Secure Online Examination with Biometric Authentication and Blockchain-Based Framework

Abstract

E-learning has been carried out all over the world and then online examinations have become an important means to check learning effect during the outbreak of COVID-19. Participant authenticity, data integrity, and access control are the assurance to online examination. The existing online examination schemes cannot provide the protection of biometric features and fine-grained access control. Particularly, they did not discuss how to resolve some disputes among students, teachers, and a platform in a fair and reasonable way. We propose a novel biometric authentication and blockchain-based online examination scheme. The examination data are encrypted to store in a distributed system, which can be obtained only if the user satisfies decryption policy. And the pieces of evidence are recorded in a blockchain network which is jointly established by some credible institutions. Unlike other examination authentication systems, face templates in our scheme are protected using a fuzzy vault and a cryptographic method. Furthermore, educational administrative department can determine who the real initiator of malicious behavior is when a dispute arises using a dispute determination protocol. Analysis shows that no central authority is required in our scheme; the collusion of multiple users cannot obtain more data; even if the authorities compromise, biometric features of each user will not be leaked. Therefore, in terms of privacy-preserving biometric templates, fine-grained access, and dispute resolution, it is superior to the existing schemes.