::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Feb/99
::: The Discordant Opposition Journal ::: Issue 2 - File 4 :::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

:The Science of Biometrics:
 Cronus

 Biometrics is the upcoming science of authorising people by
their individual physical characteristics. Finger printing is
the oldest and most widely used biometrics.
 I was waiting for this file to be published by a large Hacking
site that will go unnamed. Each time I dropped by, it would still
say Not yet finished, check back next month. So I decided to 
write the article myself and here you go.

 Explanation

 Passwords have been shown to be unsecured time after time. It 
is a widely held believe that the weakest part of any security
system is the password. Behind the password is a User, who is
forgetful and absentminded at the best of time. So modern
science has stepped up to the plate and offered an alternative. 
Biometrics is the art of recognising individuals by their unique
and untransferable physical characteristics.
 Biometrics are by no means new. They have been around for years
but until recently the price was always a limiting factor. The
US military have used it as a form of authentication since well
before the cold war. No, however, finger print readers are cheap
enough to be built into keyboards and mice.
 Biometrics are so unique that they need never be changed. They
are part of you, so they can never be stolen. They are constant
and effortless to use. And they are extremely safe. For example
the eye scanner from the New Jersey based company Iriscan, offers
the odds of one-in-10 to the power of 78.

 The Fingerprint

 It has been the practice of Police and Government agencies all
over the globe to use the unique pattern of the fingerprint as
a form of Biometric. This is both cheap and easily maintained. 
 An example of PC fingerprinting is Sony Corp.'s Puppy Logon 
System at www.iosoftware.com. Cheap, reliable and already in the
mainstream. 
 As the fingerprint has been in use for so long. It has proved
itself as a reliable Biometric and also it has dropped in price.

 The Hand

 A handprint is simply an fingerprint on a larger scale. Hand 
scanners, such as the $2,150 HandKey manufactured by Recognition 
Systems Inc., measure the hand's geometry rather than fine skin 
patterns, so they're useful in places such as shop floors and 
manufacturing operations, where dirt and nicks could cause 
problems with a finger scan.
 As yet pretty well untested on a large scale. But still very 
cheap. Fairground 'Love Testers' are often based on a hand scanner
and this shows there ease of use and cheapness.
 There is a new technique that records the vein pattern at the back
of the hand. This technique looks promising, but it exists only in
a prototype system, and no extensive tests to determine the 
performance of the method have been done. However, this could well
become an important biometric identification method. 

 The Eye

 A person's eye is as unique as a fingerprint and can be used to identify someone. 
 IriScan Inc.'s namesake product keeps an eye on high-security 
facilities. The unique pattern of the iris of the eye is measured
and compared to a database of known values. The pattern on the 
iris is so unique that the chance of mix-up is infinitesimally small.
 IriScan is designed for physical access control, generally coming
in the form of a wall mounted reader. The system is currently in
use in prisons and military facilities for its security. As the
pattern matching software is currently being adapted to accommodate
face recognition for future planed products.
 The reader, software and PC cost $6,500. IriScan can be reached at
www.iriscan.com.

 The Face

 The ideal biometric identification method would be automatic face recognition. This is a difficult pattern recognition problem because heads can rotate and move in various ways. Pattern recognition 
software can be used in airports and border crossings to catch
criminals and terrorists. The facial software matches distinct features
of the human face to a digitally recorded copy to determine if the 
scanner recognises you. 
 Very new and still quite experimental. This form of Biometric can't
really take into account the change of appearance caused by ageing,
sickness or hair growth. Extremely complex software must be written
to ensure the error level of the system is kept to a minimum. If 
short, not a very secure Biometric.
 More than a dozen vendors offer facial recognition products, which
can cost as little as $150 to $300 per node. 


 The Voice

 Voice verification is by far the most socially acceptable Biometric.
It combines ease-of-use with lack of cost. It has several distinct
advantages over the other biometric techniques. First, it's perfect for telecommunications applications. Second, most modern PCs already have the necessary hardware. If they don't, a 16-bit sound card can be purchased for about $50, and a condenser microphone costs about $10. 
 Voice patterns are easily recorded and digitised, but the voice
changes because of the time of day, illness and background noise. This
means that even though this is perhaps the most convenient Biometic 
it is also probably the most insecure. Taped speech has been known to 
defeat this medium of authentication. Hardly secure.

 The Signature 

 Some Biometric products observe hand-written signatures. The process
requires a digitising tablet such as a Wacom PenPartner. Not widely 
used and not secure at all. The signature is as weak as a password.
Only a Biometric by the vaguest of senses.

 The Smart Card

 The Biometrics of the future will possibly be packaged with Smart 
Cards. Your individual Biometric data will be hard-coded into the
Smart Card and not matter where you are, the Biometric will be able
to verify that it is really you once you have your Smart Card.

 Security

 Most Biometrics are quite secure and that is why they are favoured
to te antique password. But simply because its a Biometric doesn't
make it secure. Anywhere that needs the level of security that comes
with a Biometric should do some research to ensure that they are 
getting a suitable type.
 The US military has been using many different forms of Biometry for
years and this stands for its reliability and overal security. Not to
be underestimated, but Biometrics will become the next major obstacle
for the Wily Hacker.

 Links

 Here are links to more information on Biometrics;

Security gets a facelift
 http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/reviews/1027/srbio.html

How biometric technology will fuse flesh and machine
 http://www.privacy.org/pi/reports/biometric.html

Biometrics Consortium
 http://www.biometrics.org/

Fight the Fingerprint
 http://www.NetworkUSA.org/fingerprint.shtml

Show me some ID
 http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/news/0112/12bio.html

Biometrics Explained
 http://www.ncsa.com/services/consortia/cbdc/explained.htm