System, method and program product for communicating a privacy policy associated with a biometric reference template

#The present invention relates to computer systems and software, and more specifically to a technique for communicating a privacy policy associated with data and/or information stored on a biometric reference template corresponding to an individual.

#Biometric reference templates can be uniquely identified and associated with the identity of a person or individual. The biometric data component of a template is a constant that identifies an individual. Exposure of a reference template over time, when aggregated with other information, provides a footprint of activities that the individual participated in (such as, making a purchase in a store, clocking in and out of work, paying a highway toll) and the locations of that individual at various points in time (such as, when they were at a particular banking machine, toll booth, or store's check-out register). As such, there is a need for indicating a level of protection to be afforded the information contained in a biometric reference template corresponding to a person or individual, to effectively specify the intended and proper use and handling of the information contained in the biometric reference template without compromising the privacy of the individual.

#The present invention resides in a system, method and program product for communicating a privacy policy associated with a biometric reference template belonging to an individual or user, and any information content contained in the biometric reference template, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In a first aspect, the invention provides a method for communicating a privacy policy associated with a biometric reference template. The method includes assigning in a first attribute a first identifier for uniquely identifying a biometric reference template created for a type of biometric data collected, defining in a second attribute a second identifier for uniquely identifying a privacy policy that indicates a level of protection to be provided by a relying party requesting access to the biometric reference template, the second identifier includes an accept-reject provision for the privacy policy for controlling the proper use and handling of the biometric data, cryptographically binding the biometric reference template to the privacy policy and transmitting, responsive to a request received from the relying party, the second identifier along with an accept-reject provision for the privacy policy associated with the biometric reference template for controlling the proper use and handling of the biometric data, wherein based on a response received from the relying party to the accept-reject provision for the privacy policy, the biometric reference template is either transmitted or not transmitted to the relying party. The method further includes collecting the biometric data and creating the biometric reference template from the biometric data collected. In an embodiment, the cryptographically binding step further includes forming an association between the second identifier identifying the privacy policy and the first identifier identifying the biometric reference template, each of the first identifier and the second identifier being coupled to the biometric reference template and wherein the association includes at least one of: an external and distinct association between the second identifier identifying the privacy policy and the first identifier identifying the biometric reference template, an appended association between the second identifier identifying the privacy policy and the first identifier identifying the biometric reference template and an inclusive association between the second identifier identifying the privacy policy and the first identifier identifying the biometric reference template. In an embodiment, the transmitting step further includes first ascertaining whether the relying party has accepted the accept-reject provision for the privacy policy referenced by the second identifier before transmitting to the relying party the biometric reference template. In an embodiment, the transmitting step further includes not transmitting the biometric reference template, responsive to a determination that the relying party has not accepted the accept-reject provision for the privacy policy referenced by the second identifier. In an embodiment, each of the first identifier and the second identifier includes at least one of: an information object identifier (OID), a universally unique identifier (UUID), a uniform resource identifier (URI), a cryptographic hash of the privacy policy and a digital signature associated with the privacy policy. In an embodiment, the second identifier is cryptographically bound to the biometric reference template includes at least one of: a hash, a digital signature, a message authentication code (MAC) and encryption.

#The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention:

#FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of a biometric computer infrastructure for creating a biometric reference template for an individual or user using a biometric sample collected from the individual, and associating with the biometric reference template created, a privacy policy attribute that identifies a privacy policy that specifies the intended and proper handling and use of the information contained in the biometric reference template, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

#FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of a biometric reference template that is associated with a privacy policy attribute that identifies a privacy policy that specifies the intended and proper handling and use of the information contained in the biometric reference template, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

#Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

#Moreover, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention.

#In one embodiment, the invention provides a biometric infrastructure 100 that includes a computer system 102 for creating a biometric reference template, and associating with the biometric reference template, a privacy policy attribute that identifies a privacy policy that specifies the intended and proper handling and use of the information contained in the biometric reference template, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the computer system or server 102 is shown to include a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 106, a memory 112, a bus 110, and input/output (I/O) interfaces 108. Further, the server 102 is shown in communication with external I/O devices/resources 126 and storage system 120. In general, CPU 106 executes computer program code stored in memory 112, such as the biometric application 114 for processing biometric data contained in a biometric sample 132. In an embodiment, the biometric application 114 deployed on the computer system 102 is loaded into memory 112 of the computer system 102 from a computer readable storage medium or media (reference numeral 125), such as, a magnetic tape or disk, optical media, DVD, memory stick, semiconductor memory, etc. or downloaded from the server via a network adapter card (reference numerals 104) installed on the computer system or server 102. Further, the memory 112 stores an attribute tool 116 for creating or defining one or more attributes to be included in the biometric reference template (also referred to herein as simply “biometric reference template” or “reference template” or “base template” or “base reference template”) that is created using an individual's biometric sample, and memory 112 stores an authentication tool 118 for signing biometric reference templates and/or attributes associated with the biometric reference templates. In an embodiment, the biometric reference template 140 that is created using a biometric sample 132 collected from an individual is stored in the database 120 (shown as reference numeral 128) within computer system or server 102. In an embodiment, one or more identifier(s) 122, for instance, biometric reference template identifiers that uniquely identify respective biometric reference templates 128 are stored in storage 120. Further, in an embodiment, any privacy policies to be associated with one or more biometric reference templates are stored as reference numeral 124 in database 120. Additionally, any biometric data 139 and/or information processed by the biometric sensor or reader device 134 are transmitted over a network 130 to the computer system or server 102 for storage as biometric data 127 in storage 120. In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, a user or individual provides a biometric sample 132 using a biometric sensor or a biometric reader or scanning device 134 coupled to the computer system 102. In an embodiment, the biometric sensor or reader or scanner 134 converts the scanned user biometric sample 132 to a digital form using an instance 136 of the biometric application 114. In an embodiment, an instance 136 of the biometric application 114 deployed on the computer system 102 is loaded into the sensor or reader device 134 within the biometric infrastructure 100 from a computer readable storage medium or media (reference numeral 150), such as, a magnetic tape or disk, optical media, DVD, memory stick, semiconductor memory, etc. or downloaded from the server via a network adapter card (reference numerals 104) installed on the computer system or server 102. Similarly, an instance 137 of the attribute tool 116 and an instance 138 of the authentication tool 118 is loaded into the sensor or reader device 134 within the biometric infrastructure 100 from a computer readable storage medium or media (reference numeral 150), such as, a magnetic tape or disk, optical media, DVD, memory stick, semiconductor memory, etc. or downloaded from the server via a network adapter card (reference numerals 104) installed on the computer system or server 102. In particular, the instance 136 of the biometric application 114 loaded into the biometric sensor or reader device 134 is used to process the biometric sample 132 collected from a person or an individual or user into biometric data 139, which, in an embodiment, is stored within the biometric sensor or reader device 134. Further, the biometric data 139 processed by the sensor or reader device 134 is used to create a biometric reference template 140. In an embodiment, the sensor or reader device 134 uses the attribute tool or program 137 for creating one or more attributes to be associated with or attached to the biometric reference template 140. Further, the sensor or reader device 134 uses the authentication tool or program 138 for signing the biometric reference template 140 that is created. In an embodiment, the signature 149 associated with the biometric reference template 140 is stored in database 120 as reference numeral 129. Further, the authentication tool 138 is used to sign any attributes that are associated with and/or included in a biometric reference template 140. In an embodiment, the base biometric reference template 140 created is assigned a unique biometric reference template identifier 142 (also referred to herein simply as “template identifier”) for uniquely identifying the biometric reference template 140 created using a person's biometric data 139 that is processed from the person's biometric sample 132. In an embodiment, the unique base template identifier 142 is created in the form of an information object identifier (OID) as defined in ISO/IEC 8824-1 and ISO/IEC 9834-8, a universally unique identifier (UUID) as defined in ISO/IEC 9834-8, or a uniform resource identifier (URI) as defined in RFC 2396. Further, in an embodiment, the biometric data 139 that is processed using a biometric sample 132 provided by an individual is associated with the base biometric reference template 140 and is included in the biometric reference template 140 itself, shown as base biometric data 146. In an embodiment, the biometric data 146 stored within the biometric reference template 140 is encrypted or protected in some manner, such as signing the entire biometric reference template 140, as discussed further herein below. The digital signature (reference numeral 149) for the biometric reference template 140 is shown in dotted lines to imply that the signature 149 is detached from the biometric reference template 140. However, it will be understood by one skilled in the art that the signature 149 may be appended to the biometric reference template 140. In an embodiment, the biometric reference template 140 includes a component “biometric type indicator” (reference numeral 144) that provides an indication of the type of biometric data used to create the biometric reference template, for example, a fingerprint, iris or retinal scan, etc. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a privacy policy attribute 148, created using the attribute tool 137 is associated with the biometric reference template 140. In an embodiment, the privacy policy attribute 148 includes a unique privacy policy identifier (reference numeral 147) that identifies a privacy policy that is associated with the biometric reference template 140, such that, the privacy policy informs a recipient of the intended and proper handling and use of the information contained in the biometric reference template 140. In an embodiment, the base biometric reference template 140 that is created using a biometric sample 132 provided by a user is stored in database 120 within the computer system 102 along with other base biometric reference templates 128 created for other users or individuals within the computer system. In an embodiment, the biometric data of each of the base biometric reference templates 128 stored within database 120 within the computer system 102 is encrypted to protect the identities of the individuals that the biometric reference templates 128 belong to. Further, in an embodiment, each of the base biometric reference templates 128 is signed with a digital signature 129 before being stored in the database 120, as discussed further herein below. It should be understood, however, that although not shown, other hardware and software components (e.g., additional computer systems, routers, firewalls, etc.) could be included in infrastructure 100.