Showing papers by "Nalini K. Ratha published in 2002"
IBM1
TL;DR: Biometrics authentication systems suffer from some inherent biometrics-specific security threats, mainly related to the use of digital signals and the need for additional input devices, though the also discuss brute-force attacks of biometric systems.
344 citations
Patent•
IBM1
TL;DR: In this article, a system and method for multi-party authentication is described, which uses synchronous and persistent biometrics signals received from parties to a transaction, based on a policy, to approve a transaction request.
Abstract: A system and method for multi-party authentication is described. The multi-party authentication process uses synchronous and persistent biometrics signals received from parties to a transaction, based on a policy, to approve a transaction request. The biometrics signals preferably are expressed as compressed video signals having steganographically inserted challenge response data. Several business applications are described that are based on the multi-party authentication engine.
145 citations
IBM1
TL;DR: This work provides a formal definition of a minutia based on the gray scale image, which is constructive, in that, given aminutia image, the minutian location and orientation can be uniquely determined.
Abstract: The flow pattern of ridges in a fingerprint is unique to the person in that no two people with the same fingerprints have yet been found. Fingerprints have been in use in forensic applications for many years and, more recently, in computer-automated identification and authentication. For automated fingerprint image matching, a machine representation of a fingerprint image is often a set of minutiae in the print; a minimal, but fundamental, representation is just a set of ridge endings and bifurcations. Oddly, however, after all the years of using minutiae, a precise definition of minutiae has never been formulated. We provide a formal definition of a minutia based on the gray scale image. This definition is constructive, in that, given a minutia image, the minutia location and orientation can be uniquely determined.
41 citations
IBM1
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a methodology to analyze how the overall accuracy estimate of a system relates to the specific quality of biometrics samples, which suggests that a significant part of the error is due to few fingers.
Abstract: Measuring the accuracy of biometrics systems is important. Accuracy estimates depend very much on the quality of the test data that are used: including poor quality data will degrade the accuracy estimates. Factors that determine the good quality data and poor quality data can not be revealed by simple accuracy estimates. We propose a novel methodology to analyze how the overall accuracy estimate of a system relates to the specific quality of biometrics samples. Using a large collection of fingerprint samples, we present an analysis of system accuracy, which suggests that a significant part of the error is due to few fingers.
9 citations
IBM1
TL;DR: This work presents a weak model-based image enhancement algorithm for fingerprint images that makes improvements in the overall system performance measured in terms of a receiver operating characteristics curve.
Abstract: Biometrics-based authentication and identification systems have to handle images acquired in noisy and hostile environments. The signal quality is assessed to decide if there is sufficient signal strength to process further. Poor quality signals require "enhancement" before further processing of the input signal. Often enhancement implies creating a more visibly pleasing image. However, biometrics signals need to improve the image quality for machine processability. This means that the enhancement algorithm should have some weak model about the sample (image) formation process. Enhancement is then some type of "normalization" or "beautification". We present a weak model-based image enhancement algorithm for fingerprint images. The results of the proposed algorithm are presented in terms of the improvements in the overall system performance measured in terms of a receiver operating characteristics curve.
8 citations
IBM1
TL;DR: This chapter describes secure fingerprint authentication and argues that an authentication scheme with both smart card and biometrics improves the overall security of a system.
Abstract: Biometrics-based authentication systems offer advantages over the present practices of knowledge and/or possession-based authentication systems. However, when using biometrics, the overall authentication architecture needs to be reexamined to ensure that no new weak security points are introduced. After analyzing a pattern recognition-based threat model of a biometrics authentication system, this chapter describes secure fingerprint authentication. Several solutions are proposed to alleviate the threats using conventional encryption as well as novel techniques that exploit the richness of biometrics data. The proposed methods are applicable in many application areas. These includes system security, electronic commerce security, point of sale, point of entry/exit and point of access. We also argue that an authentication scheme with both smart card and biometrics improves the overall security of a system.
1 citations