MULTIPLE BIOMETRIC SMART CARD AUTHENTICATION

• US 20100071031A1
• Filed: 09/15/2008
• Published: 03/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Green, Tammy Anita, Carter, Stephen R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,392,965 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/34 involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards

Abstract

Techniques for multiple biometric smart card authentication are provided. At least two biometric readings are obtained from a requesting user. Both biometric readings are verified before access to resources of a smart card are made available to the requesting user.

Claims

1. A machine-implemented method, comprising:

receiving a first biometric reading and a second biometric reading; and

determining whether to grant access to a smart card in response to evaluating the first and second biometric readings.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving further includes simultaneously receiving the first biometric reading as a finger print scan and the second biometric reading as a thumb print scan from a requesting user that wants to access the smart card.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein simultaneously receiving further includes requiring the requesting user to simultaneously place the finger on one side of a card reader for the smart card and the thumb on an opposite side of the card reader to acquire the finger print scan and the thumb print scan.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining further includes augmenting the first and second biometric readings with additional biometric readings that are simultaneously obtained with the first and second biometric readings or that are sequentially acquired after the first and second biometric readings, and wherein the additional biometric readings are viewed as acceptable when they fall within a predefined range.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein augmenting further includes recognizing the additional biometric readings as one or more of the following:

a skin temperature of a requesting user of the smart card, a blood oxygen level for the user, a heartbeat for the user, a particular finger position of the user when placed on a biometric scanner, a voice print for the user, a facial scan of the user, a retinal scan for one or more eyes of the user, and a sample DNA analysis of the user.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising, erasing select information from the smart card when a user unsuccessfully makes a predetermined number of attempts to gain access to the smart card.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising, setting a security access role for accessing select information on the smart card in response to verifying the first and second biometric readings.

8. A machine-implemented method, comprising:

receiving a request to activate a smart card for security services;

acquiring multiple biometric readings in accordance with an access policy accessed and evaluated on the smart card;

comparing the biometric readings against a predefined threshold value of operation housed on the smart card; and

setting an access level for the security services of the smart card in response to the comparison.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving further includes acquiring the request via a wireless communication from a resource that is placed in proximity to the smart card and detects the presence of the smart card.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving further includes acquiring the request via a smart card reader that is interfaced to a device and wherein a user of the smart card inserts the smart card into the smart card reader to generate the request to the smart card for activation.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving further includes acquiring the request directly via circuitry integrated within the smart card.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein acquiring further includes resolving the policy from a list of available policies on the smart card in response to a resource that is detected as having made the request to activate the smart card.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein acquiring further includes directing a user via a device interface to access one or more specific biometric scanners that communicate with a device that requested activation of the smart card for purposes of the user supplying the multiple biometric readings.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein comparing further includes identifying lower values for the access level when the readings fall below the predefined threshold value but above a minimum threshold value, wherein the lower values provide constrained or limited access to the security services.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein setting further includes configuring the security services of the smart card and activating a communication mechanism that permits the smart card to communicate with other resources using the security services.

16. A machine-implemented system, comprising:

a smart card (PM) implemented in a portable device as instructions on a computer-readable storage medium of that portable device that includes processor and memory resources; and

a two-sided biometric scanner implemented in a different device that encases the smart card;

wherein the two-sided biometric scanner includes a first scanner on one side of the smart card and a second scanner on an opposite side of the smart card, the first scanner and second scanner cooperate to take two simultaneous biometric scans as biometric readings for two different digits of a user that desires to activate the smart card, and wherein the smart card validates the readings before granting the user access to security services that process on the smart card.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein a cover is removed from the two-sided biometric scanner to reveal a universal serial bus port access mechanism to the smart card when the smart card validates the readings.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein a wireless communication driver is activated within the smart card when the smart card validates the readings.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the security services are activated for the user to access when the smart card validates the readings.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the smart card erases and removes the security services from the smart card after a configurable number of invalid readings are provided to the smart card.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein at least one of the scanners also takes a different type of biometric reading from that which is associated with a finger print scan and compares that different type of biometric reading against a threshold range of operation value that capable of overriding access and prevent access to the smart card even when the biometric readings are validated.

22. A machine-implemented system comprising:

security services implemented in a computer-readable storage medium and to process on a smart card having processor and memory resources; and

the smart card implemented as a standalone portable device having the processor and memory resources;

wherein the security services are controlled by an authentication service that processes on the smart card, and wherein the authentication service requires at least two biometric readings of a requesting user to perform authentication and to decide whether to activate some or each of the security services, which are controlled on the smart card.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the at least two biometric readings are required to be simultaneously supplied together to the authentication service.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the authentication service configures access roles and security permissions in response to the authentication of the requesting user.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein one of the at least two biometric readings is a fingerprint scan of the requesting user and another of the at least two biometric readings is a thumb print scan of the requesting users.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein other biometric readings are obtained to influence and augment the processing of the authentication service when it decides whether to activate some or each of the security services of the smart card for the requesting user to access.

27. The system of claim 22, wherein the security services lock down the smart card and do not permit any additional access attempts to be made to access the smart card when the requesting user fails to authenticate via the authentication service after a configured number of attempts, and wherein an authentication mechanism for accessing the smart card is subsequent reset by administrative intervention defined by a particular security policy.