Biometric
Definition
Any measurable physiological or behavioural trait used to identify or verify an individual. Falls in the 'something you are' authentication category, distinct from 'something you know' (password) and 'something you have' (token, smart card).
Related terms
- Behavioural Biometric
- Trait rooted in learned action: voice, gait, signature dynamics, keystroke dynamics, mouse movement.
- Enrolment
- First-time capture of a biometric, feature extraction, and storage of the resulting template in the system database.
- FAR / FRR / EER
- False Acceptance Rate (imposter wrongly accepted), False Rejection Rate (genuine user wrongly rejected), and Equal Error Rate (operating point where FAR =...
- Identification (1:N)
- Searching a fresh sample against EVERY template in the database to find a match. Used by AFIS to hit a chance print...
- Physiological Biometric
- Trait rooted in body structure: fingerprint, iris, retina, face, palm print, palm vein, hand geometry, ear shape, DNA.
- Presentation Attack Detection (PAD)
- Liveness checks that block spoofing with fake fingers, photos, iris printouts or cloned voice. Evaluated under ISO/IEC 30107.
- Verification (1:1)
- Matching a fresh sample against ONE stored template tied to a claimed identity. Used to unlock a phone or authenticate a payment.
Explained in
- Biometric Systems of Identification and Their RelevanceAny measurable physiological or behavioural trait used to identify or verify an individual. Falls in the 'something you are' authentication category, distinct...