Biometric Recognition Challenges and Opportunities (2010) / Chapter Skim
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Questions persist, however, about the effectiveness of biometric systems as security or surveillance mechanisms, their usability and manageabil ity, appropriateness in widely varying contexts, social impacts, effects on privacy, and legal and policy implications. The following are the principal conclusions of this study: • Human recognition systems are inherently probabilistic, and hence inherently fallible.
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The, primary components for the purposes vector editable of this discussion are "capture," where the sensor collects biometric data from the subject to be recognized; the "reference database," where previously enrolled subjects' biometric data are held; the "matcher," which compares presented data to reference data in order to make a recognition decision; and "action," where the system recognition decision is revealed and actions are undertaken based on that decision. interact with biometric systems -- needs strengthening particularly as biometric technologies and systems are deployed in systems of national importance.
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Biometric recognition involves matching, within a tolerance of approximation, of observed biometric traits against previously collected data for a subject. Approximate matching is required due to the variations in biological attributes and behaviors both within and between persons.1 Consequently, in contrast to the largely binary results associated with most information technology systems, biometric systems provide probabilistic results.
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Better understanding of biometric traits in human beings could be gained by carefully designed data collection and analysis. The biological underpinnings of physical distinctiveness and the stability of many biometric characteristics under natural physiological conditions and environmental challenges require further justification from basic biological and empirical studies.
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Principle: Users and developers of biometric systems should recognize and take into account the limitations and constraints of biometric sys tems -- especially the probabilistic nature of the underlying science, the current limits of knowledge regarding human individual distinctiveness, and the numerous sources of uncertainty in biometric systems. BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS AND TRUSTWORTHINESS Systems that perform biometric recognition exist within a constel lation of other authentication and identification technologies and offer some distinct capabilities and challenges.
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One needs to specify the problem to be solved by a particular biometric system in order to adequately assess its effectiveness and deal with the consequences of deployment.5 Conducting a threat analysis and developing threat models for the system that incorporates analysis of feasibility of threats against the resource being protected and against the system doing the protecting is an important component of understanding the problem. Decisions about whether and how to incorporate biometric approaches should consider their appropriateness and proportionality given the problem to be solved and the merits and risks of biometrics relative to other solutions6 and need to be considered by the broader information security community as well as within the biometrics community.
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It is important to manage the trustworthiness of the entire process rather than focusing on evaluation of the proffered biometric characteristic. Systems using biometric recognition are typically designed with alternative procedures for use when a sensor fails or an individual lacks the biometric trait.
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Achieving automated recognition involves the proper functioning of a broader system with many elements, including the human sources of data, human operators of the system, the collection environment(s) , biometric sensors, the quality of the system's various technological components, the human-sensor-environment interaction, biometric reference information databases and the quality and integrity of the data therein, the system's security and availability, the system's communications network(s)
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In particular, the inevitable false matches, false nonmatches, and failures to enroll are likely to stress other portions of the system that have been put in place to compensate when such errors occur. Field error rates are likely to be higher than laboratory testing suggests, poor exception processes can negate benefits, and extrapolation of functions in one context to another context may be inappropriate.
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Requirements for sys tems can vary widely, and assessment and evaluation of the effectiveness of a given system need to take into account the problem and context it was intended to address. SOCIAL, CULTURAL, AND LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS Although biometric systems can be beneficial, the potentially lifelong association of biometric traits with an individual, their potential use for remote detection, and their connection with identity records may raise social, cultural, and legal concerns.
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Moreover, the benefits arising from using a biometric system may flow to particular individuals or groups, sometimes only at the expense of others -- for example, a building's owner might be more secure but at the cost of time and inconvenience to those who wish to enter the building -- making calculating these trade-offs more difficult. Fundamental to most social issues surrounding biometric recognition is the tight link between an individual's biometric traits and data record, which can have positive and negative consequences.
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Policy and law should not only address the perpetrators of fraud but also induce system owners to minimize misuse of biometric samples and to maximize appropriate monitoring of biometric sample presentation at enrollment and participation. The reliability of biometric recognition is clouded by the presump tion of near-infallibility promoted by popular culture.
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Basic research should be done on the stability and distinctiveness of biometric traits; the control of environmental noise when acquiring samples; the correlation of biometric traits with private information, including medical conditions; and the demographic variability of biometric traits. Many fields of inquiry are relevant, even integral, to deepening the sci ence of biometric recognition, including sensor design, signal processing, pattern recognition, human factors, statistics and biostatistics, computer systems design, information security, operations research, economics, politics, applied psychology, sociology, education, and the law.
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From page 14... ...
Research is needed, too, on the distinctive information security problems of biometric systems, such as defense against attacks by individuals using fake or previously captured biometric samples and the concealment of biometric traits, and on the protection of biometric reference databases. Decision analysis and threat modeling are other critical areas requiring research advances.
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