FuzzyHash: A secure biometric template protection technique

Biometrics is likely to provide a new level of security to applications since application users will need to prove their identity when attempting access. Yet if the stored biometric template is compromised then the conventional biometric recognition system is vulnerable to privacy invasion, which is also a permanent loss because the biometric template is not replaceable. We introduce a new technique for protecting the biometric template called FuzzyHashing. It takes inspiration in the cryptographic hashing function, which endows it with properties that are desirable for improved security such as: one-way transformation, confusion, diffusion etc. After an enumeration of the design requirements of FuzzyHashing we demonstrate one of its realizations in the context of face biometrics.