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Discussion

What are the available biometric devices?

How are the devices used for user authentication?

Are current biometric devices an effective form of user authentication and access control?

Are biometric devices ethically acceptable?

Reading

Read the text below. Choose the best sentence to fill each of the gaps. For each gap 1-5, mark one letter (A-G). There are two extra sentences you don’t have to match. Do not use any letter more than once.

A) Authentication of facial features is quite sensitive to variations in the environment (camera position, lighting, etc.) to those at enrollment.

B) This is another pattern recognition approach based on the rhythmic nature of operating a keyboard.

C) Biometric devices are generally linked to some type of storage mechanism that stores the captured data.

D) Each of the types of devices captures data in a different form and by a different mechanism.

E) The word biometric refers to technologies that utilize specific human characteristics (specifically, biological features that are unique to each individual) to establish the identity of a person, or gain access to secure areas.

F) The technique is claimed to have less susceptibility for spoofing than other forms of biometric techniques, as it is harder to simulate the process of light reflection.

G) There are many important factors to be considered with biometric devices.

H) Templates generated can be very compact, and the method is often perceived by users to be less invasive than other types of biometric devices.

I) Biometric devices utilize technology to capture and process this type of information.

 

Biometrics allows people to be identified based on unique characteristics. Examples include fingerprint scans, iris scans, and voice recognition. 1) ……..Such devices may be found at airports, government buildings, and law enforcement agencies. Biometric devices normally capture information about a person who uses it for the first time. The two primary uses/ for biometric devices are identification and verification. 2) ……..One, which leads to the use of these devices being controversial, is security. Accuracy is also important. This is one area, however, that can present challenges to the use of biometric devices. Many are designed to capture a person’s characteristics exactly as they are without the ability to allow for potential changes. Capacity is another issue. 3) ……..These usually have limits. It is important for sufficient storage space to be considered when plans are made to utilize biometric devices. How long a person’s information is stored generally depends on the design of the system. 4) ……... The nature of the biometric data and the method by which they are acquired determines the invasiveness of the protocol for enrollment and authentication. The method of acquisition and any associated uncertainties in the measurement process can allow a malicious individual to attack the security of the biometric system by interfering with the capture mechanism or by substituting biometric data.

Fingerprint Scanner: Acquires an image of a fingerprint either by optical scanning or capacitance sensing. Generation of biometric templates is based on matching minutiae – characteristic features in fingerprints.

Retinal/Iris Scanner: Both are forms of biometric data capture based on scanning different parts of the eye. In a retinal scan, a biometric template is formed by recording the patterns of capillary blood vessels at the back of the eye. Iris scanning can be performed remotely using a high-resolution camera and templates generated by a process similar to retinal scanning.

Facial Scanner: Facial recognition works by extracting key characteristics such as relative position of eyes, nose, mouth, and ears from photographs of an individual’s head or face. 5) ……..

Hand Geometry: Scanners generate templates based on various features of an individual’s hand, including finger length. 6) ……..

Voiceprint: Voiceprint recognition compares the vocal patterns of an individual with previously enrolled samples. An advantage of voice-print techniques over other forms of biometric is the potential to detect duress or coercion through the analysis of stress patterns in the sample voiceprint.

DNA Fingerprint: This method works by taking a tissue sample from an individual and then sequencing and comparing short segments of DNA. The disadvantages of the technique are in its overall invasiveness and the speed at which samples can be processed. Due to the nature of the process itself, there is an extremely low false acceptance rate, but an un-certain false rejection rate.

Deep Tissue Illumination: A relatively new technique that involves illumination of human tissue by specific lighting conditions and the detection of deep tissue patterns based on light reflection. 7) ……..

Keystroke Pattern: Technique works by detecting patterns of typing on a keyboard by an individual against patterns previously enrolled. Keystroke biometrics have been used to harden password entry – to provide greater assurance that a password was typed by the same individual that enrolled it by comparing the pace at which it was typed.

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