Biometrics in brief

                                    

Everyday actions are increasingly being handled electronically, rather than through the use of pen, paper or face-to-face interaction. The technique of studying and electronically capturing the physical characteristics of a person is called Biometrics.

The physical characteristics studied may include finger prints, hand geometry, eye-structure or voice pattern. Biometrics involves using these physical characteristics as a password or a form of identification.

The need for biometrics can be found in the central, state and local governments as well as in the military. With rapid growth in electronic commercial transactions there is a great demand for fast and accurate user identification.

There are broadly three different types of user identification:

1) Something the user knows – A password, a PIN (personal identification number), or a piece of information.

2) Something one has – A card key, a smart card, or an ID (identification) card.

3) Something one is – A biometric.

The most secure and convenient authentication tool amongst all the above is the biometric. Simply because it cannot be forgotten, stolen or borrowed.

The biometric system follows a simple series of steps in its process of user identification.

1) Information about the physical characteristics of the user is gathered by scanning.

2) This information is converted into a code by using an algorithm. And the code created is stored in a data base.

3) When a person needs to be identified the system scans the information about the person again and translates this into a new code.

4) This new code is compared with the codes stored in the data base in search of a matching code.

5) If the new code matches with a code in the data base the person is identified and allowed in to the security zone.

            Thus biometrics is a technology for achieving fast and user-friendly authentication with a high level of accuracy.