Detecting Altered Fingerprints

Abstract--The widespread deployment of Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) in law enforcement and border control applications has heightened the need for ensuring that the security afforded by these systems is not compromised. While several issues related to fingerprint system security have been investigated in the past, including the use of fake fingerprints for masquerading identity, the problem of fingerprint alteration or obfuscation has received no attention in the biometric literature. Fingerprint obfuscation refers to the deliberate alteration of the fingerprint pattern by an individual for the purpose of masking his or her identity. Several cases of fingerprint obfuscation have been described in the media. Existing image quality assessment software cannot detect such altered fingerprints since the implicit image quality during alteration may not change significantly. The goal of this paper is to understand the problem of altered fingerprints and to design soluti...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2010
• Where: ICPR
• Authors: Jianjiang Feng, Anil Jain, Arun Ross
• Keywords: Altered Fingerprints, Computer Vision, Fingerprint, Fingerprint Obfuscation, ICPR 2010