Smart hardware security engine using biometric features and hardware-specific features

A circuit, comprising:

• hardware-specific feature circuitry capable of producing a hardware-specific feature vector;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• receive a biometric signal;
• generate biometric variability data based on the biometric signal;
• extract a first biometric feature vector from the biometric signal, the first biometric feature vector identifying a user;
• concatenating the first biometric feature vector with the biometric variability data to generate a second biometric feature vector;
• and
• generate a secret key based on the second biometric feature vector and the hardware-specific feature vector from the hardware-specific feature circuitry.

A device, comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• a processor coupled to the memory and configured to:
• receive biometric data;
• generate biometric variability data;
• extract a first biometric feature vector unique to a user from the biometric data;
• generate a hardware-specific feature vector;
• concatenate the first biometric feature vector with the biometric variability data to generate a second biometric feature vector;
• and
• authenticate the user based on the second biometric feature vector and the hardware-specific feature vector.