User-controlled facial recognition enabled by Trueface encryption technique

Trueface has developed technology that it says enables facial recognition to be extended to a wide range of everyday processes and objects without compromising privacy or data security.

Faces on Everything was unveiled at the International Joint Conference on Biometrics (IJCB), and is demonstrated in a short video produced by Trueface.

Essentially, the technique shrinks the size of the face template and encrypts it so that the template can be implemented to almost anything, including a QR code, as shown in the video, a payment card chip, or an NFC tag or key-fob.

The technology is user-initiated, holds no data, ensures data integrity and authenticity, and requires no specialized hardware, Trueface CEO Shaun Moore told Biometric Update in an email.

Templates creation and encryption are decentralized, and the templates are compared without being decrypted.

The user initiates the workflow, and means that like a conventional physical credential, the system only contains personal data when it is ‘presented’ by the user, Trueface CTO Nezare Chafni writes in another email. The verification system holds no data, but instead receives the face template from the user during the interaction.

“Encryption in this case (homomorphic or conventional) allows us to verify the authenticity of the template, lock usage to a location or user, and enable decentralized enrollment and even verification without decrypting having to decrypt the template,” explains Chafni.

The technique allows Trueface to apply a biometric without investing in expensive new technology, he says. An ID card could have a face template implemented on a QR code, enabling fraud attempts to be detected with facial recognition, or tickets can be made non-transferable. Access control is another possible application Chafni mentions, while the video notes identity verification, payment security, and asset protection.

The system is made possible, Chafni says, by Trueface’s innovative process for encoding, compressing and decompressing face templates with minimal effect on biometric accuracy.

Trueface also recently announced another in a series of contract wins for base security from the U.S. Air Force.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  biometrics research  |  data protection  |  encryption  |  facial recognition  |  identity verification  |  privacy  |  Trueface