Multimedia Security 2

1Biometrics and Applications

Christophe CHARRIER¹, Christophe ROSENBERGER¹ and Amine NAIT-ALI²

¹GREYC, Normandy University, University of Caen, ENSICAEN, CNRS, France

²LISSI, University of Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne, France

Biometrics is a technology that is now common in our daily lives. It is notably used to secure access to smartphones or computers. This chapter aims to provide readers with an overview of this technology, its history and the solutions provided by research on societal and scientific issues.

1.1. Introduction

There are three generic ways to verify or determine an individual’s identity: (1) what we know (PIN, password, etc.); (2) what we have (badge, smart card, etc.); and (3) what we are (fingerprint, face, etc.) or what we know how to do (keystroke dynamics, gait, etc.). Biometrics is concerned with this last set of approaches. Biometrics, and more precisely security biometrics, consists of verifying or identifying the identity of an individual based on their morphological characteristics (such as fingerprints), behavioral characteristics (such as voice) or biological characteristics (such as DNA).

The biometric features by which an individual’s identity can be verified are called biometric modalities. Examples of some biometric modalities are shown in Figure 1.1. These modalities are based on the analysis of individual data, and are generally grouped into three categories: biological, behavioral and morphological biometrics. Biological biometrics is ...