A Risk Analysis Approach for Biometric Authentication Technology

Current approaches for risk analysis of biometric authentication technology are limited to enrollment and identification/verification processes with biometric algorithms mainly considered as black-boxes, only. This paper presents a systematic approach for a holistic security risk analysis of biometric authentication technology based on the high-level component & process model for integrated security risk analysis of biometric authentication technology, also proposed here. The processes and components used within this model are introduced together with a comprehensive terminology for biometric authentication technology especially developed for the research area of IT security biometrics. Biometric authentication risk matrices are used to show that single possible risk effect classes can be identified. A discussion on the enabled possibilities for risk analysis shows the significant advantage of this integrated approach for holistic security risk analysis of biometric authentication technology in comparison to other approaches.