Systems and methods for biometric authentication

• US 9,842,211 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2015
• Issued: 12/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Inventors: Krishnapura, Rohini
• Primary Examiner(s): Zand, Kambiz
• Assistant Examiner(s): KAPLAN, BENJAMIN A
• Application Number:
  US14/925,879
• Publication Number:
  US 20170124328A1
• Time in Patent Office: 776 Days
• Field of Search: 726 19
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/034 Test or assess a computer or a system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS

Abstract

Systems and methods for determining a threat level are disclosed. A method includes: receiving, from a biometric sensor, data corresponding an attempt to verify an identity of a user; determining, based on the data corresponding to the attempt, one or more authentication parameters associated with the attempt; authenticating the user based on determining that a score associated with the attempt satisfies an authentication condition associated with a biometric template; after authenticating the user, determining one or more device usage parameters within a time window of authenticating the user; determining a threat level based on the one or more authentication parameters and the one or more device usage parameters; and, causing an action to be performed by the device in accordance with the threat level.

Claims

1. A device for determining a threat level, comprising:

a biometric sensor; and

a processing system configured to;

receive, from the biometric sensor, data corresponding an attempt to verify an identity of a user;

determine, based on the data corresponding to the attempt, one or more authentication parameters associated with the attempt;

authenticate the user based on determining that a score associated with the attempt satisfies an authentication condition associated with a biometric template, wherein the authentication condition comprises a threshold value, and authenticating the user is based on determining that the score associated with the attempt satisfies the threshold value;

after authenticating the user, determine one or more device usage parameters within a time window of authenticating the user;

determine a threat level based on the one or more authentication parameters and the one or more device usage parameters;

cause an action to be performed by the device based on the threat level, wherein the action comprises raising or lowering the threshold value associated with the authentication condition to an updated threshold value based on the threat level;

receive, from the biometric sensor, data corresponding a subsequent attempt to verify the identity of the user; and

authenticate the user based on determining that a score associated with the subsequent attempt satisfies the updated threshold value.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more authentication parameters include one or more match parameters associated with a correlation between the data corresponding to the attempt and the biometric template.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the one or more match parameters include at least one of:

a measure of coverage between the data and the biometric template;

an indication of whether one or more minutiae points are included in the data corresponding the attempt;

a measure of alignment between the data and the biometric template;

an indication of which iris was used to authenticate the user;

an indication of which finger was used to authenticate the user; and

an indication of localization information for the data.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the indication of localization information comprises one or more of:

an indication of which enrollment view of the biometric template was used to authenticate the user;

an indication of a location within a particular enrollment view that is associated with the authentication attempt; and

an indication of whether a core of a finger is included in the data.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more authentication parameters include one or more sample parameters associated with the data corresponding to the attempt.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the one or more sample parameters include at least one of:

a measure of image quality of the data;

a measure of moistness corresponding to the data; and

an indication of whether a full or partial image of the biometric was captured.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more device usage parameters include at least one of:

a time of day associated with the attempt to verify the identity of the user;

a geographic location associated with the attempt to verify the identity of the user;

data corresponding to which one or more programs are opened on the device within a time window after authenticating the user;

data corresponding to one or more gestures made on the device within a time window after authenticating the user;

data corresponding to which parts of a screen were touched on the device within a time window after authenticating the user; and

data corresponding to ambient sounds detected by the device within a time window after authenticating the user.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein in response to determining the threat level to be high, causing the action to be performed includes at least one of:

causing a system alert or an application alert to be initiated;

causing one or more programs of the device to become deactivated;

causing one or more files stored on the device to become encrypted;

causing one or more files stored on the device to become deleted; and

causing a payment system to become deactivated.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

determine the threat level based on analyzing the one or more authentication parameters and the one or more device usage parameters relative to a data model.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the processing system is configured to generate the data model based on prior authentication attempts of the user and prior device usage by the user after prior authentication.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the biometric template comprises a template of a fingerprint of the user.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the action comprises raising the threshold value associated with the authentication condition, resulting in a lower false acceptance rate (FAR) for authentication.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the action comprises lowering the threshold value associated with the authentication condition, resulting in a higher false acceptance rate (FAR) for authentication.

14. A method for determining a threat level, comprising:

receiving, from a biometric sensor, data corresponding an attempt to verify an identity of a user;

determining, based on the data corresponding to the attempt, one or more authentication parameters associated with the attempt;

authenticating the user based on determining that a score associated with the attempt satisfies an authentication condition associated with a biometric template, wherein the authentication condition comprises a threshold value, and authenticating the user is based on determining that the score associated with the attempt satisfies the threshold value;

after authenticating the user, determining one or more device usage parameters within a time window of authenticating the user;

determining a threat level based on the one or more authentication parameters and the one or more device usage parameters;

causing an action to be performed by the device based on the threat level, wherein the action comprises raising or lowering the threshold value associated with the authentication condition to an updated threshold value based on the threat level;

receiving, from the biometric sensor, data corresponding a subsequent attempt to verify the identity of the user; and

authenticating the user based on determining that a score associated with the subsequent attempt satisfies the updated threshold value.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more authentication parameters include one or more match parameters associated with a correlation between the data corresponding to the attempt and the biometric template.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more match parameters include at least one of:

a measure of coverage between the data and the biometric template;

an indication of whether one or more minutiae points are included in the data corresponding the attempt;

a measure of alignment between the data and the biometric template;

an indication of which iris was used to authenticate the user;

an indication of which finger was used to authenticate the user; and

an indication of localization information for the data.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the indication of localization information comprises one or more of:

an indication of which enrollment view of the biometric template was used to authenticate the user;

an indication of a location within a particular enrollment view that is associated with the authentication attempt; and

an indication of whether a core of a finger is included in the data.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more authentication parameters include one or more sample parameters associated with the data corresponding to the attempt.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the one or more sample parameters include at least one of:

a measure of image quality of the data;

a measure of moistness corresponding to the data; and

an indication of whether a full or partial image of the biometric was captured.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more device usage parameters include at least one of:

a time of day associated with the attempt to verify the identity of the user;

a geographic location associated with the attempt to verify the identity of the user;

data corresponding to which one or more programs are opened on the device within a time window after authenticating the user;

data corresponding to one or more gestures made on the device within a time window after authenticating the user;

data corresponding to which parts of a screen were touched on the device within a time window after authenticating the user; and

data corresponding to ambient sounds detected by the device within a time window after authenticating the user.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, causes a computing device to determine a threat level, by performing steps comprising:

receiving, from a biometric sensor, data corresponding an attempt to verify an identity of a user;

determining, based on the data corresponding to the attempt, one or more authentication parameters associated with the attempt;

authenticating the user based on determining that a score associated with the attempt satisfies an authentication condition associated with a biometric template, wherein the authentication condition comprises a threshold value, and authenticating the user is based on determining that the score associated with the attempt satisfies the threshold value;

after authenticating the user, determining one or more device usage parameters within a time window of authenticating the user;

determining a threat level based on the one or more authentication parameters and the one or more device usage parameters;

causing an action to be performed by the device based on the threat level, wherein the action comprises raising or lowering the threshold value associated with the authentication condition to an updated threshold value based on the threat level;

receiving, from the biometric sensor, data corresponding a subsequent attempt to verify the identity of the user; and

authenticating the user based on determining that a score associated with the subsequent attempt satisfies the updated threshold value.