biometrics

Dictionary Attacks on Biometrics

Prof. Nasir Memon, Vice Dean for Academics and Student Affairs and Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering

Jan 26, 16:00 - 17:00

B9 L2 H2

biometrics dictionary attacks user authentication payment authorization

Contrary to the prevailing belief, we show that user authentication based on biometrics is vulnerable to dictionary attacks. We show the problem is particularly significant for partial prints used in smartphones and increasingly adopted for authentication tasks ranging from unlocking the devices screen up to payment authorization. We also show that speaker verification systems are also vulnerable to dictionary attacks. We then discuss ways to mitigate such attacks.