Biostatistics Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Biostatistics, including details on statistics, uncertainty, probability, modeling.

Random multispace quantization as an analytic mechanism for BioHashing of biometric and random identity inputs.

Teoh AB, Goh A, Ngo DC

Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Multimedia University, Jalan Ayer Keroh Lama, Melaka, Malaysia. bjteoh@mmu.edu.my

Biometric analysis for identity verification is becoming a widespread reality. Such implementations necessitate large-scale capture and storage of biometric data, which raises serious issues in terms of data privacy and (if such data is compromised) identity theft. These problems stem from the essential permanence of biometric data, which (unlike secret passwords or physical tokens) cannot be refreshed or reissued if compromised. Our previously presented biometric-hash framework prescribes the integration of external (password or token-derived) randomness with user-specific biometrics, resulting in bitstring outputs with security characteristics (i.e., noninvertibility) comparable to cryptographic ciphers or hashes. The resultant BioHashes are hence cancellable, i.e., straightforwardly revoked and reissued (via refreshed password or reissued token) if compromised. BioHashing furthermore enhances recognition effectiveness, which is explained in this paper as arising from the Random Multispace Quantization (RMQ) of biometric and external random inputs.

Published 19 November 2006 in IEEE Trans Pattern Anal Mach Intell, 28(12): 1892-901.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Biostatistics Research Today. All Rights Reserved.