| ABSTRACT |
Biometrics is an emerging set of pattern-recognition technologies which accurately and automatically identifies or verifies individuals based upon each person¿s unique physical or behavioral characteristics. Identification using biometrics has advantages over traditional methods involving ID Cards (tokens) or PIN numbers (passwords) in that the person to be identified is required to be physically present where identification is required and there is no need for remembering a password or carrying a token. PINs or passwords may be forgotten, and tokens like passports and driver's licenses may be forged, stolen, or lost. Biometrics methods work by unobtrusively matching patterns of live individuals in real-time against enrolled records. Biometric templates cannot be reverse-engineered to recreate personal information and they cannot be stolen and used to access personal information. Because of these inherent attributes, biometrics is an effective means to secure privacy and deter identity theft. Various biometric traits are being used for real-time recognition, the most popular being face, iris and fingerprint. Other biometric systems which have found their usefulness are based on retinal scan, voice, signature and hand geometry. By using them together with existing tokens, passwords and keys, biometric systems are being deployed to enhance security and reduce fraud. In designing a practical biometric system, a user must first be enrolled in the system so that his biometric template can be captured. This template is securely stored in a central database or a smart card issued to him. The template is retrieved when an individual needs to be identified. Depending on the context, a biometric system can operate either in verification (authentication) or identification mode
|