Biometric Recognition: Challenges and Opportunities

✍ Scribed by Whither Biometrics Committee, National Research Council

• Publisher: National Academies Press
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 183
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Biometric recognition--the automated recognition of individuals based on their behavioral and biological characteristic--is promoted as a way to help identify terrorists, provide better control of access to physical facilities and financial accounts, and increase the efficiency of access to services and their utilization. Biometric recognition has been applied to identification of criminals, patient tracking in medical informatics, and the personalization of social services, among other things. In spite of substantial effort, however, there remain unresolved questions about the effectiveness and management of systems for biometric recognition, as well as the appropriateness and societal impact of their use. Moreover, the general public has been exposed to biometrics largely as high-technology gadgets in spy thrillers or as fear-instilling instruments of state or corporate surveillance in speculative fiction. Now, as biometric technologies appear poised for broader use, increased concerns about national security and the tracking of individuals as they cross borders have caused passports, visas, and border-crossing records to be linked to biometric data. A focus on fighting insurgencies and terrorism has led to the military deployment of biometric tools to enable recognition of individuals as friend or foe. Commercially, finger-imaging sensors, whose cost and physical size have been reduced, now appear on many laptop personal computers, handheld devices, mobile phones, and other consumer devices. Biometric Recognition: Challenges and Opportunities addresses the issues surrounding broader implementation of this technology, making two main points: first, biometric recognition systems are incredibly complex, and need to be addressed as such. Second, biometric recognition is an inherently probabilistic endeavor. Consequently, even when the technology and the system in which it is embedded are behaving as designed, there is inevitable uncertainty and risk of error. This book elaborates on these themes in detail to provide policy makers, developers, and researchers a comprehensive assessment of biometric recognition that examines current capabilities, future possibilities, and the role of government in technology and system development.--Publisher's description.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 2
Copyright......Page 3
The National Academies......Page 4
WHITHER BIOMETRICS COMMITTEE......Page 6
COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD......Page 7
Preface......Page 8
Acknowledgment of Reviewers......Page 12
Contents......Page 14
Summary......Page 18
FUNDAMENTALS OF BIOMETRIC RECOGNITION
AND HUMAN INDIVIDUAL DISTINCTIVENESS......Page 20
BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS AND TRUSTWORTHINESS......Page 22
TESTING, DESIGN, AND DEPLOYMENT......Page 24
SOCIAL, CULTURAL, AND LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS......Page 27
ELEMENTS OF A NATIONAL RESEARCH
AND PUBLIC POLICY AGENDA......Page 29
1 Introduction and Fundamental Concepts......Page 32
THE SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE......Page 36
MOTIVATIONS FOR USING BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS......Page 37
HUMAN IDENTITY AND BIOMETRICS......Page 39
The Fundamental Dogma of Biometrics......Page 40
BASIC OPERATIONAL CONCEPTS......Page 41
Sample Operational Process......Page 42
Measures of Operational Efficacy......Page 43
Variability and Uncertainty......Page 44
Within- and Between-Person Variability......Page 45
Stability and Distinctiveness at Global Scale......Page 47
Biometric Modalities......Page 48
Comparison of Modalities......Page 51
Multibiometrics......Page 52
COPING WITH THE PROBABILISTIC
NATURE OF BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS......Page 53
ADDITIONAL IMPLICATIONS FOR OPEN-
SET IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS......Page 62
SECURITY AND THREAT MODELING......Page 64
ON REPORT SCOPE AND BOUNDARIES......Page 69
2 Engineering Biometric Systems......Page 70
Enrollment Operations......Page 71
Capture and Matching Operations......Page 75
OPERATIONAL CONTEXT......Page 76
User Context......Page 77
Application Context......Page 79
Technology Context......Page 81
Performance Context......Page 82
Sensor Interoperability......Page 83
SYSTEM LIFE-CYCLE ISSUES......Page 85
TEST AND EVALUATION......Page 87
Test and Evaluation Standards......Page 90
Performance Assessment and Evaluation......Page 91
3 Lessons from Other Large-Scale Systems......Page 93
MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS......Page 94
MEDICAL SCREENING SYSTEMS......Page 98
4 Cultural, Social, and Legal Considerations......Page 102
Motivating Participation by Individuals......Page 103
Facilitating Individual Participation......Page 104
Universality and Potential Disenfranchisement......Page 106
Privacy as a Cultural Consideration......Page 107
Individuality and Identity......Page 110
LEGAL ISSUES......Page 112
Reliability......Page 113
Privacy in a Legal Context and Potential Implications for Biometrics......Page 117
DATA POLICIES......Page 128
Information-Sharing Issues......Page 129
Protection of Biometric Data......Page 131
SUMMARY......Page 132
5 Research Opportunities and the Future of Biometrics......Page 133
TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES......Page 134
Human Factors and Affordance......Page 135
Distinctiveness and Stability of Underlying Phenomena......Page 136
Modality-Related Research......Page 138
Information Security Research......Page 139
Testing and Evaluation Research......Page 140
Systems-Level Statistical Engineering Research......Page 146
Research on Scale......Page 147
Social Science Research Opportunities......Page 149
PUBLIC POLICY CONSIDERATIONS AND
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES......Page 152
REALIZING A WELL-DESIGNED BIOMETRIC SYSTEM......Page 154
CONCLUDING REMARKS......Page 155
Appendixes......Page 156
COMMITTEE MEMBERS......Page 158
STAFF......Page 165
Appendix B: Watch-List Operational Performance and List Size: A First-Cut Analysis......Page 167
Appendix C: Statement of Task......Page 171
THE FBI’S IAFIS SYSTEM......Page 172
DISNEY’S ENTRANCE CONTROL SYSTEM......Page 173
U.S. ARMY’S BIOMETRIC AUTOMATED TOOLKIT......Page 174
Appendix E: The Biometrics Standards Landscape......Page 176
MAJOR STANDARDS......Page 177
Standard for the Interchange of Biometric Data......Page 178
Fingerprint Minutiae Exchange Standard......Page 180
CHALLENGES IN THE BIOMETRIC STANDARDS ARENA......Page 181