I
f you think biometrics is the visual-effects
technology behind cinematic cyborgs such
as Robocop and the Terminator, you’re not
alone. In reality, it’s the science of verifying the
identity of a living person by analyzing one or
more of his or her physiological characteris-
tics—say, iris pattern or voiceprint.
If that sounds complex, consider that
one of biometrics’ oldest and most widely
accepted applications is the simple art of
fi ngerprinting. Today’s technology, of course,
goes far beyond inky fi ngers. You’ll fi nd bio-
metrics in everything from laptops and PDAs
to airports, offi ce buildings, passports, and
drivers’ licenses. There may come a day when
printed identifi cation becomes as quaint as
a wax seal. We’ll look at the different types
of biometric applications, explore each one’s
strengths and weaknesses, and discover why
in one way or another, biometrics are destined
to impact your daily life.A HIGH-TECH
SECURITY BLANKET
There’s a simple reason why biometric
research-and-development efforts are pro-
gressing at such a rapid pace: security. Given
that so much of your physiology is com-
pletely unique to you, and assuming there
is a quantifi able and 100-percent accurate
method of measuring or gauging one or more
of your physical attributes, biometrics is the
most convenient and foolproof security tech-
nology available; in theory, at least.
Biometrics has already made signifi -
cant inroads into the computer market: An
increasing number of new notebook com-puters, mice, and even USB drives feature
integrated fi ngerprint scanners, and you can
add one of these devices to any existing PC
for as little as $30. Unlike a physical device,
your fi ngerprints cannot be lost, stolen, or
accidentally left behind. And unlike pass-
words, they cannot be forgotten.
But biometrics-protected notebooks are
just the tip of the iceberg. Walk into a high-
security building and chances are you’ll have
another part of your physiology measured—
perhaps by a face, eye, or hand-geometry
scanner, or by a device that performs voice
authentication. In some parts of the world, you
must submit to eye and/or fi ngerprint scan-
ning in order to obtain a driver’s license or a
passport. There might even come a time when
everyday transactions will require a quick
analysis of some portion of your physiology.GIVING BIOMETRICS
THE FINGER
Fingerprint scanning is the most common
and least expensive form of biometrics.
Here, your print is initially scanned by a
light source—such as a laser or LED—and
the image is temporarily stored in a CCD
or CMOS device. The print image is never
permanently stored, for security reasons;
instead, the device employs a series of secret
algorithms to convert the location, size, and
shape of the fi nger’s ridges, valleys, and
other characteristics into a string of onesand zeroes. This calibration template is then
matched against templates created in future
scans to determine a positive identifi cation.
The problem with today’s fi ngerprint-
based biometrics technology is that it’s far
from infallible. For starters, fi ngerprints can be
altered—deliberately, accidentally, or with the
simple passage of time. Fingers also tend to
get dirty, which can impact a print’s appear-
ance. Fingerprints can even vary from one
impression to the next, depending on the level
of pressure the user applies to the scanner.
A far more disturbing threat is the poten-
tial for “spoofs.” Spoofi ng is the practice of
deceiving a biometrics device by introducing
counterfeit samples. These sorts of tricks
have proven all too easy to pull off with
fi ngerprint scanners, using “fake fi ngers”
fashioned from soft, pliable substances such
as gelatin, wax, and silicone.
A Clarkson University study, funded by
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
and the U.S. Department of Defense, demon-
strated just how easily some camera-based
fi ngerprint-scanning technologies can be
fooled. Researchers collected several fi ngers
from cadavers, and fashioned casts from live
fi ngers using dental materials and Play-Doh.
After testing more than 60 of the faked sam-
ples, they achieved an alarming 90-percent
false-positive rate.
Seemingly more-sophisticated biometrics
technologies are also susceptible to coun-r & d BREAKING DOWN TECH —PRESENT AND FUTURE
54 MA XIMUMPC MARCH 2006
White Paper: Biometric Security
Popping up in everything from
notebook computers to drivers’
licenses, biometric security
promises to be the ultimate
security solution. But there’s
a long road to travel; will we be
happy when we get there?
BY GORD GOBLEHOW IT WORKS Pattern-based fingerprint matching
ÑA scanner captures a fi ngerprint
image and a pattern-based algorithm
makes note of distinguishing features,
such as ridge thickness, curvature,
and density.10010011
01100011
10000101
11100100
100101111) FINGERPRINT SCAN 2) PATTERN EXTRACTION 3) TEMPLATE10010011
01100011
10000101
11100100
10010111ÑSmall sections of the fi ngerprint
image, and their relative distances,
are then extracted from the scan.ÑThe small images are converted
into binary data and stored as a
template that will be matched against
future fi ngerprint data.