How Do Biometric Systems Determine 'Matches'?

Biometric decision-making is frequently misunderstood. For the vast majority of technologies and systems, there is no such thing as a 100% match, though systems can provide a very high degree of certainty. The biometric decision-making process is comprised of various components, as indicated below.

Matching - The comparison of biometric templates to determine their degree of similarity or correlation. A match attempt results in a score that, in most systems, is compared against a threshold. If the score exceeds the threshold, the result is a match; if the score falls below the threshold, the result is a non-match.

The matching process involves the comparison of the verification template, created upon sample submission, with the enrollment template(s) already on file. In 1:1 verification systems, there is generally a single verification template matched against an enrollment template. In 1:N identification systems, the single verification template can be matched against dozens, thousands, even millions of enrollment templates.

In most systems, enrollment and verification templates should never be identical. An identical match is an indicator that some sort of fraud is taking place, such as the resubmission of an intercepted or otherwise compromised template.

 

Login to access full report Not Registered? Email Password   Forgot your password? By clicking on Login, I agree to the terms and conditions of usage