Sept 10th, 2007
Chris Fournier
Biometrics: You are the Key
You’ve just completed your dissertation on theoretical physics and are about to perform your first real field experiment in your new role as research associate. “Right this way” the armed security guard tells you as you show him your ID badge. The officer briskly steps into a small cell-like guardhouse and activates a switch. Two heavy doors slide apart and vanish into the walls. With a sense of urgency you step quickly inside. The tell tale whooshing sound of pneumatically operated doors pierces the silence behind you as the doors slide shut again.
Entering the restricted area you notice several of your scientific colleagues grouped together pouring over charts and readouts. “Are you ready to get started?” one of the senior scientists asks you. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this”, you reply enthusiastically. “Good – our agents went to great lengths to secure this sample.... we had better get this right”, he replies as he leads you and a couple other doctors down a long hallway. After an elevator ride down your group finally reaches the test chamber. Another armed security officer stands near the door to the chamber. Also next to the door is a curious protruding device that is contoured perfectly to rest your face against.
The senior doctor motions you forward. As if guided by instinct you place your face against the device and look into the strangely illuminated lens. Like clockwork you hear the systematic ratchet and clank of the heavy door unlocking. A calm female voice gently tells you “Access Granted, please step inside the test chamber”.
Across the country, in a large city, a slender man of medium build – dressed in charcoal gray business suit, steps off the 27th floor elevator and approaches an office. The door is slightly ajar and the man slowly presses it open gingerly peeking as his view of the room increases. “Come on in, Gregory” a gravely voice booms. “Ahhh, Matthew, there you are”, Gregory says. “Here we are at last…. Are you ready to close this deal?” Gregory inquires. “Yes, let’s do this” says Gregory as Matthew pushes documents across the large mahogany desk. A brisk stroke of the pen later and Gregory’s signature adorned the document. The two men stand up and shake hands.
While these two scenarios may seem strikingly different they share a common thread. This of course is none other than biometrics! In our first example a quick retina scan was used to authenticate and authorize a scientist. In the second scenario a man writes his signature which like the retina, is unique to him.
What are biometrics? In general they are defined as automated methods for verifying or identifying unique physical or behavioral traits from one human to another. What does this actually mean? These can be used to identify a unique person and decide if they should have access to something. Several types of biometric techniques can be used in a wide array of applications. In short, you are the key and if the key fits… the door should open.
The major types of biometrics in use today include fingerprints, retina scans, body shape metrics, keystroke metrics, voice recognition, and signatures (Lockie, 8). Of the major implementations these can generally be broken down into two distinct categories. These categories are physical biometrics and behavioral biometrics. A physical system reads some physical characteristic about you such as the blood vessel patterns at the back of your eye or the unique ridges on your fingers. A behavioral system reads something about what you do such as the unique pressure points (the how) in your signature or the rhythm in your keystrokes.
You are born with your physical characteristics, but you develop your behavior ones over time. You might think you could easily change your behavior, but once those habits are formed they are surprisingly consistent and thusly ideal for identification (Lockie, 9). One physical characteristic that is unique to all of us is our DNA, however we haven’t reached a point such as the movie “Gatica” where the process of using DNA is automated or quick, so this disqualifies it presently as a useful biometric for the purposes of a security system.
How do biometric authentication systems work? The entire process occurs in multiple steps, first of which is enrollment. Enrollment is essentially sitting down with a trained administrator, proving your identity, and finally capturing your biometric data such as your fingerprints into the system. This database, packed with biometric data, is collectively known as your biometric template (Zhang, 13). A template could contain an entire set of your finger prints or a map of your eyeballs.
Biometric systems are extremely accurate, but none of them are perfect. There is a small chance that an imposter could gain access to a system if they are not enrolled. There are two main types of failures on a biometric system: false acceptance and false rejection. Obviously false acceptances are not ideal in any situation, but some situations such as very high security, false rejects are ok. If I ran a high security nuclear power plant I’d rather my people spent a few extra minutes negotiating false rejects than a saboteur gaining easy access to my facility (Lockie, 29).
Once you are enrolled into the system you can begin using it. If our system uses palm prints we will first place our hand onto a sensor. The sensor will then extract the data from your palms as it scans them. The extracted data will then run through an application which will access the template store and compare the data from the scanner to the template. If there’s a match you should have access to whatever you’re authorized to use.
Who uses biometric systems? I’m glad you asked. These types of systems can be used for a variety of purposes. Here are a few: governmental entitlement systems, nuclear power plants, police surveillance systems, theme park access systems, face recognition systems. For example Disney World now employs a finger geometry system to identify ticket holders and season pass holders. The template is stored in a central location and can be accessed by all Disney parks. At first people thought the entire idea was a bit weird, but quickly embraced it (Lockie, 37).
Not all biometric systems are used for access and authorization. Some systems such as signatures and fingerprints can be used for identification. AFIS systems or automatic fingerprint identification systems are used the world over by police to identify the owners of fingerprint found at a crime scene. Some of these AFIS systems can be used in real time to check ID for government benefits. This type of system can easily discover if someone is attempting to commit fraud (Zhang, 45).
The city of London created a Closed Circuit Television Network throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s mainly to investigate and prevent IRA attacks. The system was not created for crime prevention, but rather for investigation and prosecution. Today, cameras are installed in London taxi cabs, public areas, along roadways to monitor traffic or enforce the London congestion charge. The CCTV network was instrumental in identifying and re-enacting the 2005 London bombing. Supermarkets allow cameras to tape license plate numbers of customers entering a store in return they will be tipped off to customers who will most likely leave without paying their bill. What price is an individual paying to be safe though? Civil Liberty groups across the planet have been voicing concerns about a Big brother mentality that will limit the freedoms of citizens. There are also the issues of mistaken identity and burden of proof that should be of concern to most citizens. This type of use closely relates to the plotline of the 2002 movie starring Tom Cruise, “Minority Report.” In this film the main character is accused of murder before the crime is committed using a forecasting technology. In the end it was a failure on the part of the system, but the lengths Tom Cruise’s character had to go through to clear his name were extensive (Osborne).
The United Kingdom has established a biometric lab that has been researching new ways to improve homeland security through this technology. One of the latest inventions is a biometric “face reader” that automatically recognizes the human face and thus would enable the UK to track people’s movements and store them in large databases. The hit Police song “Every Breath You Take” never had as much meaning as it does now. The government will be able to track the actions of their citizens.
Automobiles will be given special tags that like a barcode will allow for easy scanning of their movement. Individuals who do not have these special tags will be flagged leading the way for a crackdown, fines, or other types of enforcement. The system does not allow individuals the option to not participate. It is simply in place and you have no choice but to participate. You have no opt-in or opt out choice.
While in many cases, such as the quick investigation of the London bombings, the technology is paramount in quickly investigating and prosecuting those who commit crimes, the technology is also not reliable and prone to errors. Face recognition was utilized at the 2001 Super Bowl where 19 people were incorrectly identified as wanted criminals and were arrested. These cases were dismissed but the damage had already been done (Connor).
Officials in London fend off Big Brother obligations by stating that the city and its citizens are safer now with the CCTV network than ever before. The CCTV network has had a successful record and that is all London official’s believe they need in order to justify the network. The officials believe that since criminals are caught using the system then it is all they need to prove that the system has merit.
Currently, there are no regulations as to how far the envelope can be pushed and any government looking to install a similar security system should lay the foundation first so that liberties are not stripped from their citizens. This era in the history of the world is very precarious wrought with danger from terrorist activities, but freedom must always be preserved. Safety and freedom do not have to be inversely dependant on the other. A country where I am tracked like a rat in a maze is not one I would like to live in nor do I believe would most citizens of free nations. Biometrics needs boundaries and it is up to our governments to provide them.
Sources
Lockie, M (2002) “Biometric Technology” Reed Educational and Professional Publishing
Zhang, D (2000) “Automated Biometrics” Springer Publishing
Osborne, A (2005) “An overview of biometric face recognition and video identifying technologies” Retrieved Sept 10th 2007. http://www.video-surveillance-guide.com/biometric-face-recognition.htm