case study

SECURE BIOMETRICS

CHALLENGE: 

The use of biometrics to improve the security of travel documents has long been an area of research and development. Following September 11, 2001, interest—and urgency—in this area increased exponentially. Governments, security experts, and travelers wanted improved electronic machine-readable travel documents (eMRTD or ePassports) that link passports to their rightful owners. Global interoperability of ePassports that carry this information was acknowledged as essential for effective border control and identity management.

SOLUTION: 

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) published Document 9303 to implement biometrics (including facial recognition, fingerprints, and iris images) as a vital tool in ePassport specifications. It specifies that ePassports contain an embedded chip to hold both biographic information and a photo, supporting the ability to confirm the identity of incoming travelers.

The document relies on international standards to assure interoperability across borders, including:

• ISO/IEC 19794, Information Technology - Biometric data interchange formats, for data formats covering biometrics for face, finger, and iris images
• ISO/IEC 19785, Information Technology - Common Biometric Exchange Formats Framework (CBEFF), for a logical data structure for biometric information records

IMPACT:

The adoption of standards was highly successful in the use of biometrics for ePassports, allowing some 150 nations to issue interoperable travel documents. To date, there are roughly one billion ePassports in circulation. Their verification features are leveraged at borders throughout the world, resulting in a far smoother experience for travelers, while not sacrificing security.

Looking ahead, ICAO is now developing guidelines for a digital travel credential (DTC)—a paperless, digital replica of the data on the ePassport that will allow border entities to carry out most of the border inspection process before a traveler’s arrival. Here, too, international standards will be essential in the foundation of global interoperability for this new technology.

Source(s): 

ICAO Adopts JTC 1/SC 37 Standards to Support Biometric Technology for Machine Readable Travel Documents; 20-year Anniversary Report: ICAO; Mind the Gap: Supporting Global ICAO Digital Travel Credential Implementation

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