System and method for protecting the privacy and security of stored biometric data
First Claim
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1. A method of securely indexing and storing a biometric for subsequent retrieval, the method including:
- using a processor to carry out the steps of;
a) Enrolling a user at an enrolment location by effecting a capture of a specific biometric from that user and associating that biometric with an identity element specific to that user,b) Applying a blinding function to the associated identity element so as to provide a blinded identity element, the blinding function taking the identity element as a data input and providing the blinded identity element as a data output, the blinded identity element revealing no information about the data input,c) generating a transaction identifier at the enrolment location;
d) associating the transaction identifier with each of the biometric and blinded identity elements to form two combinations,e) Separately forwarding each of the two combinations to a storage location which is remote from the enrolment location, matching transaction identifiers from each of the two combinations, and combining the blinded identity element and the biometric-as an index pair,f) Storing the index pair as a stored pair at the storage location, andg) Retrieving the biometric from the stored pair by subsequently providing the same identity element, applying the same blinding function to that element so as to recreate the blinded identity element and using the recreated blinded identity element to retrieve the biometric stored with that blinded identity element,wherein the step of forwarding the combination having the blinded identity element to the storage location is via an index governor, the index governor, on receiving a blinded identity element being configured to apply a second blind function to the blinded identity element so as to generate a doubly blinded identity element which is coupled to the transaction identifier for forwarding to the storage location for association with the biometric and storage as a stored pair.
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Abstract
A data storage system that protects privacy and ensures security includes a plurality of nodes in a networked architecture, the nodes being adapted to securely communicate and co-operate with one another to allow storage and retrieval of data. A single piece of biometric data is associated only with a blinded identifier and securely divided across one or more nodes, adapted for data storage. The data itself and the link to the original individual, from whom the biometric was acquired, cannot be obtained without the co-operation of two or more nodes.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method of securely indexing and storing a biometric for subsequent retrieval, the method including:
- using a processor to carry out the steps of;
a) Enrolling a user at an enrolment location by effecting a capture of a specific biometric from that user and associating that biometric with an identity element specific to that user, b) Applying a blinding function to the associated identity element so as to provide a blinded identity element, the blinding function taking the identity element as a data input and providing the blinded identity element as a data output, the blinded identity element revealing no information about the data input, c) generating a transaction identifier at the enrolment location; d) associating the transaction identifier with each of the biometric and blinded identity elements to form two combinations, e) Separately forwarding each of the two combinations to a storage location which is remote from the enrolment location, matching transaction identifiers from each of the two combinations, and combining the blinded identity element and the biometric-as an index pair, f) Storing the index pair as a stored pair at the storage location, and g) Retrieving the biometric from the stored pair by subsequently providing the same identity element, applying the same blinding function to that element so as to recreate the blinded identity element and using the recreated blinded identity element to retrieve the biometric stored with that blinded identity element, wherein the step of forwarding the combination having the blinded identity element to the storage location is via an index governor, the index governor, on receiving a blinded identity element being configured to apply a second blind function to the blinded identity element so as to generate a doubly blinded identity element which is coupled to the transaction identifier for forwarding to the storage location for association with the biometric and storage as a stored pair. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
- using a processor to carry out the steps of;
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11. A computer implemented biometric storage and authentication architecture, the architecture comprising a processor and computer readable memory storing programs comprising:
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a) a first module configured to enable a enrolment of a user by effecting a capture of a specific biometric from that user and associating that biometric with an identity element specific to that user, b) a second module configured to effect an application of a blinding function to the associated identity element so as to provide a blinded identity element, the blinding function taking the identity element as a data input and providing the blinded identity element as a data output, the blinded identity element revealing no information about the data input, c) a third module configured to generate a transaction identifier and to associate the transaction identifier with each of the biometric and the blinded identity to form two combinations and to forward each for the two combinations separately to a remote repository, d) an index governor provided between the third module and the remote repository, the index governor being configured on receiving a blinded identity element to apply a second blind function to the blinded identity element so as to generate a doubly blinded identity element, the doubly blinded identity element being coupled to the transaction identifier for forwarding to the remote repository for association with the biometric and storage as a stored paid, e) a fourth module located at the remote repository and configured to match the transaction identifiers from each of the two separately received combinations so as to effect a combination of the blinded identity element and the biometric so as to form an index pair and effect storing of the index pair as a stored pair, and f) a retrieval module configured to enable a retrieval of the biometric from the stored pair by subsequently providing the same identity element, applying the same blinding function to that element so as to recreate the blinded identity element and using the recreated blinded identity element to retrieve the biometric stored with that blinded identity element. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification