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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Summary of a Workshop on the Technology, Policy, and Cultural Dimensions of Biometric Systems. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11573.
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Summary of a Workshop on the Technology, Policy, and Cultural Dimensions of Biometric Systems

Kristen Batch, Lynette I. Millett, Joseph N. Pato, Editors

Whither Biometrics Committee

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Summary of a Workshop on the Technology, Policy, and Cultural Dimensions of Biometric Systems. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11573.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

Support for this project was provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Award No. N00174-03-C-0074) and by the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security with assistance from the National Science Foundation (Award No. IIS-0344584). Any opinions expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the agencies and organizations that provided support for the project.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Summary of a Workshop on the Technology, Policy, and Cultural Dimensions of Biometric Systems. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11573.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Summary of a Workshop on the Technology, Policy, and Cultural Dimensions of Biometric Systems. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11573.
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WHITHER BIOMETRICS COMMITTEE

JOSEPH N. PATO,

Hewlett-Packard Labs,

Chair

BOB BLAKLEY,

IBM Tivoli Software

JEANETTE BLOMBERG,

IBM Almaden Research Center

JOSEPH P. CAMPBELL,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory

GEORGE T. DUNCAN,

Carnegie Mellon University

DELORES ETTER,

U.S. Naval Academy*

GEORGE R. FISHER,

Prudential-Wachovia (retired)

STEVEN P. GOLDBERG,

Georgetown University Law Center

PETER T. HIGGINS,

Higgins-Hermansen Group, LLC

PETER B. IMREY,

Cleveland Clinic

ANIL K. JAIN,

Michigan State University

GORDON LEVIN,

The Walt Disney World Company

LAWRENCE D. NADEL,

Mitretek Systems

JAMES L. WAYMAN,

San Jose State University

Staff

LYNETTE I. MILLETT, Senior Program Officer

KRISTEN BATCH, Associate Program Officer

MARGARET MARSH HUYNH, Senior Program Assistant

*  

Dr. Etter resigned from the committee in November 2005 upon her appointment as assistant secretary, Research, Development, and Acquisition, U.S. Navy.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Summary of a Workshop on the Technology, Policy, and Cultural Dimensions of Biometric Systems. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11573.
×

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD

JOSEPH F. TRAUB,

Columbia University,

Chair

ERIC BENHAMOU,

Benhamou Global Ventures, LLC

DAVID D. CLARK,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

CSTB chair emeritus

WILLIAM DALLY,

Stanford University

MARK E. DEAN,

IBM Almaden Research Center

DAVID J. DEWITT,

University of Wisconsin, Madison

DEBORAH ESTRIN,

University of California, Los Angeles

JOAN FEIGENBAUM,

Yale University

KEVIN KAHN,

Intel Corporation

JAMES KAJIYA,

Microsoft Corporation

MICHAEL KATZ,

University of California, Berkeley

RANDY H. KATZ,

University of California, Berkeley

SARA KIESLER,

Carnegie Mellon University

BUTLER W. LAMPSON,

Microsoft Corporation,

CSTB member emeritus

TERESA H. MENG,

Stanford University

TOM M. MITCHELL,

Carnegie Mellon University

FRED B. SCHNEIDER,

Cornell University

WILLIAM STEAD,

Vanderbilt University

ANDREW J. VITERBI,

Viterbi Group, LLC

JEANNETTE M. WING,

Carnegie Mellon University

RICHARD E. ROWBERG, Acting Director

JON EISENBERG, Acting Associate Director

KRISTEN BATCH, Associate Program Officer

JENNIFER M. BISHOP, Program Associate

JANET BRISCOE, Manager, Program Operations

RENEE HAWKINS, Financial Associate

MARGARET MARSH HUYNH, Senior Program Assistant

HERBERT S. LIN, Senior Scientist

LYNETTE I. MILLETT, Senior Program Officer

JANICE SABUDA, Senior Program Assistant

TED SCHMITT, Program Officer

GLORIA WESTBROOK, Senior Program Assistant

BRANDYE WILLIAMS, Staff Assistant

For more information on CSTB, see its Web site at <http://www.cstb.org>, write to CSTB, National Research Council, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20001, call (202) 334-2605, or e-mail the CSTB at cstb@nas.edu.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Summary of a Workshop on the Technology, Policy, and Cultural Dimensions of Biometric Systems. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11573.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Summary of a Workshop on the Technology, Policy, and Cultural Dimensions of Biometric Systems. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11573.
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Preface

Biometrics—the automatic identification or identity verification of human individuals on the basis of physiological and behavioral characteristics—is receiving much attention from many quarters. Promoted as a means to combat terrorism, to increase security, to boost efficiency, and to lessen inconvenience, biometrics is being considered, developed, and deployed in corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit institutions. Questions persist, however, about the effectiveness of biometric security measures, biometric systems’ usability and manageability along with their appropriateness in widely varying contexts, the effects of federal privacy policy on use and deployment, and the social impact of such technologies.

In 2003 the Committee on Authentication Technologies and Their Privacy Implications issued the report Who Goes There? Authentication Through the Lens of Privacy. Biometric technologies were one of several authentication technologies considered in that report. Subsequent to its publication, the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board held several discussions with various federal agencies interested in biometrics. Jonathon Phillips (then at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [DARPA]), Gary Strong (then at the Department of Homeland Security [DHS]), and Andrew Kirby (of the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]) were active participants in stimulating the discussions and moving them forward. The discussions resulted in agreement to undertake a comprehensive assessment of biometrics that examines current capabilities, future possibilities, and the role of government in their development. Funding for the project was obtained from DARPA and from the CIA and DHS with assistance from the National Science Foundation. The Whither Biometrics Committee was appointed to conduct the study.

This report is the outcome of the first stages of the committee’s work, which culminated in a public workshop organized by the committee and attended by members of industry, government, and academia. Held on March 15 and 16, 2005, in Washington, D.C., the workshop featured a variety of participants invited to present their views on issues surrounding biometric technologies and systems (see Appendix A for the workshop agenda). Five panels were organized, and each panelist gave a short presentation that addressed the theme of the panel. Each panel session was followed by extensive discussion involving all of the workshop participants and moderated by a committee member. This report is the committee’s summary of the panelists’ presentations and the ensuing discussions.

Although the summary is based on presentations and discussion at the workshop, the participants’ comments do not necessarily reflect the views of the committee, nor does the summary present findings or recommendations of the National Research Council. In fact, the committee took care in writing this report simply to summarize the discussions and to avoid any bias or appearance of

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Summary of a Workshop on the Technology, Policy, and Cultural Dimensions of Biometric Systems. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11573.
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bias in favor of one opinion or another. The committee limited itself to recording the overall sense of each individual panel session and did not attempt to distill sentiments across panels. Further, this summary is not intended to be an outline of the committee’s final report; topics that were not discussed at the workshop are not mentioned, however important they might be.

In the second stage of the study, the committee will analyze the information gathered in the workshop and summarized here, along with information and input from other experts and related studies. This analysis phase will deliver a final report (planned for release in 2006) with findings and recommendations from the committee.

The Whither Biometrics Committee consists of 14 members from industry and academia who are experts in different aspects of distributed systems, computer security, biometrics (of various flavors), systems engineering, human factors, and statistics, as well as in computer science and engineering (see Appendix B for committee and staff biographies).

The committee thanks the many individuals who contributed to its work, including the project sponsors that enabled this activity. It appreciates the panelists’ willingness to address the questions posed to them and is grateful for their insights. It further wishes to recognize the energetic participation of the workshop attendees as a group. Their active engagement stimulated a more robust discussion than might have been expected. Additionally, the reviewers of the draft summary report provided insightful and constructive comments that contributed significantly to its clarity.

The committee is particularly grateful to the CSTB staff for their work. Lynette Millett, Senior Program Officer, serves as the study director and has been instrumental in guiding this project from concept to practice with grace, humor, and aplomb. Kristen Batch went well beyond the call of duty in preparing the draft report for review. Margaret Huynh has been ably coordinating logistics for meetings and providing administrative support to the committee between meetings. She and Gloria Westbrook provided excellent staff support during the workshop. Thanks also to Janet Briscoe, who provided oversight for the workshop, and to the editorial staff, Susan Maurizi and Liz Fikre, in the Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences.

Joe Pato, Chair

Whither Biometrics Committee

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Summary of a Workshop on the Technology, Policy, and Cultural Dimensions of Biometric Systems. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11573.
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Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s (NRC’s) Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Vijayakumar Bhagavatula, Carnegie Mellon University,

Tora K. Bikson, RAND Corporation,

Austin Hicklin, Mitretek Systems,

Wendy Kellogg, IBM,

Sara Kiesler, Carnegie Mellon University,

James Matey, Sarnoff Corporation,

K.A. Taipale, Center for Advanced Studies in Science and Technology Policy, and Andrew Viterbi, Viterbi Group, LLC.

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Stephen Kent of BBN Technologies. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Summary of a Workshop on the Technology, Policy, and Cultural Dimensions of Biometric Systems. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11573.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2006. Summary of a Workshop on the Technology, Policy, and Cultural Dimensions of Biometric Systems. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11573.
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Biometrics—the use of physiological and behavioral characteristics for identification purposes—has been promoted as a way to enhance security and identification efficiency. There are questions, however, about, among other issues, the effectiveness of biometric security measures, usability, and the social impacts of biometric technologies. To address these and other important questions, the NRC was asked by DARPA, the DHS, and the CIA to undertake a comprehensive assessment of biometrics that examines current capabilities, future possibilities, and the role of the government in their developments. As a first step, a workshop was held at which a variety of views about biometric technologies and systems were presented. This report presents a summary of the workshop’s five panels: scientific and technical challenges; measurement, statistics, testing, and evaluation; legislative, policy, human, and cultural factors; scenarios and applications; and technical and policy aspects of information sharing. The results of this workshop coupled with other information will form the basis of the study’s final report.

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