FB pixel

San José State engineer gets grant to safeguard biometric data from NSF

$175,000 sum to be used to strengthen biometric security systems
Categories Biometric R&D  |  Biometrics News
 

biometric digital identity verification for fraud prevention

Nima Karimian, assistant professor of computer engineering at the San José State University, has received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Research Initiation Initiative (CRII).

The sum will be used to scrutinize and strengthen commercial biometric technologies, particularly against side-channel attacks — threats based on obtaining data about computers’ physical characteristics during use, like time, power, and sound.

The $175,000 grant will go towards supporting researchers in the first three years in an academic position after earning a Ph.D.

Commenting on the news, Karimian said it reflects the increasing popularity of biometrics in fields such as banking, airport security, and healthcare.

However, according to the assistant professor, if left unchecked, biometric data sharing could also lead to theft, privacy threats, and illegal access issues.

“For instance, if your fingerprint or face biometric data is compromised by an adversary, it could be reused to gain unauthorized access to a system or even duplicate the biometric data to hack into victims’ devices or accounts,” he told SJSU.

Side-channel attacks are fairly well understood in general computing. For example, they could be based on the different amounts of power machines give out when executing certain processes, or on the sound of keyboard keys potentially revealing a user’s password.

In biometrics, however, the amount of research related to side-channel attacks has been limited at best, according to Karimian.

His ‘Physical Side-Channel Attacks in Biometric Systems’ research project will now focus on addressing these issues.

“Receiving this prestigious award is a great honor for me,” Karimian said. “This grant allows me to launch my independent research here at SJSU and to start new research directions developing secure biometric systems that can protect citizens’ privacy.

Karimian emphasized the importance of protecting biometric data, due to its immutability.

Article Topics

 |   |   |   |   |   | 

Latest Biometrics News

 

Alan Goode offers insights on booming transitional IDV market on BU Podcast

Technology is transforming identity verification. According to Alan Goode of Goode Intelligence, by 2030, digital identity verification will pass traditional…

 

Share less data in more places: inching towards decentralized digital ID for travel

The travel industry is slowly shifting to a more decentralized model of digital identity. This was one of the key…

 

Clearview takes fresh legal hits over Canada class action, UK fine

Few biometrics companies have taken a bigger regulatory and legal beating than Clearview AI. It has already been a rough…

 

Mexico makes biometric identifier mandatory for all citizens

Mexico has officially introduced a digital identification system by signing a law that turned the previously optional biometric-based citizen code…

 

MOSIP highlights the UN DPI Safeguards Initiative

The United Nations’ DPI Safeguards Initiative has released 259 recommendations designed to guide regulators, advocates, donors, technology providers and governments…

 

Brazil adopts DaaS for verifiable credentials

Brazil is the latest country to adopt DPI as a Packaged Solution (DaaS) — a practical framework designed to accelerate…

Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Biometric Market Analysis

Most Viewed This Week

Featured Company

Biometrics Insight, Opinion

Digital ID In-Depth

Biometrics White Papers

Biometrics Events