Security Implications In Biometric

Research Problem

Discuss about the Security Implications In Biometric. 

Biometric is an emerging technology, which is used for the authentication and security purpose. However, there are certain advantages and disadvantages of using biometric as the method for authentication. To discuss the use of biometrics for the authentication, the basic knowledge along with the working principle of this technology is needed to be evaluated. Biometric can be used in different ways for the authentication purpose. The method of using the biometric depends on the requirements of the organisation or the authentication authority [6]. However, there are certain security breaches and the technical issues present in the use of biometric authentication which can raise the difficulties in using this technology. Apart from that, the security flaws in the system help the unauthorised entity to access the authorised data and information. This article has discussed the essential working condition of the biometric security system, which will be useful to identify the authorized users. The detailed discussion about the advantages and disadvantages helps to determine the security flaws present in the system and the opportunities for the further modification and improvisation of the system. Different usage of biometrics discusses the security flaws, regarding the user authentication. The identification of the disadvantages is based on the chances of violating security regulations. Primary recommendations are made by this article for the improvisation of the biometric system. Disadvantages of using biometric points to the need for a system that can eliminate or mitigate the security flaws. This article has proposed a system based on the derived recommendations which will possibly reduce the security flaws of biometric. However, the success of the proposed system is based on the particular conditions and other non-technical factors such as awareness among the people and way of using the system by the user. This paper concludes that biometric can be used as a convenient option for authentication after the elimination of its drawbacks.

The primary purpose of this article is to research on the implications of the security regarding the use of biometrics. The main advantage of the accurate biometric authentication is that it can grant access to the authorized users. This research raises particular research questions and the research areas. The problems which have been highlighted regarding the objective of this paper are-

The security issues in the biometric process.

 The difference between the types of security issues.

Research Justification

The impact of different security issues on the users and the whole system.

The security flaws in the biometric system which can be exploited by the unauthorised authority.

Possible methods to eliminate the security flaws in the system.

Recommendations based on the findings of those methods.

Proposing a system that will reduce certain security breaches in the biometric system along with that it will also mitigate the effect of violation of security.

The study on the security implications of the biometric security is needed as biometric has become a famous way of authentication. Biometric uses the physical identification of the human being as the passkey to validate the authorised access. It may be a steady way of proving authenticity. However, the uniqueness of the biometric may be misused, and an unauthorised entity can trick with this uniqueness. Specific incidents have happened where biometric authentication has failed to achieve its purpose. To understand the flaws of the biometric, the understanding of the working system of this technology needs to be discussed so that identification possible ways for the violation of the security can be identified. The advantages of using biometrics indicate the popularity of using biometric as the way for authentication. 

Working Principal of Biometric: Biometric uses the physical presence of the human to give the authentication for the access. Different parts such as the iris of the eye or the figure prints are used as the passkey. Sometimes, face scanning is also used in the biometric authentication. The scanned details of the iris or the face or the figure print of the authorised person is recorded electronically in the biometric system. During the access of particular thing, the approved person has to use his or her figure prints or the scanning of iris or face. The system provides access if the given pattern of authentication by the user is matched with the recorded authentication pattern in the order. Otherwise, the access gets denied by the system.

The advantages of biometric are-

• Unique identification: The figure prints or the iris is different and unique for the individuals. In this case, the passkey for the individuals will be unique.
•  Eliminate the disadvantage of forgetting the password: In the traditional way of the security system, passwords are provided to the users. In case, if the user forgets the password, that authorised user cannot gain the access. In the biometric authentication system, the passkeys are the fingerprints or the scanning of the face or iris, which eliminate the disadvantage of using passwords.
• Eliminate the chances of forge: The authentication process cannot be easily forged in the biometric system, which ensures the adequate security of the system.
• Profitable: The implementation of the biometric system is beneficial as it delivers the excellent return on investment [24]. The installation of the biometric is easy and does not require many resources. Apart from that, it reduces paperwork and the cost of resetting the password.
• Scalable:  The business growth requires the scalable solutions. Using biometric is scalable security solutions for the growing business.

These advantages play an essential role in increasing popularity of the use of biometrics. However, there are some disadvantages of biometric which can be regarded as the security flaws of biometric, as these flaws act as a constraint for the biometric authentication for reaching its objectives. The security issues of the biometric system can be categorised into two types-

•    Technical shortcomings
•    Non-technical shortcomings

Security: The significant advantage of biometric is security. However, the safety is also the principal disadvantage of this system. The security can be breached with the help of advanced technology in the biometrics. Duplication of the figure prints and iris scan can be used to violate the protection of the authentication system. In this case, the unauthorized person can somehow collect the figure prints of the authorized person to get access.

Working Principal of Biometric

Technical issues: Sometimes biometric system develops problems technical like generating false negative results. In this case, the authorised person gives the right passkey for the access to the system, but the system denies the access [20].  Similarly, the system sometimes gives the false positive results, giving them access to the unauthorised person. However, the occurrence of false negative is higher than false positive.

Issues of resetting the passwords: In case, if there is the need for resetting the password, the problem can arise [21]. In the biometric authentication system resetting of the password is not possible as it uses the unique identification of individual human. In this case, if authorized tea person chooses to reset the passkeys for the security purpose, the decision cannot be carried out.

To eliminate these above mentioned disadvantages, the security implications of the biometric authentication system in needed to be done.

The comparison of fingerprint-based biometric authentication with the traditional authentication process can be evaluated in the generation of e-payment method[1]. To propose a model for e-payment based on the biometric authentication, the comparison with the conventional system of e-payment has been discussed The invention of the use of biometrics in the e-payment process will bring the revolution in the e-commerce sector. However, there are some risks associated with this system. The paper has covers the possible dangers those may involve in the proposed method [25]. The research model is based on the individual’s perspective of making e-payment. The result of this paper shows the use of biometrics has significant impacts on individual’s safety and security. However, this paper has proposed a system for the biometric authentication in e-payment but does not concern with the model which will mitigate the security flaws of the system. The main contribution of this paper in this article is the process of making the authorization in the e-payment process  using biometric.

To understand the impacts of using biometrics for the identification purpose, the security implications of using biometrics in a university has been evaluated. The biometric-based ID authentication has gained popularity. The introduction of biometric-based smart cards in the university will enhance the security in the university. There are certain advantages of using the biometric-based system rather than using the conventional authentication system[2]. However, there are specific implications and constraints of using the biometric-based system. The primary problem according to the paper is the absence of rules and regulations of using biometrics [22]. This paper emphasis on the legal issues regarding the use of biometric along with that it also discusses the proposed way of implementation of biometric-based smart card authentication system in the university. Specific problems in the biometric system can be found from this discussion [23]. However, this paper does not make any recommendations for overcoming all the technical and non-technical challenges regarding the use of biometrics.

Advantages of Biometric

The biometric authentication has become high end solutions for the authentication nowadays[3]. The article shows the use of biometrics in the smartphones and other gadgets. Different high end mobile manufacturing companies are implementing the biometric authentication in the devices. However, the paper also discusses the security breaches the users face those, but it does not provide any solution to this problem [13]. This paper presents the different mechanisms of the implementation of biometrics process and exploring the proven flaws in the various devices. There is no mention of the methods for preventing the security issues in the biometric authentication system, and the whole discussion has been done from the perspective of the development of smartphones.

The use of behavioural biometrics is done by the implicit authentication process in the smartphones [4]. The method of implicit biometric authentication has been proven more convenient than the traditional explicit biometric authentication process. However, there is a lack of established authenticity in the use of graphic biometric authorization [14]. There are also problems regarding the generation of false negative issues in the biometric authentication which has the negative impact on the users.  The paper has discussed the usefulness and advantages of using the behavioural biometrics in the smartphones along with that it also enlightens the annoying problem of the false negative results generated by the behavioural biometrics. The pair is focused mainly on the implementation and improvisation of use of biometrics in the smartphone. However, it does not mention the use of biometrics in general and the other security issues regarding the use of biometrics. This paper has given some inputs about the role of biometrics in the smartphone authentication, which can be considered while proposing the system in this paper.

The paper has described the possible security challenges raises by the biometric authentication in the field of technological security [5]. The primary focus of the article is on the face biometric authentication which takes the scanning of the face as the authentication key for the access. Several examples of successful use of biometric databases have been discussed in this paper. There are certain advantages of the use of biometrics as the substitute of the conventional system. However, there are security holes in the system which can be exploited by the criminals. This paper discusses the opportunities and the advantages of using biometrics [12]. Apart from that the document is also concerned about the security flaws of using biometric authentication process. However, this article has not discussed the ways to prevent these security breaches and did not make any recommendation for the implementation of the system that can mitigate those security flaws.

Disadvantages of Biometric

All the papers have been discussed about the possible security implications and the use of biometric authentication[15]. However, there is no discussion about the use of biometrics in general context and its security implications. The method of biometric authentication has discussed the possible security threats regarding the use of biometrics on a particular area of application [19]. This article presents the use of biometric authentication and the possible challenges associated with this technology. Along with that this study also recommends some of the ways to mitigate the risks associated with this authentication process and propose an improvised system of biometric authentication.

Figure 1:Comparison of different biometric system

(Source: Benarous, Kadri& Bouridane,2017)

The proposed system is aimed to eliminate the primary security flaws of the biometric authentication system, whih will help to improve  the maintain of the authentication process.

•    Security issue regarding the identification of the authorized users.
•    Elimination of the false negative problem in the system

In order to eliminate the threat the possible points of attacks in the system are identified.

Figure 2: Possible points of attacks in the biometric system

(Source: Benarous, Kadri& Bouridane,2017 

The figure shows that each components present in the system along with the connecting channels are prone to the attack [18]. Comparing the threats and the targets of attacks it has been found out that some threats do not have specific target to attack in the system. The proposed generic biometric system architecture includes the following components:

• Cryptography: This component will ensure data security and data integration. It will also help to ensure the security of data stored in the connecting channels.
• Audit: This section will keep the track of data for future analysis. This section will record the entries made by the users using the biometric system.
• Power: This section will help the biometric system portable[9]. In case the biometric system is away from the source of the power, the power section will provide the requires power for the working of the system.
• Environment and the users: This section will help to eliminate the false negative cases caused the system[7]. This section is well developed  with the machine learning technology that will evaluate the data entered by the authorized user in a intelligent manner, so the authorized user of the system can gain the access of the data.

The 3W trees helps to deal with the security threats from the unauthorized entity accessing the biometric system by identifying the loopholes in the system [16].3W raises the questions what, how, and who regarding possible attackers in the system. Answering these questions helps to identify the types of security attackers in the system [10]. The proper identification and knowing the pattern of the attacks helps to find the way of prevention of these attacks.

Figure 3: Possible types of attackers in the system

(Source: Benarous, Kadri& Bouridane,2017)

Who: The attackers are classified into three classes. Class 1 attackers have moderate knowledge about the system but have sophisticated tools for breaching the order. Class 2 attackers are also known as insiders [17]. They are highly knowledgeable about the system and mostly works inside the organization, where the system belongs. Class 3 attackers are the group of the funded organization who are aimed to make a sophisticated attack o the system[8]. It can be assumed that no operation can be entirely safe from the class 3 attackers, so, the primary purpose of the proposed system is to build a security a system that will prevent the attacks from class 1 and class 2 attackers.

How: The attacks can be made in three possible ways-

•    Passive approach: The attackers can manipulate the device remotely.
•    Active approach: The attackers can interface with the network and the device and can manage the data in the secured domain.
•    Possession: The attacker can take control of the whole device manually or remotely.

What: This section identifies the threats and the proposed security techniques to eliminate those threats [11]. The security measures which are implemented in the system when the system detects the possible security threats are evaluated under the attributes, and the system takes ten specific steps.

Figure 4: The processing of the threat by the system

(Source: Benarous, Kadri& Bouridane,2017)

Conclusion 

It can be concluded from the above discussion that use of biometrics has certain advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantages are individually the chance of security breaches presents in the system. The biometric uses the physical features of the human such as iris scanning and the figure print authentication for giving the access to the system. This security system has developed a significant change in maintaining the secure authentication process. It has the excellent return on investment, and the confusion over the password can be eliminated through this system. However, the security flaws those are present in the system can be exploited by the hackers ad the technical faults such as face rejection can happen in the order. To eliminate these flaws, the identification of the reasons for the problem has been made by this paper. The proposed system is based on the recommendations for the modifications of the system. The proposed method can eliminate the two essential kinds of the security flaw in the order. One is the prevention of the external attacks which can be caused by the intruders. The other security flaw is the issues regarding the false negative. However, there are other problems related to the use of biometric which are more functional problems by nature. The paper gives the overall general description of the use of biometric along with the security implications along with the proposed model for developing the modified system of biometric authentication. 

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