Privacy & Ethical issuesin Biometric Systems

Francesco Bonadimanfranzbona@hotmail.it

5 January 2015Biometric Identification & Verification

Craig Kershawckismuk@gmail.com

Introduction

- important topic inthe last 15 years

- lots of discussions

- but things haven’t changed so much

- for which reasons?

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img3.wikia.nocookie.net images.gizmag.com

Biometric systems

- match “live” image with recorded part of the body

- who you are and what you dowhat you know or what you have

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zvetcobiometrics.com

Biometric technology

- 2000: “barrier between personal data and unauthorized access”

human body→ passport

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img3.wikia.nocookie.net chatelaine.com

Biometric identifiers5

wikimedia.com

intechopen.comfingerchip.fr

cl.cam.ac.uk

heyce.com

smartinsights.com

thefeetnesscentres.com

Verification

- User claims identity- System verifies- “1 to 1”

- Identifies user out of a database set

- “1 to many” (harder)

Identification6

hitachi.com

- Negatives -

Negative connotations

- Privacy rejects Biometrics- Criminality (fingerprints/DNA sampling)

- Culturally undignified?

- Religious Objections

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mcallen.net

“A piece of yourself”

- Identification → Image is a tool to permit recognition of the body

- Offering this “piece of yourself” objectifies the body

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Loss of Privacy

- Fundamental privacy interest in control of:- Use of our own image- How/when we are represented to others

- Large number of biometric representations- Loss of privacy

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Abuse & Misuse

- Violation of right to anonymity- Murphy’s Law → if any technology can be

misused, it will be- Positive identification of a biometric

- Third party gaining access

- Linking it to other information →

Secondary uses without consent

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Data storage

- Required for Identification- Possible to be stolen- Law Enforcement- Pin-pointing and tracking

- Potential to be linked together → Detailed profile

- Third-party purchase- Direct marketers

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Extra Information

- Extra, unauthorized information ends up being collected

- People’s age, gender and ethnicity - Emotional state detection, as reflected in their

expressions- Possible to detect medical history

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Function creep

- ‘Function creep’ is the term used to describe the expansion of a process or system, where data collected for one specific purpose is subsequently used for another unintended or unauthorized purpose

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unisoncctv.co.uk

Stealing Biometrics

- Possible to fool - Biometrics can be stolen- Duplicates can be made

- Quite complicated

- Biometric characteristics are not secrets

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rt.com

Other Concerns

- Hygiene of biometric sensors

- Disabilities/Missing biometrics

- Personal image anxiety

- Unwanted identifications

- Witness Protection

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+ Positives +

Convenience

- Less fallible and potentially much faster

- High accuracy- No longer have to

remember passwords- User is present at

time/place of recognition

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computerhowtoguide.com

Security

- Difficult to copy, share, or distribute

- Security level is equal

- Hard to lose - Cannot be forgotten- One account is no easier to break than another

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Enhances Privacy?

- Immune from security breaches

- Properly designed and regulated, biometrics can protect privacy

- Gives power back to the individual

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Conclusions

Conclusions

1. Technology improved but same old issues

2. Foolproof recognition does not exist

3. Fake attacks → serious concern

Deep influence on daily life

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blog.bio-key.com

Recommendations

Legal perspective

1. Biometrics id’s exchange closely regulated

2. Severe penalties for unauthorized use

3. Authorities surveillance not allowed

4. Vendors should adhere to guidelines

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Design perspective

1. Storing non-invertible data (hash)

2. Complete control to the individual

3. Multimodal-biometric system as in

http://youtu.be/iOpH6E7T6I0?t=31s

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Thanks!

References▪ Alterman A., “A piece of yourself”: Ethical issues in biometric identification, Kluwer

Academic Publishers, 2003▪ Prabhakar S., Pankanti S., Jain A., Biometric Recognition: Security and Privacy

Concerns, IEEE, 2003▪ Mordini E., Massari S., Body, Biometrics and Identity, Bioethics, 2008▪ Valenza G. et al., Revealing Real-Time Emotional Responses: a Personalized Assessment

based on Heartbeat Dynamics, Nature.com Scientific Reports, 2014▪ A. Cavoukian, Privacy and Biometrics, Information and Privacy

Commissioner/Ontario, 1999▪ S. Shaikh, C.Dimitriadis, My Fingers are all mine: Five reasons why using biometrics

may not be a good idea, IEEE, 2008▪ http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/30/hacker-fakes-german-

ministers-fingerprints-using-photos-of-her-hands▪ http://rt.com/news/218587-hacker-fingerprint-minister-photo ▪ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4396831.stm

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