Cryptography Reference
In-Depth Information
Other countries and agencies using smart card technology in conjunction
with biometrics are the following. The U.S. Department of Defense Common
Access Card has a photograph together with a fingerprint embedded in its func-
tionality. Spain has a social security card includingbiometrics in its smart card
application. The Netherlands has a system called
Privum
for automated bor-
der crossing. Their smart card has a photograph, and iris biometrics. Brunei
employs a national ID smart card having a photograph together with finger-
print biometrics. The United Kingdom has the
Asylum Seekers Card
, which is
a smart card with a photograph and fingerprint biometrics. It is not long before
more countries are added to the list in an effort to secure their borders.
The bottom line for smart cards supported by biometrics is that it raises
security levels to very high standards. The reason is that such cards possess the
following.
The Three Fundamental Aspects of Authentication
1. Somethingthe user
has
(the smart card, itself)
2. Somethingthe user
knows
(a PIN or password)
3. Somethingthe user
is
(the biometrics)
Accuracy and Robustness of Biometrics
Biometric Traits
Biometric traits develop in one of three ways:
1.
Genotypic
(through genetics)
2.
Phenotypic
(through early embryo development)
3.
Behavioural
(through training)
Robust
biometrics are those which are not subject to significant changes.
Certain biometric traits may vary over time due to aging, growth, injury and
later regeneration, wear and tear, and so on. The
least
changeable biometrics
are DNA and iris pattern followed by retina, fingerprints, and hand geometry.
In terms of
accuracy
(minimal error rates plus clarity and consistency), iris and
retina measurements rank
ahead
of DNA, although all three are diLcult quan-
tifications to obtain and are costly to process. The reason that DNA trails the
other two eye biometrics is that DNA cannot distinguish between monozygotic
twins, but the eye biometrics can do so, (and better than the other biometrics).
Fingerprints rank roughly fourth on the accuracy scale, but are relatively easy
to obtain, and inexpensive to process in comparison to the other three. An
iris match against a database can be made 300 times faster than a match to a
fingerprint in the same database. Hence, despite the cost differential, the speed
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