Protection of biometric information

Abstract

The field of biometrics is concerned with recognizing individuals by means of unique physiological or behavioral characteristics. In practical systems, several biometric modalities are used, such as fingerprint, face, iris, hand geometry, and so forth. Recently, biometric systems are becoming increasingly popular because they potentially offer more secure solutions than other identification means such as PIN codes and security badges because a biometric is tightly linked to an individual. For the same reason, biometrics can prevent the use of several identities by a single individual. Finally, biometrics are also more convenient because, unlike passwords and PIN codes, they cannot be forgotten and are always at hand. In this chapter we describe how biometrics can be combined with cryptographic techniques described in Part I of this book in order to, for example, derive cryptographic keys from biometric measurements or to protect the privacy of information stored in biometric systems. © 2007 Springer-Verlag London.