Get to Know the Features of Biometric Factors#

As we become more reliant on technology, biometric authentication is becoming increasingly important. Biometric factors are characteristics that can be used to identify an individual, and they can be divided into seven categories: universality, uniqueness, permanence, collectability, performance, acceptability, and circumvention. In this blog post, we will take a closer look at each of these factors and how they contribute to making biometric authentication an effective security measure.

Biometric factors#

Various properties describe biometric factors. Let’s start by explaining universality in terms of biometric systems.

Universality

The term “universality” refers to the ability to find your selected biometric feature in the majority of persons who are expected to enroll in the system. An identifier may be used as an identity, however, you can not guarantee that everyone will have the specific identifier. When you refer to universality, you must bear in mind that not everyone possesses that precise characteristic.

Uniqueness

The degree to which a trait is distinctive among people is measured by its uniqueness. For example, if you use common attributes such as hair color or height as a biometric identifier, there is a decent probability of discovering multiple persons that have the same hair color or height. When you refer to this biometric factor, you should aim to choose features with a high degree of uniqueness. These features may be DNA or iris patterns. You should also keep in mind that although even these identifiers may be replicated.

Permanence

Permanence measures how well a quality holds up through time and with age. If you use a variable factor, such as height, weight, or hand shape, you will eventually be unable to authenticate a valid user. It is preferable to employ variables such as fingerprints, which are unlikely to alter unless conscious action is taken.

Collectability

The ease with which a trait may be acquired is measured by collectability. The most often used biometrics, such as fingerprints, is quite straightforward to get, which is why they are so popular. A DNA sample, on the other hand, is more difficult to get.

Performance

The effectiveness of a biometric implementation is identified by characteristics such as speed, precision, and mistake rate.

How you can estimate the effectiveness of a biometric method?#

There are numerous methods for determining the success of a biometric system, but a few key criteria stand out. Two of these are the false acceptance rate (which can be abbreviated as FAR) and the false rejection rate (FRR).

  • FAR: False acceptance rate tracks how frequently you accept a person who should be denied (which is also known as a false positive).

  • FRR: False rejection rate indicates how frequently you reject a legal user (which is also known as a false negative rate).

  • EER: The intersection of the false acceptance and false rejection rates yields an equal error rate. You should implement these two techniques to balance the two sorts of errors. You can utilize EER to estimate the validity of biometric systems.

Acceptability

Acceptability is a measurement of to which extent property is agreeable to system consumers. In general, painfully slow, complex, or uncomfortable technologies are less likely to be acceptable to the consumer.

Lastly, let’s take a look at what is circumvention.

Circumvention

Circumvention refers to how simple it is to fool a system by utilizing a forged biometric identification. The “gummy finger” is a typical example of a circumvention attack on the fingerprint as a biometric identifier. Secondary features in certain biometric systems are expressly designed to counter such attacks by detecting skin temperature, heartbeat, or pupillary responses.

Illustration of characteristics of biometric factors#

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Questions#

  • Do you agree it’s possible to fake some biometric identifiers easily?

  • Which biometric factor is manipulated by an attacker who replicates a fingerprint?

See also

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