Foolproof Fingerprinting

ASEE Prism, Mar 2006 by Grose, Thomas K

BIOMETRICS

IN A MORE security-conscious America, biometrics is one hot area of research. That's the science of using a person's unique physiological or behavioral signature-a fingerprint or iris reading, for instance-to verify someone's identity. But a team of investigators led by Stephanie C. Schuckers, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Clarkson University, determined that fingerprint scans can be easily fooled. Schuckers' crew used fake fingers created with PlayDoh molds and dental material, as well as cadaver digits, to test the optical scanners that read fingerprints. The not-alive fingers worked 90 percent of the time. But, no sweat. Schuckers-who also heads Clarkson's Biomedical Signal Analysis Laboratory-realized there was a simple solution. Real fingers perspire, and that sweat also creates a distinct signature. Schuckers' team devised algorithms to read what she calls "changing moisture patterns" made by real fingertips. The result after her upgrade: fewer than 10 percent of the phony fingers could fool the scanner. -TG