Biometric System in Cyber Security

This post is about the biometric systems in cyber security what do you mean by this system, how does this system work, what are its legal and social challenges, and what are the necessary biometric attributes or criteria for the selection of the system.

What is Biometric Authentication?

• The term biometric comes from the Greek word “bios” meaning “life” and “metrics” meaning “measures”.
• It is well known that human intuitively uses somebody’s characteristics such as the face, voice, etc to recognize each other.
• Biometrics is used as one of the methods for physical access control.
• Biometrics is a collection of methods of or identification based on measuring time physiological characteristics that are unique to each and every individual.
• Some examples of such characteristics are: voice, fingerprint, retina, writing style.

Biometric Data have characteristics that are so unique to a person and embedded with a person that they cannot be lost, stolen, and copied. Given the unique nature of human biometrics ID, biometrics methods occupy an important place in user identification or authentication.

How Does Biometric Work?

The biometric process flow contains a step where the device acquires the biometric data and stores it into the template known as enrolment. Whereas enrolment consists of the following steps showing how biometric work:

• Data Acquiring: In this step the user’s biometric sample is obtained using an input device. The first biometric sample is the most important sample thus it must be in good quality.
• Creation of master characteristics: The biometric measurement is processed after the acquisition; the raw measurement contains a lot of irrelevant information. So, the measurement is processed and only important features are extracted and used.
• Storage of Master characteristics: After we have acquired the measurement, we need to store them, there are four options, possibilities on where information can be stored, each option demands on the use of the biometric data. They are: – In a card, Central database or a server, On a workstation and In an authentication terminal.

The authentication or identification is similar to the enrolment process with some differences. It consists of the following steps: –

• Acquisition: The correct biometric measurements must be obtained for the system to be able to make a comparison with the template that has stored in the database.
• Creation of new Characteristics: In this feature extraction of new feature is processed and created same as in the enrolment.
• Comparison: The correct obtained characteristics are than compared with characteristics during the enrolment.
• Decision: This is the final step in the verification process is the accept /reject decision based on the threshold.

What are the benefits of Biometric System?

• It cannot be borrowed, stolen or forgotten.
• Forging is practically impossible.
• Biometric is based on the third type of authentication mechanism (What you are).
• It is defined as automated means of identifying or authenticating the id of a living person based on psychology or behavioural characteristics.
• Biometric provide number of metrics compare to traditional methods.
• It increases the level of security, provide greater convince , have higher level of accountability and less fraud.

Legal Challenges of Biometric

•  Government all beginning to mandate that biometric identifiers such as facial images and finger prints should be used in official documents including passport.
• Biometric is also seen as essential provision of e-government services to the citizen to ensure accurate authentication to prevent fraud.
• Inspite of correct progress in Biometrics research legal challenges continuous restrict the use of biometrics technology by both public instruction and businesses.

Social issues of Biometric System

• Clarity of Purpose: It is important to clear about what are the needs of application are and how biometrics will be able to achieve them.
• Element of Trust: People may temporarily except to trade in part of their personal freedom in exchange for a more secure world.
• Cultural Issue
• Physical Disability
• In the absence of concern person gaining access to the system is a challenge if it is legally required.

What are the necessary biometric attributes or criteria?

It is a physical or biological feature or attribute that can be measured it can be used as a means of providing without revealing your id that you have a contain right or password. We know, the critical difference is that biometric is something that is part of you rather than something you know or something you have.

Criteria for Selection for Biometric