Biometrics Midterm Review

1. Define and differentiate between static and dynamic biometric methods? (Slideshow Presentation)

A1.

• Static (also called physiological) biometric methods – authentication based on a feature that is always present (eg. Fingerprint, Retinal scan, Iris scan, Hand geometry)
• Dynamic (also called behavioral) biometric methods – authentication based on a certain behavior pattern (eg. Signature, Speaker, Keystroke dynamics)

2. Identify and briefly explain the 3 traits that can be physically identified to provide distinctiveness for biometric use. (Page 28-29)

A2.

• Genetics - Inherited features that are derived from the subjects parents, such as face structure.
• Phenotypic - traits developed in the early stages of embryonic development that lead to distinctive development such as iris patterns and vascular networks.
• Behavioral - Learned or trained behaviors that identify patterns of usage such as handwriting or speaking.

3. Define the enrollment process. (Page 17, 31-33)

A3.
Enrollment is the procedure in which a data subject (or prospective enrollee) presents one or more biometric samples for processing into an acceptable template for future matching. ???

4. What is FTER and what is likely to happen with a high FTER? (Page 32,254,379)

A4.
The lack of success of enrollment is measured by the Failure To Enroll Rate (FTER). FTER is determined over the number of total persons attempting to enroll and those that were unsuccessful within the enrollment policy. The higher the FTER, the more likely that the biometric system will become ineffective for large numbers of enrollments.

5. What is the objective of Signal Processing as it relates to Biometrics. (Page 30, 33-34)

A5.
With biometrics, the objectives of signal processing are to remove noise from the data, locate the important parts of the data, and extract just the desired biometric features - a process also known simply as template creation.

6. What is another term for successful Signal Processing? (Page 33)

A6.
Being Discussed

7. List the key elements of biometric systems. (Page 28)

A7.

• Characteristics and traits
• Standards
• Enrollment
• Enrollment policy
• Processing
• Matching
• Template management
• Repository issues

8. List and describe the four reasons the book lists as reasons to use biometrics. (Page 27)

A8.

• Convenient authentication - The convenience of quick-and-easy authentication makes for a smoother system of identity assurance than using keys, cards, tokens, or PINs, With biometric technology there is nothing to lose or forget since the characteristics or traits of the person serve as the identifiers. Many of these "individual" identifiers remain relatively unchanged and are enduring over time. In addition, biometric technologies also provide greater conveniences for the information technology (IT) and support organizations that manage user authentication. For example, biometrics helps to eliminate the need to replace badges or reset PINs.
• Increased need for strong authentication - Passwords and PINs can be stolen easily. Biometrics should reduce the risk of compromise-- the likelihood that an adversary can present a suitable identifier and gain unauthorized access. With today's intense focus on greatedr security for logical (computer) and physical access, biometrics offer an attractive method for guarding against stolen or lost identifiersm such as cards or passwords
• Decreased costs - Over the years improvement in hardware and software technologies has brought down the costs of biometric authentication to be affordable at the commercial market level. In addition, advancements in computing power, networking, and database systems have allowed biometric systems to become easier to use over wide geographical and networked areas. Management systems have been deployed to administer a cluster of devices.
• Increased government and industry adoption - Today, numerous public and private organizations are using biometrics. As an outgrowth of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, an increased awareness of physical security and public safety has also helped make biometrics more attractive. Manufacturers are increasingly looking to provide biometrics with computer equipment and products. Many companies offer biometric authentication options and include biometric sensors and matching capabilities as part of their products. For Example, there are instances of fingerprint sensors built right into keyboards, mice, and laptops, and second generation sensors are becoming much ore "plug and play." As discussed in case studies presented in Chapters 16 and 18, biometrics are becoming increasingly popular.'''

9. List and briefly define the 3 "risks" when dealing with subverting the system. (Page 9-11)

A9.

• Masquerade - The classic risk to an authentication system - Trying to convince the system that someone is in fact someone else.
• Multiple Identites - Classic registration systems can't detect multiple registrations. So an attacker could register multiple times as false users by using a different finger or identifier.
• Identity Theft - If an attacker can establish a new account that is attributed to a vctim but is authenticated with his credentials. This is an extreme authentication risk. Usually a blended threat attack to get personal identification information.

10. How does an iris scan work? (Page 89-90)

A10.
Iris scans analyze the features that exist in the colored tissue surrounding the pupil which has more than 200 points that can be used for comparison, including rings, furrows and freckles. The scans use a regular video camera style and can be done from further away than a retinal scan. It will work through glasses fine and in fact has the ability to create an accurate enough measurement that it can be used for identification purposes, and not just verification.

11. Who developed the method used for performing iris scans? (Page 90)

A11.
Dr. John Daugman

12. List the three main methods that can be employed for template storage. (Page 39)

A12.

• Local
• Network
• Portable Devices

13. List the types of single finger flat scanners. (Page 61)

A13.

• Optical
• Thermal
• Capacitive
• Ultrasonic

14. Compare and Contrast between the two models of fingerprint scanners. (Page 62)

A14.

• Two Dimensional Arrays - Permits the finger to be placed once and captured in a static fashion.
• Single Row Scanners - Requires the finger to be moved , at a set rate, across a small scanning surface.

15. Compare and Contrast FAR and FRR. (Page 34-36)

A15.

• FAR or False Acceptance Rate also known as False Match Rate (Type II Error) describes the number of times someone is inaccurately positively matched.
• The FRR or False Rejection Rate also known as False Non-Match Rate (Type I Error) derives the number of times someone who should be identified positively is instead rejected.'''

16. Compare and Contrast Retina scanning vs. Iris scanning. (Page 99)

A16.
While iris scanning has drawn recent attention for being the most accurate, both are regarded as highly accurate. Both are bases on well developed mature technologies. Retinal scanning lacks publicly available mathematical models to estimate and compare its strength of function. It has been suggested that the information space of retina encoding is less than iris encoding. both techniques are single-vendor, proprietary implementations that are known to function well for access control applications. Neither is by itself a magic solution to identification applications.

17. Be Prepared to discuss vulnerabilities of the most mature biometric? (Page 64,69)

A17.

• Fingerprint capture devices are susceptible to two types of attack: masking the finger to avoid a match, and spoofing the capture device to force a false match
• Hand Geometry devices can be purchased and used to experiment to test a hand geometry acceptance threshold and then just find a "close enough" match.'''

18. Who sells 90% of Hand Geometry Readers? (Page 65)

A18.
Recognition Systems Inc., (RSI)

19. Who has deployed the largest application of hand geometry recognition system according to the test? (Page 65-69)

A19.
Disney World in Orlando, Florida

20. What is FERET and when was it created? (Page 73-74)

A20.
FacE REcognition Tests (FERET) was created in 1996. The 1996 FERET tests were sponsored by Army Research Laboratories and designed and orchestrated by Dr. Jonathan Phillips. The tests compared performance of several different face recognition algorithms against the same gallery of images. The 1996 FERET tests were significant because they encouraged and stimulated technology development in the 1990's, setting performance standards for improvement.

21. Define thoroughly an Eigenface? (Page 75)

A21.
Eigenfaces is the term used to categorize a second broad class of algorithms that represent and compare faces on the basis of a palette of facial abstraction images. Matthew Turk and Alex Pentland, demonstrated a process for how facial abstraction images, or characteristic eigenfaces, are generated from a collection of images, and then the faces are expressed as a weighted sum of these archetypal faces. Eigenface is used categorize a second broad class of algorithms that represent and compare faces on the basis of a palette of facial abstraction images.

22. What are some possible causes of a "flushed face"? (Page 77)

A22.

• Anxiety
• Physical Exertion
• Alcohol Intoxication
• Basic Chewing and Eating

23. What are the four basic steps of speaker recognition? (Page 83-84)

A23.
Although they are accomplished in a variety of different ways, there are four basic steps to speaker recognition.

• The first step is the digital acquisition of speech data.
• The second step is feature selection and extraction.
• The third step is feature clustering and saving the clustered representation in a database.
• The last step is pattern matching new voice data against the database for decision making.

24. Define how Angiography works and why do it in the first place? (Page 98-99)

A24.
Angiography captures hundreds of dye-enhanced images over time and is concerned with investigating the details of blood circulation over the entire retinal surface. Angiography injects an orange or green dye into the subject's eye propr to the procedure. Angiography captures images of the entire retina for 5 to 10 minutes and retains all the images as the sequence information is necessary to reveal and understand circulatory rhythms. Angiography is an accepted diagnosis method within the medical community, that by design, reveals particular health information.

J.Dimsdale