Biometrics

Technologies of biometric identification

Main article: Technologies of biometric identification

Market of solutions of biometric identification

• Biometric identification (world market)
• Biometric identification (market of Russia)

Authentication

• Cybersecurity - Authentication
• Passwords

Biometrics: than it is useful to banks

For banks especially important the fact that failure from the actions confirmed with presentation of biometric identifiers is impossible. Unlike cards, fingerprints have restrictions on number of "schityvaniye", in the biometric systems registration of reserve identifiers is possible, and here fingerprints appear ahead again: the ordinary person on hands has 10 fingers and only one person, up to two eyes and up to two hands.

Scope of biometric technologies in financial institutions is not exhausted by data protection. So, the Subsidiary bank JSC Sberbank of Russia in Kazakhstan (Sberbank of the Russian Federation (Kazakhstan)) uses biometric solutions of BioLink at customer service — for their fast and safe identification at commission of account account transactions.

It is pleasant to note that Banks of Russia and the CIS countries move in line with universal trends. For example, Banco Azteca operating in Latin America also scans at the clients fingerprints at access to accounts, and its information system daily performs not less than 200 thousand comparisons of these identifiers.

The pressure of biometric technologies was not resisted even by credit institutions of financial Mecca — Switzerland. The Pictet & Cie bank when moving to the new building made the basic decision to install in it biometric control system of access, and now over two thousand employees of the bank daily are identified on an iris of the eye of eyes and three-dimensional model of the person.

Poll of Javelin Strategy & Research company (fall of 2012) showed the attitude of clients of credit institutions to use of biometric technologies for protection of their accounts. Survey was conducted both among corporate clients of banks, and among clients — individuals.

70% of corporate clients of credit institutions confirmed the interest in application of security technologies for present purposes. As for clients — individuals, poll revealed the following pattern: the in the technical plan the user is more "advanced", the it treats biometrics more favourably. So, 48% of users of on-line banking and 54% of those who address services of mobile banking would like to ensure safety of the transactions using technology of biometrics in general and biometric smart cards in particular.

Biometric identification on fingerprints was the most popular among survey participants: it as the most preferable to implementation in banking systems was mentioned by 35% of respondents. Kind of consoling developers of other biometric technologies, analysts of Javelin Strategy & Research say that methods of recognition of users on their persons and a voice have in banking sector "long-term perspectives".

Neural network biometrics

The group of the Russian scientists developed the scheme how to use unique data of the person not only in biopassports, but also at commission of normal banking activities. The course of lectures about features of programming of automatic machines of neural network biometrics at the Chelyabinsk state university (CHELGU) was given by the head of laboratory of biometric and neural network technologies of the Penza research electrotechnical institute Alexander Ivanov.

So far the biometrics is used only in passports, and of introduction of this technology the whole decade left. The United States which became leaders in so-called "police biometrics" do not hurry to enter this method of data protection into mass use. Russia has every chance to become pioneers and creators of "digital democracy".

"The Federal Service for Technical and Export Control made in 2004 the decision on development of biometrics, in this direction works were carried out, and it was succeeded to receive results. Carry them students, and there is a purpose of my lectures in ChelGU. Abroad works were conducted in bigger volume too, but they have no standards, and they do not give digit of reliability of technical solutions", - Alexander Ivanov notes.

Bank PIN codes and even the digital signature are extremely not safe, - the Doctor of Engineering considers, and recommends to use only the checked ATMs, to refuse Internet purchases and the electronic government, at least, until biometric protection appears.

Biometric ATMs: conveniently and reliably

If until recently biometric identification of holders of bank cards seemed a fantasy, then now it became absolutely usual for tens and hundreds of thousands of users in Brazil and India, Poland and Saudi Arabia, Japan and Colombia. And in Russia pilot projects on integration of biometrics into ATMs and POS terminals are implemented even by Sberbank: in several regions holders of the "social cards" emitted by it can pay goods and services, scanning fingerprints.

The special position in the matter was taken by the Japanese banks. They prefer to identify holders of cards according to the drawing of veins, and serious fight ran high between two technologies. One of them assumes scanning of the drawing of veins on a finger, and another reads out this drawing from all palm. However, expansion of biometric ATMs of this type was not limited to only one Land of the rising sun: the Brazilian Bradesco Bank equipped more than one and a half thousand ATMs with scanners of the drawing of veins on a palm, and the Polish cooperative bank BPS SA the first in Europe implemented identification of holders of cards according to the drawing of veins on a finger.

Barclays refused the system of recognition and identification of a voice

The attempt of the known bank to enter identification of VIP clients on a timbre of a voice was not crowned with success: reliability of the modern systems of speech recognition is still insufficient for use of these technologies as biometrics.

In May, 2013 the British bank Barclays announced commissioning of the new system allowing to distinguish VIP clients on voices. The bank looked for the solution allowing to save a "top" layer of the rich people storing the values in bank from danger of the fraud connected with interception of codes long ago and gave in on marketing pressure from sellers of the solution. The matter is that statistics of bank swindles for 2012 showed 11 percent increase in number of the registered abuses.

It turned out that similar software solutions are found at the earliest stage of development of technology. Everyone who faced voice commands on smartphones and in insides of cars and also voice set on normal mobile phones can imagine what difficulties the bank faced. Today's software is still not able to adapt to a voice of the one and only user, not to mention the difficult comparisons required for work of the biometric systems.

Authorities of Barclays bank claim that 93 percent of the covered clients are happy with new service: it rabotyt quickly, simply and safely. Nevertheless, 93% — the indicator unacceptable in banking business. The specifics of this vertical demand from all services connected with security of deposits, at least 99.9% of reliability. Therefore the fact of testing of software on VIP clients is, according to experts, very doubtful in terms of reputation of bank. Similar solutions should be checked carefully in operation before they can be implemented in practice.

Biometric technologies in medical institutions

Treatment and prevention facilities switch to technologies of biometrics to ensure safety of the patients, to accelerate their service, to reduce number of errors. Biometric technologies are actively integrated into the systems of electronic medical records and used for personal data protection of patients.

So, for example, the medical center of Saint Vincent in the American State of Indiana achieved increase in level of information security and service rate of patients, having implemented fingerprint scanners in the activity. The medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs located in Florida identifies the patients on their voices, and the Urban Health Plan clinic in Bronx (one of the districts of New York) operates two years iris scanners, and with their help the personality of patients is quickly and unmistakably identified.

One more medical organization in Florida — Simply Healthcare Plans — uses scanners of an iris of the eye for fight against illegal use of health insurances. As biometric identifiers are unique for each person, attempt to show someone else's policy for receiving medical services are useless and right there come to light.

Time recording using biometric technologies

Biometric systems of accounting of working time are an example of one of the most successful use of biometric technology. In process of simplification of integration and use of biometric technology many corporations decide on its implementation for the purpose of a time recording of employees.^[1]

Biometric systems of accounting of working time play the leading role in the modern highly competitive markets. As labor costs in the increasing degree define profitability of business, a main objective of entrepreneurs is an opportunity to reduce losses of working time.

One of main advantages of biometric systems of accounting of working time is that they allow to avoid "friendly fraud" (when employees report cards each other and mark out each other). In other systems "Friendly Fraud" - the main hole allowing to bypass traditional systems of accounting of working time. Now using implementation of the biometric systems of the company could put an end to these tricks. Besides, biometric systems of accounting of working time perform also other important functions.

The biometric system of accounting of working time allows to define precisely what employee (or the employee) is marked out at arrival or leaving from a workplace. Using use of fingerprints (or other biometric characteristics). Working time of each employee is reflected in the report on a time recording. These data can be used for determination of the wages fund. Accurate accounting of working time of the employee and his overtime work is carried out and, proceeding their it, the corresponding salary is calculated.

See Also: Biometric systems of accounting of working time

Biometric control systems of access

Before passing to discussion of biometric control systems of access, let's try to clear that is understood as "access control". Concerning security, especially security of this or that territory, this term is generally connected with two aspects:

• Access restriction on the enterprise or the territory which is someone's property that is reached using providing access to the users having on that permission and prohibition of access to those who have no it;
• Tracking of an input and exit

Now the biometric equipment or control systems of access are not that other as systems using this or that biometric characteristic for ensuring two above-mentioned aspects of access control.

Different types of the biometric control systems of access using fingerprints, scanning of a retina, hand geometry, etc. are presented at the market. If you happened to see more famous the Hollywood movie "Special opinion", you remember that the most confidential premises were protected using the similar biometric systems there.

Now let's continue these reasonings and we will discuss how actually the biometric control system of access works and as it can be used for protection of an input to premises.

Biometric access control – the principle of work

Any biometric control system of access includes the access monitoring device – the reader or the scanner. This device which reads out initial data in the form of a fingerprint or information obtained as a result of scanning of a retina, etc. Then this information is analyzed and compared to the personal information of the person written earlier. If data match, there is an authentication of the person. If the authenticated user has permission to stay in these premises during this time frame, the device gives a certain signal and opens the electronic lock.

Most often in control systems of access such biometric characteristic as fingerprints is used. However in the places requiring the bigger security level, for example, in secure facilities of the airports, government buildings, etc., scanning of a retina and other high-tech solutions is used.

The best solution for the small enterprise is the access control system using identification on fingerprints.

Biometric hours - the perspective solution for a time recording

Biometric hours are arranged as well as biometric control systems of working time. So actually same system is called differently. The term "biometric hours" is usually used by the people aiming to purchase systems similar to portal time clocks. Biometric systems of accounting of working time usually use identification on fingerprints or sometimes in a shape of a palm for accounting of leaving and arrivals of employees. On the basis of the acquired information the salary is calculated.

Biometric door locks

Emergence of biometric door locks marks arrival of biometric technologies to everyday life. Now biometric locks are available to all, and it means that biometrics devices can be referred to category of household appliances. Biometric door handles are more and more widely used in mansions, apartment houses, offices and even in server rooms now.

When using biometric door locks a key are fingerprints. The locking mechanisms opened by a normal key are replaced with the sensor which is reading out fingerprints which can define whether the one who tries to open a door has permission to an input.

Biometric door locks give the chance to ensure safety of the apartment house using the latest technology and eliminate unpleasant effects of loss or transfer of keys. Biometric door locks allow not to worry concerning different problems with keys. How often did you happen to lose keys? How many times did you change the lock on doors? All of us came up against such situations and the despair which you feel when to have to face the locked door not in forces something is well familiar to us to make.

Biometric locks solve an array of problems for family, spare keys connected with need of production and, the most important, it is not necessary to worry concerning loss of keys by children or invasion of the malefactors using counterfeit keys any more.

Door locks with identification on fingerprints are very just put, as well as any other locks. Each lock is equipped with the biometric scanner which is reading out fingerprints. Those people, whose prints were written, can get freely access to premises at any time. Fingerprints can quickly register and be removed, and in case of accommodation, joint with someone, it is possible to add easily new prints and to delete unnecessary.

Biometric safes

Biometric safes, such as biometric portfolios, biometric safes with identification on fingerprints, biometric safes for storage of weapons, etc. are a bright example of how the biometric technology can increase quality of our life and ensure safety of our family.

Biometric safes are very simple in use. It is not required to remember code combinations, the possibility of counterfeit of keys is absolutely excluded. Biometric safes solve all these problems as everything that is required - it is to concern the lock a finger pillow. Biometric safes with identification on fingerprints become more and more popular for ensuring safety of personal property of the house and at office.

There are many different types of biometric safes with different functions depending on needs of the user. For example, people purchase biometric safes for storage of weapons not to allow to it children, and personal safes with identification on fingerprints are used for storage of expensive objects, for example, of jewelry. Stronger safes for storage of property and valuable things are used at offices.

Thus, biometric safes provide simple and convenient problem solving of safe storage of personal belongings, weapon or business documentation for a wide range of potential users.

Recommendations about carrying out audit of the biometric systems

The international association of specialists in the field of IT management which was earlier operating under the name ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association) (Information Systems Audit and Control Association) published in the fall of 2012 of the recommendation about carrying out audit of the biometric systems. Their main goal – to facilitate formation of independent assessment of functioning of the mentioned systems, their compliances to corporate IT policy and the best world experience.

Recommendations open a technique of carrying out audit in the following directions:

• efficiency evaluation of architecture of the biometric systems, level of their security and compliance to corporate standards of IT security and functioning of information systems in general;
• assessment of readiness of the biometric systems for reflection of attempts of invasion and work in the conditions of "falling" of one or several of their major components;
• identification of factors which can make negative impact on functioning of the biometric systems and their capability to control physical access to buildings and premises and to protect corporate information resources.

Recommendations cover all stages of lifecycle of the biometric systems – from acquisition corresponding program and the hardware, design of architecture of these systems before their input in action, the subsequent operation and security. Recommendations include the description different the politician, standards and procedures which should be considered when carrying out audit of the biometric systems; also councils for ensuring their readiness for reflection of different threats (attempts of invasion, leaks, etc.) are given.

Interesting digits

• 5 billion euros — damage caused to Societe Generale bank by his manager Gérôme Querviel using passwords of colleagues in the frauds
• 90 million euros — the amount which tried to steal from Dzhagmit Channa HSBC bank using the stolen passwords.
• According to a sociological research of Unisys company of 68% of clients in the world prefer that banks, payment systems, state bodies for identification used biometrics instead of passwords and maps.

See Also

• Biometric market today
• Biometric identification (market of Russia)
• National Biometric Platform (NBP)
• Single Biometric System (SBS) of these clients of banks
• Biometric identification (world market)
• Technologies of biometric identification
• Systems of face recognition
• Speech recognition of doctors
• Myths of biometrics
• Short history of biometrics
• Biometrics and border control
• ACS
• Biometric systems of accounting of working time
• Video surveillance systems
• Video analytics
• Authentication systems
• Cybersecurity - Fraud detection system (fraud)

Notes

• 'The voice biometrics is interesting to any companies having a large number of clients'
• Seven ways to failure from passwords