OTTAWA, September 8, 2022 – The CIO Strategy Council is moving ahead with the creation of new national standard that will specify guidance for the authentication of remote biometrics.
The use of biometric matching to verify identity has become pervasive in recent years. From its early association with latent fingerprint matching as part of criminal investigations, biometric technology has advanced to be used as part of border crossings, financial transactions, and even unlocking mobile devices. Over time, more of these applications have come to rely on remote biometric matching where the individual identifies themselves without any visit to a commercial or government site.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the desire for remote biometrics has accelerated as government and businesses figure out how to engage with individuals without requiring in-person interactions. In many cases remote biometrics are now being used to onboard individuals into new systems and not just for individual transactions within existing systems. In these cases, the chain of trust for the entire system is dependent upon the validity of the initial remote biometric transaction.
This is a significant gap that exists, there is a need for an overall standard that explains the specific issues of remote biometric matching and how the different components such as biometric matching accuracy, presentation attack detection, injection attack detection, geolocation, video monitoring and other techniques can be combined to provide authentication of the remote biometric matching process with different levels of security that are suitable for different applications. All entities deploying remote biometrics would benefit from such guidance because it would make it possible for them to match the security techniques deployed around mobile authentication to the security profile of the particular application using the remote biometrics. Requiring too much security for every application is costly and less convenient for end users but requiring too little security brings significant risks.
Get Involved
The CIO Strategy Council’s Standards Policy Committee approved the establishment of a new Technical Committee, Technical Committee 15 on Biometrics. Our standards development process is collaborative and open to all. If you are interested in contributing to the work of the technical committee on Biometrics to assist in the development of this new standard, please get in touch through the contact below.
Get in touch with Darryl Kingston, Senior Director of Standards for more information or to get directly involved.
For media inquiries:
Julia Hancock
Senior Project Manager, Standards
CIO Strategy Council
julia.hancock@ciostrategycouncil.com
About the CIO Strategy Council
The CIO Strategy Council is Canada’s national forum that brings together the country’s most forward-thinking chief information officers and executive technology leaders to collectively mobilize on common digital priorities. Cutting across major sectors of the Canadian economy – public, private and not for profit – the Council harnesses the collective expertise and action of Canada’s CIOs to propel Canada as a digital-first nation. The CIO Strategy Council is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada and develops standards that support the data-driven economy.