System and Method for Securing Personal Information Via Biometric Public Key

A computer-implemented method of using biometric data to authenticate a subject as an individual whose biometric data has been previously obtained using a first transducer, without the need for non-transient storage of the biometric data, the method comprising:

• receiving by a computing facility, from a second transducer coupled to the computing facility, a digital electronic signal that characterizes a biometric of the subject;
• extracting by the computing facility, from the digital electronic signal, a set of biometric values of the subject;
• extracting, by the computing facility, a confident subset of the set of biometric values of the subject, the confident subset being a reliable discriminant of the identity of the subject based on the biometric;
• receiving by the computing facility, from a storage facility, a biometric public key that was computed based on a secret number and the biometric data of the individual that has been previously obtained using the first transducer, wherein the biometric public key verifiably characterizes both the biometric data of the individual and the secret number without the need for non-transient storage of either the biometric data of the individual or the secret number;
• and
• calculating, by the computing facility, a candidate value for the secret number using the biometric public key and the confident subset.