Improving biometrics to address privacy, scale and accuracy

Issue 3 2022 Editor's Choice, Access Control & Identity Management, News

Faces are very important to us. Our brains can recognise a face in milliseconds, even if we retain no other information about that person. Recording and recalling faces is so intuitive that there is even a condition called prosopagnosia, which occurs when someone struggles to remember faces. Not surprisingly, scientists have discovered our brains have areas dedicated solely to managing information about faces.

Humans are very social creatures, and we rely on quickly identifying friends from foes in a group of faces. Ever since we invented computers, we’ve aimed to endow them with the same abilities. Today, we have computers that understand human speech, translate languages, and recognise our faces. Facial recognition biometrics are today more accurate than the human eye can ever be.

Facial recognition is already used extensively to identify individuals, help prevent crimes such as fraud and make it easier for people to authenticate and access services through their digital identity. We already unlock our phones with a glance many times a day. Imagine if we could pop into the doctor’s office or breeze through airports using our faces to unlock everything, safely and securely.

Until recently, there have been two key limitations around facial recognition. The first is scale. Finding a face amongst thousands, millions, or billions without any reference, like an ID, to narrow the search is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It’s very intensive and time-consuming, sometimes more so than what makes the process worthwhile.

Then there are important privacy concerns. For such a system to work fast, it often relies on other personal data, such as your ID, email address or mobile number. If someone were to access that data used alongside your photo, they could learn a lot about you.

Exciting new developments in this space are resolving these issues. Specifically, a technology called CryptoNets, using fully homomorphic encryption, is changing how fast and securely computers can identify a face. (Homomorphic Encryption refers to a new type of encryption technology that allows computation to be directly on encrypted data, without requiring any decryption in the process.)

CryptoNets uses artificial intelligence and a new type of encryption to deliver on two fronts. It is very fast, locating a face among countless others in milliseconds without the need to have any other data to narrow the search. It is also highly efficient, requiring far fewer computing resources than other types of facial recognition when making one-to-many comparisons or the traditional one-to-one face comparisons.

The technology is also great for privacy. Information encrypted through CryptoNets becomes anonymised data and no longer contains personal information. It is useless without the system, which itself doesn’t need to decrypt the information to use it. So, there is no point in stealing that personal information. Notably, CryptoNets technology converts material such as photos or voiceprints into a different data format that cannot be used outside the CryptoNets context.

The result is a new biometric technology that is much faster, far more secure, naturally compliant with personal information laws such as PoPIA and GDPR, and applicable to different forms of recognition. CryptoNets technology also supports voice, fingerprints and so on. And because of how it works, CryptoNets can quickly identify someone using only one element, such as a photo (no need to give your ID number every time you verify yourself), and does so in near real-time, so it works even in large crowds.

Many of us become nervous when we think of facial recognition. There is always scope for abuse and mistakes. But facial recognition is not going away – it’s just too helpful. So, we should instead ask how we can make it more responsible and respectful of our privacy.

CryptoNets technology achieves privacy and efficiency goals with incredible results. As it grows more popular, it will improve biometric recognition of all types while keeping our personal information safer. It aligns nicely with a wave of improvements in the sector that promotes better ethics and greater accuracy.

Facial recognition is controversial for many reasons. These are being resolved through breakthroughs such as CryptoNets. From fraud prevention to opening your front door with your voice, it will improve many aspects of our lives in fantastic ways without compromising our safety and privacy.

Digital identity orchestration company, Contactable, will be the first organisation in Africa to pioneer this technology as part of its extended product offerings in the market.

For more information, contact Contactable, +27 10 100 3647, info@staycontactable.com, www.contactable.co.za




Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page



Further reading:

Olarm launches the Olarm LINK
Olarm Perimeter Security, Alarms & Intruder Detection News Products
Building on the success of smart-enabling, monitoring and controlling alarm panels and electric fences, Olarm has a new solution for customers to integrate gates, garage doors, pumps and other electrical products with the Olarm APP and Olarm PRO communicator.

Read more...
Ultimate smart monitoring and reliability
Olarm Perimeter Security, Alarms & Intruder Detection News Products
Olarm is gearing up to unveil its latest product, the Olarm MAX, set to be available in late 2023, which will redefine smart monitoring by offering unparalleled connectivity options and functionality.

Read more...
New algorithm for OT cybersecurity risk management
Industrial (Industry) Cyber Security News Commercial (Industry)
OTORIO’s new risk management model and attack graph analysis algorithm technology, calculates OT cybersecurity threats and provides risk mitigation actions, prioritised according to actual exposure and potential impact on operations.

Read more...
Robots: a security opportunity or a threat?
Editor's Choice News Conferences & Events
Professor Martin Gill, Director of Perpetuity Research & Consultancy International and the School of Criminal Justice at the University of South Africa (UNISA), will be holding a Global Thought Leadership Security webinar on 22 June 2023 to discuss the contentious issue of robots operating in the security industry.

Read more...
UNISA sponsors Securex seminars
Editor's Choice News Conferences & Events
As part of UNISA’s 150-year birthday celebrations, UNISA has sponsored the Securex Theatre Seminar Programme, which will include a number of prominent industry specialists, academics and security practitioners focusing on a number of themes.

Read more...
Sustainability School opens for enrolment
Education (Industry) News Security Services & Risk Management
Three-part programme, first developed for Schneider Electric employees, is now available for free for companies worldwide. Attendees learn how to future-proof their businesses and accelerate their decarbonisation journeys.

Read more...
Accenture Technology Vision 2023
Editor's Choice News
New report states that generative AI is expected to usher in a ‘bold new future’ for business, merging physical and digital worlds, transforming the way people work and live.

Read more...
Cyber attackers used over 500 tools and tactics in 2022
Cyber Security News
The most common root causes of attacks were unpatched vulnerabilities and compromised credentials, while ransomware continues to be the most common ‘end game’ and attacker dwell time is shrinking – for better or worse.

Read more...
Economists divided on global economic recovery
Editor's Choice News
Growth outlook has strengthened in all regions, but chief economists are divided on the likelihood of a global recession in 2023; experts are concerned about trade-off between managing inflation and maintaining financial stability, with 76% anticipating central banks to struggle to bring down inflation.

Read more...
Success in business process best practices
Technews Publishing Kleyn Change Management Editor's Choice Integrated Solutions Security Services & Risk Management
This month we commandeer time with the woman who is spearheading our national conversation on Women in Security, Lesley-Anne Kleyn, to get to know the lady herself a little better.

Read more...