BIOMETRICS AND THE PREVAILING USE OF FINGERPRINTS
Ankita Domadia Nidhi Jha
5th sem, I.T., SSCET, Bhilai 5th sem, I.T., SSCET, Bhilai
Email: ankita_domadia@yahoo.com Email: nidhi.jha.41189@gmail.com
Abstract - Positive and reliable automatic identification of
humans is a very important topic in a number of law
enforcement (e.g., criminal investigation), government
(e.g., border control), and commercial (e.g., logical and
physical access control) applications. Surrogate
representations of identity such as passwords and physical
tokens fail to provide satisfactory level of security in the
current electronic era. Biometrics-based authentication
techniques utilize physical and behavioral characteristics
(e.g., fingerprint, iris, voice, gait, and face) to either verify
a claimed identity (biometric verification) or establish the
identity of an individual (biometric identification).
With increased emphasis on security, there is a growing
and urgent need to automatically identify humans both
locally and remotely on a routine basis.
Index Terms: Biometrics, Ear Patterns, Gait Technology
, Face, Fingerprint, Iris, Signature, Voice Recognition.
I .INTRODUCTION
Definition:
Biometrics refers to the automatic identification of a
person based on his/her physiological or behavioral
characteristics. This method of identification is preferred
over current methods involving passwords and PIN
numbers for various reasons: the person to be identified is
required to be physically present at the point-of-
identification; identification based on biometric techniques
obviates the need to remember a password or carry a token.
With the increased use of computers as vehicles of
information technology, it is necessary to restrict access to
sensitive/personal data. By replacing PINs, biometric
techniques can potentially prevent unauthorized access to
or fraudulent use of ATMs, cellular phones, smart cards,
desktop PCs, workstations, and computer networks. PINs
and passwords may be forgotten, and token based methods
of identification like passports and driver's licenses may be
forged, stolen, or lost. Thus biometric systems of
identification are enjoying a renewed interest.
Why we need biometrics?
In order to avoid the problems of forgetting passwords and
ID codes, Biometrics based authentication helps us in
verifying your finger prints, iris pattern and voice for your
identity at A.T.M’s, Airports etc.., you can unlock your
houses, withdrawing money from a bank with just a blink
of an eye, a tap of your finger or by just showing your face.
II.USE OF BIOMETRICS
Biometrics is used in two major ways: Identification
and Verification.
Identification is determining who a person is. It
involves taking the measured characteristic and trying to
find a match in a database containing records of people and
that characteristic. This method requires a large amount of
processing power and some time if the database is very
large. It is often used in determining the identity of a
suspect from crime scene information.
Verification is determining if a person is who they
say they are. It involves taking the measured characteristic
and comparing it to the previously recorded data for that
person. This method requires less processing power and
time, and is often used for accessing places or information.
The use of biometrics is not limited to a particular
field, but it is widely used in various platforms. Some of
them are enlisted below:
• ATM, and ticketing machines that recognize an
authorized valid user (with or without card or PIN)
• Integrated personal identifiers for credit card
verification at point-of-sale or identification of a
customer without a credit card
• Stationary and mobile platforms for licensing,
registration, and border security programs
• Travel security systems with passport, ticket, and
baggage verification
• Business, residence, and vehicle security with
access and operator authentication
• Processing and circulation control in the
corrections (prison) environment, and
• Portable systems for on-scene recognition of
individuals for police and military use.
How It Works:
Biometric devices consist of a reader or scanning device,
software that converts the gathered information into digital
form, and a database that stores the biometric data for
comparison with previous records. When converting the
biometric input, the software identifies specific points of
data as match points. The match points are processed using
an algorithm into a value that can be compared with
biometric data in the database.
III. . TYPES OF BIOMETRICS SYSTEM
 COMPARISION OF BIOMETRICS TECHNIQUES Advantages: Non-invasive procedure.

Charact Finger Sign

Retina Iris Face Voice Disadvantages: People who look alike can fool scanner;
eristic prints ature
people can alter their appearance and facial hair can fool
Ease of Med Medi
Use
High Low
ium um
High High device.
Lighti
Chang Noise,
Error Dryness,
Poor ng,
ing colds, Voice verification or recognition (acoustic signal of
Glasses Ligh age, voice converted into digital code)
incidence dirt, age signat weathe
ting glasse
ures r
s, hair
Very Very Advantages: Works well over the telephone.
Accuracy High High High High
High High
User
Medium Medium
Med Medi Mediu
High Disadvantages: Requires large amount of computer
acceptance ium um m storage; people's voices can change; background noises can
Required interfere.
Very Medi Mediu Mediu
security High High
High um m m
level
Long-term
High High High
Medi Mediu Mediu Signature recognition (computer record of pen/stylus
stability um m m speed, pressure, direction and other characteristics of
signature)

IV. ADVANTAGES / DISADVANTAGES OF Advantages: People are used to providing a signature.

BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS
Disadvantages: Poor long-term reliability; accuracy
Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of fully difficult to ensure.
developed biometric systems that are fairly accurate:
V. APPLICATION AREAS
Retinal scans (electronic scan of the innermost layer of the
eyeball's wall)

Advantages: Retina generally remains stable through life,

ensuring accuracy.

Disadvantages: Requires close physical contact MW

scanning device; may not be generally accepted by public.

Iris recognition (recording of iris using standard video

technology)
The uses for biometric security are varied and growing. It
Advantages: Non-invasive procedure (close physical was developed in response to a need to associate human
contact not required). action with identity – whether conducting a transaction,
accessing a computer or a critical information system, or
Disadvantages: Relatively expensive; requires large entering secure physical area. Some of the existing and
amount of computer storage; may not be generally accepted proposed applications in general we use are described
by public. below:

Finger printing (recording of fingerprint using optical Computer/Network security:

scanner)
Advantages: Widely accepted by public and
enforcement communities as reliable identification.
Disadvantages: Requires close physical contact with
scanning device; residue on finger may cause recognition
problems; has criminal overtones.
Face or imaging (photograph of face converted into
digital code)
Many stand-alone and network computer systems carry
valuable and sensitive information. Controlling access to
these systems is another major use of biometric
law
authentication systems.
Internet transactions:
Due to growing security requirements that results from the
boom in e-commerce, many think of on-line transactions as
being an obvious area for biometrics. The biometric
authentication generates a greater degree of vendor
confidence because he knows that the person at the
terminal is he who he claims to be.
Physical area security:
Military, Government, and Commercial installations have
sufficiently strong confidentiality concerns. The biometric
identifiers play a major role in controlling physical access
to these installations.
Banking:
Many leading banks have been experimenting with
biometrics for ATM use as a means of combating card
fraud. Beginning 2002, some companies will being issuing
smart credits cards, with customer’s fingerprint information
embedded.
Voting:
A logical use of biometrics is in voting process where
eligible politicians are required to verify their identity. This
is intended to stop “proxy” voting.
Prisons:
An interesting use of biometrics is in prisons where the
visitors to a prisoner are subjected to verification
procedures in order that identities may not be swapped
during the visit.
Leading products in biometrics: Biometric is a new but
promising technology and therefore a number of companies
have appeared in the market in a very short period of time.
Some of those products are:
VI. BIOMETRIC REQUIREMENTS AND FACTORS OF
GOOD BIOMETRICS
Good biometric systems tend to use traits or behaviors that
rate high in several of the following criteria:
• Universality: It is as large as possible subset of
the population should possess the trait or attribute
that will be measured. For example not everyone
will have certain physical traits that could be
measured due to illness/disease, injury, age, sex or
other factors. On the other hand, every living thing
has DNA, therefore DNA could be said to be more
universal.
• Distinctiveness: The trait or attribute being
measured, must vary enough from one individual
to another to allow for identification between them.
Although largely dependent on the method(s) used
to measure to some extent, distinctiveness is a
major factor in systems which may need to
identify the individual from a large group of
biometric samples. For example, a given set of
fingerprints will match only one individual, as
they are extremely distinctive.
• Permanence: The chosen biometric should not
change over time. This must be considered when
designing biometric systems which may have
long-range goals of being able to authenticate
individuals (such as criminal purposes).This is
because many physical traits may change over
time due to age, illness, or injury. The iris, DNA
and fingerprint are said to rate high in permanence.
• Collectability: The biometric attribute being used
should be easily collectable. For example, DNA is
highly universal, distinctive and permanent, but
collecting and developing DNA samples require
specialized equipments and trained personnel. In
comparison, visual traits such as a face (facial
recognition) are very easily collectable.
• Performance: Depending on the design and
application of the biometric system, performance
can also be an issue. Depending on the design of
the system, available bandwidth, availability of
indexing mechanisms, and the requirement of the
speed of the identification – the chosen biometric
can present performance issues that may or may
not be acceptable. Waiting 20 – 30 minutes to be
verified by a biometric system may be acceptable
for boarding an aircraft, but would be
unacceptable for using an ATM at a bank.
• Acceptability: The given biometric chosen for a
system must be generally acceptable to users in
terms of its invasiveness of collection, its
distinctiveness, and potential privacy or health
related issues involve with the given biometric.
Even if these issues are resolved the chosen
biometric must also be accepted by the population
as being distinctive in relation to the application or
the context it is used. All of these issues can make
user acceptance slow for new biometric types and
methods.
• Circumvention: If a chosen biometric can be
easily circumvented (how easy is it to fool the
biometric system being used into either identifying
or not identifying an individual) its acceptability
among users and reliability in applications will
likely to be low.
VII. FINGERPRINT TECHNOLOGY
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 minutiae points. Minutiae
points are local ridge characteristics
that occur at either a ridge
bifurcation or a ridge ending.
Fingerprints found by criminal investigators on objects are
often referred to as ‘latent fingerprints’. This is because
they are not normally easily visible, and must be developed
by using special powders or chemicals. The actual print left
by the finger is comprised of fatty acids secreted as sweat
from the human skin. These prints are left as residue in the
pattern of the friction ridges which are most pronounced on
the contact services or ‘Volar pads’ (palm and sole areas of
the hands and feet) of the human body. It is this residual
print (s) left behind at crime scenes that are normally
collected by investigators through various manual and
chemical process, and (recently) digitized for computer
matching.
Fingerprints are distinctive and therefore identifiable due to
the fact they are naturally (biologically) occurring features
having nearly an infinite set of possible formations and
combinations of identifiable characteristics. Fingerprints
are formed around the seventh month of fetal development.
Fingerprints are thought to be uniquely developed based
upon amniotic fluid flow around a fetus during the
development process. This randomness of position and
fluid flow partially explains their differentiation, while
genetics may also play a part, as it has been noted that
identical twins have up to 95% similar fingerprints – but
never identical fingerprints.
History of Fingerprint Identification:
The use of fingerprints as a realistic means of identification
came at the end of the 1980’s, when a gentleman by the
name of Edward Henry established a system of
classification of fingerprints. It is this system which forms
the basis for modern classification systems used today.
Henry identified that although individual fingerprints
appeared unique, there are certain recognizable patterns
(loops, whorls, arches, etc.) to fingerprints, which they may
all be grouped .This classification and grouping system
further lead to the ability to quickly sort and match
fingerprints by hand - which prior to the invention of the
computers was the only available method.
In 1864, English plant morphologist, Nehemiah Grew,
published the first scientific paper reporting his systematic
study on the ridge, furrow, and pore structure in
fingerprints. Since then, a large number of researchers have
invested huge amount of effort on fingerprint studies.
Recently, due to the raising demand in our increasing
electronically inter-connected society for automatic
personal identification and the success of various AFIS
installations in forensics, automatic fingerprint
identification technology has rapidly grown beyond
forensic applications into civilian applications. In fact,
fingerprint based biometric systems are so popular that they
have almost become the synonym of biometric systems.
Fingerprint Analysis:
Fingerprint Scanning: Fingerprint scanning is the
acquisition and recognition of a person’s fingerprint
characteristics for identification purposes. This allows the
recognition of a person through quantifiable physiological
characteristics that verify the identity of an individual.
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.
Practical Applications for Fingerprint Scanning:
Fingerprint scanning has a high accuracy rate when users
are sufficiently educated. Fingerprint authentication is a
good choice for in-house systems where enough training
can be provided to users and where the device is operated
in a controlled environment. The small size of the
fingerprint scanner, ease of integration - can be easily
adapted to keyboards, and most significantly the relatively
low costs make it an affordable, simple choice for
workplace access security.
Fingerprint Matching:
Fingerprint matching techniques can be placed into two
categories: minutiae-based and correlation based.
Minutiae-based techniques first find minutiae points and
then map their relative placement on the finger. However,
there are some difficulties when using this approach. 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
correlation-based method is able to overcome some of the
difficulties of the minutiae-based approach. Correlation-
based techniques require the precise location of a
registration point and are affected by image translation and
rotation. Fingerprint matching based on minutiae has
problems in matching different sized (unregistered)
minutiae patterns. Local ridge structures can not be
completely characterized by minutiae. We are trying an
alternate representation of fingerprints which will capture
more local information and yield a fixed length code for the
fingerprint. The matching will then hopefully become a
relatively simple task of calculating the Euclidean distance
will between the two codes.

Fingerprint Classification: Fingerprint classification is a
technique to assign a fingerprint into one of the several pre-
specified types already established in the literature which
can provide an indexing mechanism. Fingerprint
classification can be viewed as a coarse level matching of
the fingerprints. An input fingerprint is first matched at a
coarse level to one of the pre-specified types and then, at a
finer level, it is compared to the subset of the database
containing that type of fingerprints only.
Fingerprint Image Enhancement: A critical step in
automatic fingerprint matching is to automatically and
reliably extract minutiae from the input fingerprint images.
However, the performance of a minutiae extraction
algorithm relies heavily on the quality of the input
fingerprint images. In order to ensure that the performance
of an automatic fingerprint identification/verification
system will be robust with respect to the quality of the
fingerprint images, it is essential to incorporate a
fingerprint enhancement algorithm in the minutiae
extraction module.
Sample devices for fingerprinting biometrics:
Advantages and disadvantages of fingerprint technique
Advantages:
• High accuracy rate.
• Can perform 1-to-many comparisons.
• Inexpensive equipment.
• Easy to use (samples are easy to
capture and maintain).
• Most established and oldest of the
biometric technology.
Disadvantages:
• Actual finger scan images cannot be
recreated from a template image
• Users relate fingerprint recognition to
criminal activity.
VIII. IMPLEMENTATION OF BIOMETRICS
Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, security
concerns sparked increased interest in using biometric
technologies to identify individuals. SAIC scientists are
playing a leading role in developing and deploying
biometric technologies and access control solutions for the
Department of Defense, the New York City Police
Department, the National Science Foundation, and others.
Biometrics uses an individual's unique physical
characteristics - such as a fingerprint, face, or iris - for
personal identification. These biometric identifiers can be
converted to digital form and embedded into "smart"
credentials, ID cards. The key component is an integrated
circuit chip that performs advanced cryptographic
functions and stores biometric templates tied to the user's
unique biometric information.
For the NYPD, SAIC is helping issue smart ID badges to
thousands of uniformed and civilian workers. The project
includes implementation of an enhanced access control
system using smart cards for police headquarters.
This smart card is designed to do many things, including
controlling physical access, logical access, encryption,
identification, time and attendance. Once it is printed and
loaded, it is expected that the card will be one of the most
sophisticated identification cards in the country.
For an important homeland defense initiative, SAIC
researchers are helping the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA) develop automated biometric
identification technologies to detect, recognize and identify
humans at a distance.
SAIC has been investigating numerous approaches for
discovering new biometric techniques for DARPA's Human
Identification at a Distance (Human ID) program. The goal:
develop technologies to provide critical early warning
support for force protection and homeland defense against
terrorist, criminal, and other threats.
SAIC's research has shown that new biometric methods are
viable for human identification based on medically verified
features of a person's heartbeat and pulse. Analyses indicate
that features can be extracted from standard medical
sensors, such as electrocardiograms, that provide good
identification of individuals across a range of mental and
emotional states. These approaches can be fused with
conventional biometrics, such as fingerprints or facial
recognition, for more accurate identification.
In addition, SAIC is helping DARPA identify and
implement facial recognition algorithms from scientific
documentation.
SAIC's efforts on the Human ID program also will aid the
development, integration, and deployment of additional
biometric systems and advanced database management
systems such as a face-recognition system and associated
database currently being developed for another government
customer.
IX. CURRENT USE OF BIOMETRICS
There are many uses that biometrics is being used today
and the future holds more advances. At Coca-Cola Co.,
hand-scanning machines recently replaced the venerable
time card for many workers. In New Jersey and six other
states, fingerprint scanners are now used to crack down on
people claiming welfare benefits under two different
names. In Cook County, Illinois, a sophisticated camera
that analyzes the iris patterns of an individual's eyeball is
helping ensure that the right people are released from jail.
At Purdue University in Indiana, the campus credit union is
installing automated teller machines with a finger scanner
that will eliminate the need for plastic bankcards and
personal identification numbers.
MasterCard International Inc. and Visa USA Inc., the
world's two largest credit card companies, have begun to
study the feasibility of using finger-scanning devices at the
point of sale to verify that the card user is really the card
holder. The scanners would compare fingerprints with
biometric information stored on a microchip embedded in
the credit card.
Walt Disney World in Orlando has started taking hand
scans of people who purchase yearly passes. These visitors
now must pass through a scanner when entering the park
preventing them from lending their passes to other people.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service is letting a
select group of travelers bypass lengthy lines at New York's
John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark
international Airport by sticking their bands and special
cards the service has issued into an automated turnstile.
International Business Machines Corp. is working on a
project called FastGate to commercialize the service,
possibly having airline frequent-flier programs and
businesses pay for the program.
X. OTHER APPLICATIONS OF BIOMETRICS
Biometrics is a rapidly evolving technology which is being
widely used in forensics such as criminal identification and
prison security, and has the potential to be used in a large
range of civilian application areas. Biometrics can be used
to prevent unauthorized access to ATMs, cellular phones,
smart cards, desktop PCs, workstations, and computer
networks. It can be used during transactions conducted via
telephone and internet (electronic commerce and electronic
banking). In automobiles, biometrics can replace keys with
key-less entry devices.
• Travel and transportation
• Border control
• Homeland security
• Healthcare
• Banking and finance
• Access control
• Airport security
• Law enforcement
• Automotive
• Cyber security
• Biometrics in government: e-authentication
• Encryption and watermarking.
X. CONCLUSION
Current electronic security systems, which rely primarily
on passwords, personal identification numbers, and
authentication tokens (smart cards) to ensure that a client is
an authorized user of a system, all have a common
vulnerability, the verification can be lost, stolen,
duplicated, or guessed. With the use of biometric
technology, this vulnerability can be nearly eliminated.
The advances in accuracy and usability and decreasing cost
have made the biometric technology a secure, affordable
and cost effective way of identifying individuals. Biometric
parameters such as fingerprint scanning, iris scanning,
retinal scanning, hand geometry, signature verification,
voice verification and others are all well established with
their own particular characteristics. The limiting factors of
speed and band width are now a thing of the past and their
practical performance might in many instances be better
than expected.
Different organizations place different value on information
protection. Pharmaceutical companies and technology
companies will get great lengths to protect against security
threats to protect their data and patents. These types of
companies may wish to use biometrics to increase security
levels.

While too possibilities for biometrics are great, biometric

technology may not be the answer for everyone. The costs
per user for some solutions may still be too high. Also to be
considered, are the legal considerations of using biometrics,
specifically privacy issues. However, for some, biometrics
may be the answer.

XI. REFERENCES

[1] www.bioenabletech.com/

[2]www.eyenetwatch.com/biometric_technology/technolo
gies.html

[3]www.ravirajtech.com/biometrics_fingerprint_technolo
gy.html

[4]www.biometrics.gov/Documents/biointro.pdf
[5] www.blackhat.com/presentations/bh.../bh-us-02-smith-
biometric.ppt

[6]cracs.fc.up.pt/~mcoimbra/lectures/PSI.../PSI_2007_
PCorreia.pdf

[7] http://www.cbel.com/biometrics_security/