NIR Face Based Biometric Key Binding

Biometric encryption is the basis for biometric template protection and information security. While existing methods are based on iris or fingerprint modality, face has so far been considered not reliable enough to meet the requirement for error correcting ability. In this paper, we present a novel biometric key binding method based on near infrared (NIR) face biometric. An enhanced BioHash algorithm is developed by imposing an NXOR mask onto the input to the subsequent error correcting code (ECC). This way, when combined with ECC and NIR face features, it enables reliable binding of face biometric features and the biometric key. Its ability for template protection and information cryptography is guarantied by the theory of encryption. The security level of NIR face recognition system is thereby improved. Experimental results show that the security benefit is gained with a sacrifice of 1-2% drop in the recognition performance.