Biometrics: Your Body and the Science of Security

Biometrics: Your Body and the Science of Security — page 4 — It doesn’t end with your physical appearance though You may recognize a friend from a distance based solely on the way he walks You’re familiar with the unique way he moves and know it almost instantly A person’s voice is also very distinctive If your best friend calls you on the phone chances are you’ll know it’s her as soon as you hear her voice We humans rely on our natural ability to recognize people by their many traits both physical ones and aspects of behavior Now we’ve entered a new era where computers are doing the same thing analyzing our bodies and behaviors to identify us This has turned the human body into a form of identification an ID that we never forget to carry with us Biometrics is the name for the science of using the body to identify a person The word biometrics comes from the Greek bio meaning life and metron meaning measure This technology measures unique physical traits such as our ear shape scent or vein patterns to identify us It can also ID us by analyzing how we perform a specific task such as talking or typing As you read through these pages you’ll learn about topics like faceprints voice recognition and iris scanning Yes it sounds a lot like science fiction But biometrics is really based on the age-old fact that there is no one else like you on Earth And that makes your body the ultimate ID biometrics AT A GLANCE Tablets like this throughout the book will give you a quick overview of each biometric The name of the biometric This gives you the level of difficulty involved in collecting information for the biometric This rates how secure or reliable the biometric is Method XXXXXX Type XXXXXX Collection EASY MODERATE DIFFICULT Security WEAK AVERAGE STRONG It’s a Fact XXXXXX There are two types of biometrics physiological and behavioral A physiological biometric measures a specific part of the body such as the hands or the face A behavioral biometric analyzes how a person performs a specific task such as talking This describes you guessed it a fact about the biometric BIOMETRICS BIOMETRICS BIOMETRICS BIOMETRICS BIOMETRICS BIOMETRICS BIOMETRICS BIOMETRICS BIOMETRICS BIOMETRICS 5

Biometrics: Your Body and the Science of Security — page 5 — Why Identification So why is identification so important The bottom line is that it confirms we are who we say we are It proves that we have the right to be in a certain place do a certain thing or receive a certain item or service ID also protects our private information and belongings In our daily lives we need identification if we want to go to school sign up for a sports team visit the doctor or travel outside the country ID is sometimes necessary if we want to gain access to a building or to information on a computer WHO ARE YOU In ancient times we identified a person by little more than his or her physical appearance Over time we’ve turned to stronger methods of ID such as birth certificates and driver’s licenses These documents offer details like our birth date a simple physical description and even a photo They’re something you can hold in your possession and present to prove that you are you WHAT’S THE PASSWORD Passwords are another common form of ID They’re a word or a series of characters that are meant to be something only you know Passwords allow us to access computers devices bank machines social media accounts and way more But they have their own long history Thousands of years ago people relied on passwords to determine if someone was one of them For instance a Roman soldier might have challenged a person to say the secret password and prove he was an ally before he could enter a particular region 6

Biometrics: Your Body and the Science of Security — page 6 — A HACKER ATTACK While passwords and identification documents have been used successfully for years they are far from perfect Pieces of ID can be copied or faked And there are more and more instances of passwords being cracked or stolen In fact in the past several years tens of millions of passwords have been stolen by criminals hacking into the databases of major stores and banks This has led to an increase in identity theft when someone pretends to be somebody else Identity theft allows thieves to get their hands on other people’s private information property and money It’s a big problem And this is where biometrics comes in WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE In the world of identification biometrics is a game changer Rather than depending on passwords or documents things that you know or own but that can be easily copied or stolen biometrics focuses on who you are Since your body and its specific traits are a part of you they can’t be misplaced or taken and they’re extremely difficult to duplicate Biometrics takes advantage of the fact that no two people are exactly alike FOLLOW THESE STEPS There are two stages involved in using biometrics to prove your identity The first one is called enrollment In this stage a biometric system gets to know you for the first time by collecting a sample such as a fingerprint or an iris pattern During the second stage called verification identification is confirmed by comparing your original sample known as the template to another sample that you submit in the future THE MORE THE MERRIER You may be wondering why there are so many different biometric methods Isn’t it enough to use say our fingerprints to prove our identity and call it a day Why bother with our face eyes ears hands and so on Well for one thing no biometric method is 100 percent foolproof So experts continue to search for that one flawless method that’ll leave all the others behind But our curiosity may be the biggest reason for the growing interest in biometrics Humans especially scientists are always on the lookout for an original idea So when we come up with one we just have to try it out to see how well it works 7

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