According to a recent report by the American Physicists Organization Network, a recent report released by the National Research Council of the United States points out that biometrics based on biometric and behavioral characteristics of humans, such as fingerprints, palm prints, voices or facial recognition, are inherently unreliable. None of these features were found to be reliable and unique. In order to strengthen the science of biometrics and improve the effectiveness of biometric systems, scientists also need to conduct more in-depth research at all levels of design and operation.
National Research Council Chairman Joseph Pato is also a senior researcher at HP Labs. In his report, he pointed out that over the past 50 years, people have greatly overestimated the application potential of biometrics. Although some biometric systems are effective for certain specific tasks, biometric systems are not as reliable as the public thinks. People need to understand the role and limitations of these biosystems more thoroughly and comprehensively.
The research report pointed out that biometric systems have been increasingly used in various devices to manage people's access to infrastructure, access to information, and other rights. However, there has always been doubt about their effectiveness in terms of safety or monitoring. Even if the similarity between the impostor and the displaced person is extremely low, biometric systems with high-precision sensors and matching capabilities will still have extremely high error rates and continuously issue false alarms. Operators may take lightly on potential threats and this type of system can be very dangerous.
The report also listed uncertainties in the biometric system that may have an impact on the results, including biometric characteristics that may change due to factors such as age, stress, disease, etc., all of which require people to be serious when designing and operating biometric systems. consider. In addition, sensor calibration, data degradation, and security holes can also affect the accuracy of these systems.
The report pointed out that biometric systems need to be designed and evaluated according to their application. The effectiveness of the system also depends on the operator's skill level, system design, and scope of use. Moreover, the system's management and correction process should also be in place. .
In addition, biometric systems for security purposes require rigorous testing to assess whether they are vulnerable. The reliability of the biometric system cannot depend only on the confidentiality of the data. Individual biometrics may also be disclosed. In addition, when the system fails, the secondary detection process of the system should be as strict as the initial detection process.
The report also pointed out several features that biometric systems should include. For example, the design of the system should take into account the possibility of errors, even if such errors do not occur often. In addition, studies on the design and operation of the system are needed, ranging from understanding the distribution of biometrics in a given population to understanding how people interact with the technology. In addition, social, legal and cultural factors may affect the effectiveness of biometric systems.