INTRODUCTION
be used during transactions conducted via
Electronically, Instead of with pencil and paper
or face to face. This growth in electronic
transactions has resulted in a greater demand
for fast and accurate user identification and
authentication.Traditional means of security
using personal identification numbers (PINs)
through passwords or security-access cards
(smart cards) has a major drawback. They
recognize the PIN but not the person who has
provided it. So we would like to give information
on more secured way, which is biometrics
security.
ABSTRACT
Biometrics is the science andtechnology of
authentication (i.e. This present century is full of
inventions establishing the identity of an
individual) and discovery, which lead to the
invention of
by measuring the person's physiological
many sophisticated things. The more the things
or behavioral features. The term is
are the more the security is needed. This has
derived from the Greek words "bios"
lead to the invention of many security items. The
for life and "metron" for degree.
information age is quickly revolutionizing the
Biometrics ensures that the
way transactions are completed. Every day
individual trying to log on is actually
actions are increasingly being handled
the authorized person and not justsomeone who
maliciously found acard or cracked a password.
Biometric technology is a way toachieve fast, user-
friendlyauthentication with a high level ofaccuracy.
. The promise of ease andincreased security are
perhapsbiometrics most appealing features.
The popular biometrictechnologies are :
• ..finger recognition
• ..face recognition
• ..hand geometry
• ..voice recognition
• ..iris recognition
• ..signature recognition
There are number of applications of
biometrics. They are widely used in forensics
such as criminal identification , prison
security and in a large number of civilian
applications. Biometrics can also help in the
prevention of unauthorized access to ATMs,
cellular phones, smart cards, desktop PCs,
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workstations, and computer networks and it can
telephone and Internet (electronic commerce
and electronic banking) to minimize risks.
Biometric authentication offers a highly
secure , reliable and efficient solution. So where
security is highly required, implementation of
biometrics security is a very good solution as
there is to fear of stealing or forgetting the
password.
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS BIOMETRICS?
Biometrics is the science and
technology of authentication (i.e.
establishing the identity of an individual) by
measuring the person's physiological or
behavioral features. The term is derived
from the Greek words "bios" for life and
"metron" for degree. Biometrics ensures that
the individual trying to log on is actually the
authorized person and not just someone who
maliciously found a card or cracked a that converts
the scanned information into digital form, and,
wherever the data is to be analyzed,
a database that stores the biometric
data for comparison with entered
biometric data.
Biometrics is seen by many as a
solution to a lot of the user identification and
security problems in today’s networks. Password
abuse and misuse, intentional and inadvertent is
a gaping hole in network security. This results
mainly from human error, carelessness and in
some case maliciousness. Biometrics removes
human error from the security equation.
Our paper will examine all the
technological and feasibility aspects as well as
the practical applications. We will look at many
different biometric methods of identifying the
user. The presentation has been divided into the
following areas:
..What is biometrics?
..History of biometrics
..Different methodologies of biometrics.
..Several applications of biometrics
..Benefits of using biometrics
password. In the development of biometric
identification systems, physical and
behavioral features for recognition are
required which must possess:
• Uniqueness : that is, an identical trait
• shouldn't appear in two people:
• Universality :occur in as many people
• as possible
 • Permanence: don't change over time
• Measurability : measurable with
• simple technical instruments
• User-friendliness : easy and
• comfortable to measure
HISTORY OF BIOMETRICS:
The concept of biometrics probably
began with the human use of facial features to
identify other people. One of the most
wellknown biometrics characteristics is the
fingerprint. British scientist Sir Francis Galton
proposed the use of fingerprints for identification
purposes in the late 19th century. He wrote a
detailed study of fingerprints, in which he
presented a new classification system using
prints of all ten fingers, which is the basis of
identification systems still in use. British police
official Sir Richard Edward Henry introduced
fingerprinting in the 1890s as a means of
identification systems have been
commercially available since the early 1960s.
Until the 1990s these systems were used
primarily by the police and in certain security
applications.
Personal Identification Numbers (PINs)
were one of the first methods used for
identification. There are also methods that
involve passwords and physical tokens e.g. smart
cards. There are a number of problems
associated with this kind of identification. People
forget passwords, lose tokens, reuse passwords,
write them down, tokens can get stolen. The
recognition of the above does not mean the
identification of the person providing it - they
could be presented by anybody.. This results in a
deluge of passwords and means of access, which
are often forgotten, misused or lost. With the
increased population accessing these networks
the risk of attacks on the networks is increased.
Companies are turning to Biometrics Systems to
bring tighter security to their computer networks.
THE POPULAR BIOMETRIC
TECHNOLOGIES:
1. Finger recognition.
2. Hand geometry.
3. Face recognition.
4. Voice recognition.
5. Iris recognition.
6. Signature recognition.
FINGER RECOGNITION:
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Among all the biometric techniques,
fingerprint-based identification is the oldest
method which has been successfully used in
numerous applications. Everyone is known to
have unique, immutable fingerprints. A
fingerprint is made of a series of ridges and
furrows on the surface of the finger. The
uniqueness of a fingerprint can be determined by
the pattern of ridges and furrows as well as the
identifying criminals. Automatic
fingerprintbased
minutiae points. Minutiae points are local ridge
characteristics that occur at either a ridge
bifurcation or a ridge ending.
WHAT IS FINGERPRINT SCANNING?
There are basically two different types
of finger-scanning technology that make this
possible.One is an optical method, which starts
with a visual image of a finger.The other uses a
semiconductor-generated electric field to image a
finger. There are a range of ways to identify
fingerprints.Fingerprint matching techniques can
be placed into two categories: minutae-based and
correlation based. Minutiae-based techniques
first find minutiae points and then map their
relative placement on the finger. However,it is
difficult to extract the minutiae points accurately
when the fingerprint is of low quality. Also this
method does not take into account the global
pattern of ridges and furrows. The
correlationbased
method is able to overcome some of the
difficulties of the minutiae-based approach. But
correlation-based techniques require the precise
location of a registration point and are affected
by image translation and rotation.
FINGERPRINT CLASSIFICATION:
Large volumes of fingerprints are
collected and stored everyday in a wide range of
applications including forensics, access control,
and driver license registration. An automatic
recognition of people based on fingerprints
requires that the input fingerprint be matched
with a large number of fingerprints in a database
(FBI database contains approximately 70 million
fingerprints!). To reduce the search time and
computational complexity, it is desirable to
classify these fingerprints in an accurate and
consistent manner so that the input fingerprint is
required to be matched only with a subset of the
fingerprints in the database
The algorithms are developed to
classify fingerprints into five classes, namely,
whorl, right loop, left loop, arch, and tented arch.
The algorithm separates the number of ridges
present in four directions (0 degree, 45 degree,
90 degree, and 135 degree) by filtering the
central part of a fingerprint.
The classifier is tested on 4,000 images
in the database. . For the four-class problem
(arch and tented arch combined into one class),
we are able to achieve a classification accuracy
of 94.8%.
ACCURACY AND INTEGRITY:
Someone may attempt to use latent print
residue on the sensor just after a legitimate user
accesses the system. At the other end of the
scale, there is the gruesome possibility of
presenting a finger to the system that is no longer
connected to its owner. Therefore, sensors
attempt to determine whether a finger is live, and
not made of latex (or worse). Detectors for
temperature, blood-oxygen level, pulse, blood
flow, humidity, or skin conductivity would be
integrated.
FACE RECOGNITION:
FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY:
Facial recognition systems are built on
computer programs that analyze images of
human faces for the purpose of identifying them.
The programs take a facial image, measure
characteristics such as the distance between the
eyes, the length of the nose, and the angle of the
jaw, and create a unique file called a "template."
Using templates, the software then compares that
image with another image and produces a score
that measures how similar the images are to each
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other. Typical sources of images for use in facial
recognition include video camera signals and
pre-existing photos such as those in driver's
license databases.
HOW DOES FACIAL RECOGNITION
WORKS?
Faces are highly complex patterns that
often differ in only subtle ways, and that it can
be impossible for man or machine to match
images when there are differences in lighting,
camera, or camera angle, let alone changes in the
appearance of the face itself.
Not surprisingly, government studies of
facerecognition
software have found high rates of
both "false positives" (wrongly matching
innocent people with photos in the database) and
"false negatives" (not catching people even when
their photo is in the database). One problem is
that unlike our fingerprints or irises, our faces do
not stay the same over time. These systems are
easily tripped up by changes in hairstyle, facial
hair, or body weight, by simple disguises, and by
the effects of aging. In addition, questions have
been raised about how well the software works on
darkskinned people, whose features may not appear
clearly on lenses optimized for
lightskinnedpeople.
It would work especially poorly in the
frenetic environment of an airport, where
fastmoving crowds and busy background images
would further reduce its already limited
effectiveness.
HAND GEOMETRY:
HOW IT WORKS ?
Every hand is unique. Hand geometry
scanners such as those made by Recognition
Systems Inc. take over 90 measure- ments of the
length, width, thickness, and surface area of the
hand and four fingers--all in just 1 second.
The technology uses a 32,000-pixel CCD digital
camera to record the hand's three-dimensional
shape from silhouetted images projected within
the scanner. The scanner disregards surface
details, such as fingerprints, lines, scars, and dirt,
as well as fingernails, which may grow or be cut
from day to day.
When a person uses the scanner, it
compares the shape of the user's hand to a
template recorded during an enrollment session.
If the template and the hand match, the scanner
produces an output--it may unlock a door,
transmit data to a computer, verify identification,
or log the person's arrival or departure time.
To register in a hand-scan system a
hand is placed on a reader’s covered flat surface.
This placement is positioned by five guides or
pins that correctly situate the hand for the
cameras. A succession of cameras captures 3-D
pictures of the sides and back of the hand. The
attainment of the hand-scan is a fast and simple
process. The hand-scan device can process the 3D
images in 5 seconds or less and the hand
verification usually takes less than 1 second. The
image capturing and verification software and
hardware can easily be integrated within
standalone units. Hand-scan applications that
include a large number of access points and users
can be centrally administered, eliminating the
need for individuals to register on each device.
IRIS RECOGNITION:
Colored circle, usually brown or blue, rings the
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dark pupil of the eye.
The iris-scan process begins with a
photograph. A specialized camera, typically very
close to the subject, no more than three feet, uses
an infrared imager to illuminate the eye and
capture a very high-resolution photograph. This
process takes only one to two seconds and
provides the details of the iris that are mapped,
recorded and stored for future
matching/verification.
Eyeglasses and contact lenses present
no problems to the quality of the image and the
iris-scan systems test for a live eye by checking
for the normal continuous fluctuation in pupil
size.
The inner edge of the iris is located by
an iris-scan algorithm which maps the iris’
distinct patterns and characteristics. Algorithms
have a number of steps and are used by the
biometric system to determine if a biometric
sample and record is a match.
Iris’ are composed before birth and,
except in the event of an injury to the eyeball,
remain unchanged throughout an individual’s
lifetime. Iris patterns are extremely complex,
carry an astonishing amount of information and
have over 200 unique spots. The fact that an
individual’s right and left eyes are different and
that patterns are easy to capture, establishes
irisscan
technology as one of the biometrics that is
very resistant to false matching and fraud.
The false acceptance rate for iris
recognition systems is 1 in 1.2 million,
statistically better than the average fingerprint
recognition system. The real benefit is in the
false-rejection rate, a measure of authenticated
users who are rejected. Fingerprint scanners have
a 3 percent false-rejection rate, whereas iris
scanning systems boast ratees at the 0 percent
level. A highly accurate technology such as
iris-scan has vast appeal because the inherent
argument for any biometric is, of course,
increased security. Iris scan biometrics employs the
unique characteristics and features of the human
iris in order to verify the identity of an individual
VOICE RECOGNITION:
In comparing voice to other forms of
biometrics, the frequency locations
plotted on the voice
print table are proportionate to the physical
locations of minutiae used in fingerprint SIGNATURE RECOGNITION:
identification. The minutiae are the endpoints
and bifurcations of the swirls of your fingerprint.
The advantage of using speech is that the number
of locations is almost endless. The capacity to
extend data collection over multiple words for
even better accuracy is a distinct advantage over
image-based techniques such as fingerprints and
retina scans where only a finite amount of
biometric data is available. Although it is
virtually impossible for an impostor to copy
someone's voice, it is also very difficult for
someone to repeat exactly the phrase originally
Signature verification is the process
enrolled. This is very similar to the fact it is
used to recognize an individual’s hand-written
difficult to reproduce the exact version of your
signature.
signature on your credit card.
There are two types of signature
Voice biometrics works by digitizing a
recognition techniques: simple and
profile of a person's speech to produce a stored
dynamic.There is an important distinction
model voice print, rather like a template, which
between simple signature comparisons and
is referred to each time that person attempts to
dynamic signature verification. Both can be
access secure data. The position and movement
computerized, but a simple comparison only
of the glottal tissues, lips, jaw and tongue
takes into account what the signature looks like.
correspond with speech movements in the vocal
Dynamic signature verification takes into
tract. Biometrics technology reduces each
account how the signature was made. With
spoken word into segments: sub-word like
dynamic signature verification it is not the
syllables, phonemes, trip hones or similar units
of sound, composed of several dominant
for biometric identification.
frequencies called formants, which remain
or look of the signature that is meaningful, it is
relatively constant over that segment. Each
the changes in speed, pressure and timing that
segment has three or four dominant tones that
occur during the act of signing.
dynamic signature verification it is not the
There will always be slight variations in a
shapeshape
person’s handwritten signature, but the
or look of the signature that is meaningful, it is
consistency created by natural motion and
the changes in speed, pressure and timing that
practice over time creates a recognizable pattern
occur during the act of signing.
that makes the handwritten signature a natural
There will always be slight variations in a
person’s handwritten signature, but the
PROPERTIES:
consistency created by natural motion and
practice over time creates a recognizable pattern
that makes the handwritten signature a natural
can be captured in digital form and plotted on a
table or spectrum. This table of tones yields the
speaker's unique voice print.
The voice print is stored as a table of
numbers, where the presence of each dominant
frequency in each segment is expressed as a
binary entry. Since all table entries are either 1 or
0, each column can be read bottom to top as a
long binary code. When a person speaks his or
her passphrase, the code word or words are
extracted and compared to the stored model for
that person. When authenticating, a user is asked to
answer up to three prompted questions, the
answers to which are easily remembered by the
user. In order to provide audible content of at
least one second in length, typical prompts are:
User's first, middle and last name .User's date
and month of birth Mother's first, middle and last
maiden name .Home telephone number

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APPLICATIONS:
• Large volumes of fingerprints are
collected and stored everyday in a wide
range of applications
including forensics, access control, and driver
license registration.
• Geometry scanners verify identity at the
front entrances of over half the nuclear
power plants in
the U.S.
• Employers use hand-scan for entry/exit,
recording staff movement and
time/attendance
procedures.
• Iris-scan technology has been piloted in
ATM environments in England, the US,
Japan and Germany since as early as 1997.
• Airports have begun to use iris-scanning
for such diverse functions as employee
identification/verification for movement through
secure areas and allowing registered frequent
airline passengers a system that enables fast and
easy identity verification in order to expedite their
path through passport control.
• Prison visitor systems, where visitors to
inmates are subject to verification
procedures in order that
identities may not be swapped during the visit - a
familiar occurrence among prisons worldwide.
• Telephone transaction
• Public identity cards
DRAWBACKS OF BIOMETRICS:
Several countries, including Australia, Canada, the
United States and New Zealand, have witnessed
public disquiet over identification schemes. Some
of the fears that have been cited include, that
people will be de-humanized by being reduced to
codes.
CONCLUSION:
So where security is highly required,
implementation of biometrics security is a very
good solution s there is to fear of stealing or
forgetting the password. Tomorrow will find ever-
expanding applications for this thoroughly time-
tested technology for financial transactions, ticket-
less travel, and new business
and residential applications where high security is a
major concern.

• Border control. A notable example being

the INSPASS trial in America where
travelers were
issued with a card enabling them to use the
strategically based biometric terminals and bypass
long immigration queues. There are other pilot
systems operating in SE Asia and elsewhere in this
respect.
Other applications include monitoring prison
transfers and releases, as well as projects designed
to authenticate on-line purchasing, on-line banking,
on-line voting on-line stock trading ,gold and
diamond mines to name just a few. Iris-scan offers
a high level of user security, privacy and general
peace of mind for the consumer.

FUTURE APPLICATIONS -SOME COMMON

IDEAS:

There are many views concerning potential

biometric applications, some popular examples
being;
• ATM machine use
• Workstation and network access
• Travel and tourism
• Internet transactions

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