This module aims to introduce the student to the fundamentals of biometrics and to develop an appreciation of the practical issues in using biometric systems in information security. The aim is to develop skills to the level required to competently select, deploy, test and administer a biometric system.
Introduction
Functions of biometrics; verification, authentication, identification. Requirements of biometrics; Universality, distinctiveness, performance, collectability, performance acceptability and circumvention. Applications; forensic, government and commercial.
Biometric technologies and performance
Face, voice, DNA, iris Functions of biometrics; verification, authentication, identification. Requirements of biometrics; Universality, distinctiveness, performance, collectability, performance acceptability and circumvention. Applications; forensic, government and commercial., retinal scan, finger print, palm print, hand and finger geometry, thermogram, behaviometrics, gait, signature. Advantages and disadvantages of each biometric with respect to requirements.
Generic components of biometric systems
Sensor module, feature extraction, matcher module and system database. Signal and image acquisition and processing. Enrolment and template creation. Managing and administering a biometric system.
Testing and evaluation
Performance criteria; false match rates and false non-match rates. Testing the security of a biometric system. Specifications, limitations and weaknesses of biometric systems. Attacks on biometric systems.
Ethics
Ethics and privacy in biometrics. The European personal data directive and national laws. Biometrics and US constitutional law. Irish and EU law. Transnational privacy and law.
| Module Content & Assessment | |
|---|---|
| Assessment Breakdown | % |
| Other Assessment(s) | 100 |