Biometric Authentication: System Security & Privacy

Biometric Authentication: System Security & Privacy
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ITC595 MIT, School of Computing & Mathematics, Charles Sturt University
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Abstract – Technology and the underling
innovations are expending day by day, and with this
burst in technological advancements, modification in
biometric security is also taking place. Biometric
Authentication System is based on physical and
behavioural characteristics of a person. Biometric
technologies are introduced to make use of
individual’s unique biological characteristics which
are saved in the database for future references
includes. These characteristics include fingerprints,
iris pattern, voice pattern and facial details etc. In
this research project, there will be an explanation of
the usability of system, technology and applications
related to this system. Here we will describe the
most used biometric technologies in brief and will
also discuss the pros and cons of the biometric
technology systems.
Keywords— Authentication methods, biometrics,
face recognition, Privacy
Aim
The objective of this report is to highlight the
important biometric authentication methods in use
with their pros and cons. We will also highlight the
vulnerabilities related to present biometric
techniques.
Introduction
In the 21st century, 'Privacy' is the most
resonating word. The sudden surge of the digital
revolution has made it possible that in order to
protect our data and thereby our privacy we need
some updated 21st-century methods. Biometric
system of authentication is one such way to
ensure privacy and data security.
Biometric authentication
Biometric authentication is a modern method to
authenticate the identity of a person. Biometric
authentication takes into account one's anatomical
traits (e.g. fingerprint, face, palmprint,
iris or voice) and behavioural traits (e.g. signature,
gait (way of walking), keystroke dynamics, lips
movements). Because of the uniqueness of these
traits, these are the most reliable means to
authenticate the identity of a person. (Alsaadi, 2015)
Given to its reliability, some countries have even
issued biometrics based unique IDs. The database
created in such a way is further utilized to
government's social schemes and by various
institutions to identify the legitimate person.
Biometric authentication has been in use for a time
in identifying the activities involving criminal
functionalities.
Traditional and Modern authentication system
Task Examples Properties
What do you
know
User ID
Password
PIN
Can be Shared
Easy to guess
Often forgotten
What do you
have
Cards
Badges
Keys
Can be Shared
Can be duplicated
May be Stolen/lost
What do you
know and
have
ATM + PIN
Can be shared or
tracked
What is
something
unique you
have
Fingerprint
Face
Iris/retina
Voice
Ear
These things cannot
be shared,
duplicated,
guessed, forgotten
or stolen
Classification of Biometric Authentication
biometric authentication is broadly classified into
two categories. (Eng & Wahsheh 2013) The first one is
the physiological biometric system which involves
fingerprint, geometry of hand, face, iris and retina
related recognition and the second one is the
behavioural biometric system which involves
signature, gait etc.

Figure1. General classification of Biometric
schemes
Biometric System Process -
The process used is very simple, the first step is
'enrollment' in which the user is enrolled for the
record and used as the reference for future
authentication processes.( Kataria, Adhyaru,
Sharma, Zaveri 2013) For example, a face is
recorded using a camera and all the salient and
distinct features are then extracted and stored as the
templates in the database along with the other
information like name, sex, date of birth etc.
If a user wants to authenticate his/her identity, a
sample of his/her face, for example, is captured
using a camera then using the software the salient
features of the face are extracted and compared with
the files which are stored already in the database. If
the match is fulfilled then the message is shown on
the screen that proves the legitimacy of the user.
The basic process used in a biometric system is
described in the block diagram below. (Weizhi, Furnell,
Jianying 2015)
Figure 2. Block diagram of biometric process
Physiological biometric system
Physiological traits are the static traits which are not
subject to change with age. These traits include face
recognition, hand and palm print/geometry,
fingerprint, iris recognition, DNA, retina and
recognition of unique blood veins pattern.
Fingerprint Recognition - One of the popular and
oldest methods of the biometric system is the
fingerprint recognition. There may be cases when
people have similar faces or in the case of twins, this
method stands true.(Pahuja, Nagabhushan, 2015)
The basic principle utilized in this technique is that
an individual has a distinct fingerprint pattern.
Fingerprint recognition method was first devised by
Francis Galton in 1892.
Figure 3. A Sample image of human Fingerprint
Fingerprints are comprised of three main patterns.
These pattern include arch, loop and whorl. The
fingerprints are identified using a unique position
and direction of valleys and ridges of the loop, arch
and whorl. The scanning process is done by using a
device called 'fingerprint sensor'.
Face Recognition - Today the facial feature (such as
nose, eyes, lips & chin) have a great contribution in
biometric technology. Each person has a unique
shape of their face and this shape is easily identified
by using Face Recognition System (FRS). FRS can
be availed via software packages.
Figure 4. Automatic face recognition system

There are two methods of facial recognition, the first
one is 'static recognition' in which an image is used
to identify the face and the other one is 'real-time
recognition' where a real-time image using a video
camera is captured to identify the face.
Retina Recognition - Retina is the part of an eye
where the image of an object is formed. Retin is
made of special kind of cells to transmit signals to
the brain. These cells are connected to the blood
vessels. The position of blood vessels is distinct for
every retina and hence for every person. This
characteristic is used in biometric recognition and is
one of the reliable means for identification.
Iris Recognition - Iris is responsible for controlling
the amount of light entering into our eyes by
changing the size of the pupil. A retina is also
responsible for the color of an eye. Every iris has is
made of a specific network of tissues because of its
biological composition. This trait is used in
identifying an individual using a scanner.
Figure 5. Iris recognition
Palm Geometry Recognition - In this method of
biometric recognition, various aspects of geometry
are computed and compared with already stored
templates for the purpose of identification. Some
features like the length of the fingers, the distance
between these fingers, the relative position of the
fingers etc.
Figure 6. hand/palm geometry scanning
Ear Recognition - You might wonder but your ear
has a distinct shape and this particular feature can be
utilized in order to identify the legitimacy of a
person. The shape of the human ear does not change
with the increase in age.
Figure 7 Biometric authentication system based of
shape of ear
Voice recognition - This method is not that reliable
compared to the other in this category because this
method is easy to crack. In voice recognition, a
person's voice is recorded and it is subjected to
frequency analyzer where the comparison is done
and identity is revealed. Any person can make the
system fool id he can mimic the other person.
Behavioral biometric system
Signature – Signature analysis is a foolproof way to
identify the authenticity of a person. The way the
signature has been done cannot be copied exactly. In
the signature analysis, the parameters taken into
account are
 Distinct shape of the signature
 Amount of time taken to do the signature
 The stroke order of the signature
 The pressure applied on pen during the
signature
By using the above-mentioned parameters a
foolproof signature analysis can be realized. (Ye
Wang, Rane, Draper, Ishwar, 2012) This technique
is not much of use at present compared to the other
biometric technique but this is one of the best
technique to be used in the future biometric journey.
Gait - 'Gait' means the specific manner a person
walks. A camera records the walk of the user and
this is then subjected to analyze by computing the
mathematical functions performed on the inclination
of legs, by calculating the frequency of balancing of
the body. This method can be utilized in a telemetric
manner. This method also not is much use but will
be used in the future for advanced purposes.
Keystrokes - In this method, a user is made to type
something on the keyboard and the manner of typing
is analyzed. The parameters used in this technique
are -