Digital Iris That Looks Real Enough To Fool Biometric Scanners

In the recently held Black Hat Security conference, a technique of recreating iris images using the digital codes essential for iris-scanning security protocols was shown, and the images that came out were so amazing that even the commercially graded iris-scanning devices were fooled. Whenever the iris-scanning biometric systems generate a digital print of the iris, they don't keep that image for future comparisons. What happens is, when a person scans his iris for the first time, the system converts the print into a code of nearly 5000 data bits. This code is dependent on 240 key points in the iris image and is a unique digital likeness of the iris. Once the code is generated, the actual image is done away with. Now when the person returns back for consecutive rounds of authentication, he has to scan his retina again, and if the converted code is close to the earlier generated code (with a small margin for error), then his identity is confirmed and the access is granted.

#-Link-Snipped-#

The researchers from Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and West Virginia University have come up with a technique that employs reverse-engineering- digital code to iris image- via genetic algorithms. After 100 to 200 iterations the algorithm pops out an iris code that is very close to the actual code. Those depending on biometric systems for security need to worry, for while all this may seem too filmy at present, it's not at all unconvincing.

Via: #-Link-Snipped-#

Replies

You are reading an archived discussion.

Related Posts

Two years ago, when Professor Lee Cronin was invited to an architectural seminar to present his work on inorganic structures, he first discovered the concept of 3D printers and today...
It looks like Google Talk is down and it's affecting majority of users. We quickly checked our Google and Google Apps accounts and discovered that the Talk service is unable...
Osaka University’s Asada Lab are on the verge of developing the most realistic infant robot ever. Called Affetto, this infant-like robot has got a new upper-body containing 12 degrees of...
Research has romanced eyesight restoration for long now, and if the latest news is to be believed, this love story did have a happy ending outcome. A multinational crop of...
Weeks ahead of actual release, Microsoft Windows Phone 8's SDK (Software Development Kit) has been leaked. A Chinese website WPXAP reported this and published links to download the 1.35 GB ...