate in various frequent flyer and border control systems as
well as paying for their air ticket, hotel room, hire care etc., all with one
41

convenient token.

Technically this is eminently possible, but from a political and

commercial point of view there are still many issues to resolve, not the least
being who would own the card, be responsible for administration and so on.
These may not be insurmountable problems and perhaps we may see
something along these lines emerge. A notable challenge in this respect
would be packaging such an initiative in a way that would be truly attractive
for users.

Public identity cards :

A biometric incorporated into a multi purpose public ID card would be

useful in a number of scenarios if one could win public support for such a
scheme. Unfortunately, in this country as in others there are huge numbers of
individuals who definitely do not want to be identified. This ensures that any
such proposal would quickly become a political hot potato and a nightmare
for the minister concerned. You may consider this a shame or a good thing,
depending on you point of view. From a dispassionate technology
perspective it represents something of a lost opportunity, but this is of course
nothing new. Its interesting that certain local authorities in the UK have
issued citizen cards with which named cardholders can receive various
benefits including discounts at local stores and on certain services. These do
not seem to have been seriously challenged, even though they are in effect an
ID card.

42

CHAPTER 10
CONCLUSION
The ultimate form of electronic verification of a persons
identity is biometrics; using a physical attribute of the person to make
a positive identification. People have always used the brains innate
ability to recognize a familiar face and it has long been known that a
persons fingerprints can be used for identification. The challenge has
been to turn these into electronic processes that are inexpensive and
easy to use.

Banks and others who have tested biometric-based security on

their clientele, however, say consumers overwhelmingly have a
pragmatic response to the technology. Anything that saves the
information-overloaded citizen from having to remember another
password or personal identification number comes as a welcome
respite.

Biometrics can address most of the security needs, but at what

cost? Surprisingly, the benefits quickly outweigh the costs. As prices
have come down, the interest level and the knowledge about how to
effectively utilize these systems have increased. So the investment is
decreasing and the recognizable benefits are increasing. Biometrics,
when properly implemented, not only increase security but also often
are easier to use and less costly to administer than the less secure
alternatives. Biometrics cant be forgotten or left at home and they
dont have to be changed periodically like passwords.
43

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] Biometrics: Journal of International Biometric Society

[2] The Biometrics Consortium ..May 2002
[3] Electronics For You June 2002
[4] www.biometric.com
[5] www.bioventric.com
[6] http://homepage.ntlworld.com/avanti
[7] http://www.ibia.org
[8] http://www.wikipedia.org

44