US National Body Contribution for the Establishment of a New JTC 1 Subcommittee for Biometrics
and US Offer to Serve as Secretariat for the New SC

Background

Biometric technologies include those that automatically identify or verify the identity of a person through measurable physical or behavioral characteristics, such as fingerprint, facial recognition, or iris recognition. By comparing a person's presented biometric features to previously registered biometric data, the person's identity can be verified with a high degree of confidence. Applications for this technology include computer network access control, physical access control, credit card holder verification at the point of sale, and screening at border crossings, airports, etc.

The importance of biometric technologies has dramatically increased because of the horrific events of September 11, 2001. Homeland defense is now the highest of priorities for many countries. Many countries are considering or have already approved new legislation which calls for the investigation and use of biometric technologies as soon as possible for homeland defense applications. In the United States, two such laws have already been approved:

  1. Public Law 107-56, Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001, October 26, 2001.
  2. Public Law 107-71, Aviation and Transportation Security Act, November 19, 2001.

Rationale for Proposal

The effective use of biometric technologies in high priority homeland defense applications will take international cooperation. Ensuring international cooperation is best promoted through the rapid approval of consensus formal international standards.

The United States National Body to ISO/IEC JTC 1 proposes the formation of a new ISO/IEC JTC 1 Subcommittee to ensure a very visible, high priority, focused, coordinated, and comprehensive approach for the rapid development and approval of formal international generic biometric standards. This new SC would help ISO/IEC JTC 1 to accelerate this work and permit faster global deployment of significantly better security solutions.

Critical generic biometric standards include common file formats and application program interfaces, as well as related application/implementation profiles. Such standards are necessary to enable interoperability and data interchange between applications and systems. Approved international biometric standards are urgently required as soon as possible in order to accelerate the deployment of significantly better, standards-based security solutions for new high priority homeland defense requirements, as well as the prevention of identity theft and other government and commercial applications based on biometric personal authentication.

The United States National Body to ISO/IEC JTC 1 recognizes that all biometrics standards work can not and should not be placed into any one ISO TC, SC, or WG. There are, however, key generic biometric standardization activities that would benefit greatly from placement in a new ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC. Such an SC would be charged to effectively coordinate with other JTC 1 SCs and other ISO TCs and to support the use of fast track processes wherever feasible.

Status of Generic Biometric Standardization within the United States

There are presently two generic biometric specifications that are undergoing rapid development/final approval in the United States:

  1. The BioAPI Consortium (www.bioapi.org) submitted their BioAPI Specification, Version 1.1 to the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) (http://www.ncits.org) for fast track processing. INCITS 358, BioAPI Specification, Version 1.1, is now undergoing final approval in the United States.

  2. The NIST/BC Biometric WG (www.nist.gov/bcwg) is developing an augmented version of the Common Biometric Exchange File Format (CBEFF) NISTIR 6529 (www.nist.gov/cbeff). This is expected to be downward compatible with the present version of CBEFF. It is anticipated that the augmented version of the CBEFF will be submitted for INCITS fast track processing after revision and approval by the NIST/BC Biometric WG.

When these specifications are approved as ANSI INCITS standards, the United States is planning on submitting these standards for fast track processing as formal International Standards within ISO/IEC JTC 1 on Information Technology. The United States recommendation for placement of these standards would be in a new ISO/IEC JTC 1 Subcommittee for Biometrics Standardization.

Status of Biometric Standardization within ISO/IEC JTC 1 and Other ISO TCs

ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17 - ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17 has standards projects underway to incorporate biometric data onto media, such as: high coercivity magnetic stripe cards, smart cards, machine-readable passports and visas, driver licenses/identification cards. A prospective new SC 17 WG (WG 11) is just now being started by SC 17 to undertake generic biometric standardization. A new JTC 1 SC for generic biometric standardization would obviate the need for this WG.

ISO TC 68 - The United States National Body to ISO TC 68 recently submitted X9.84 to ISO TC 68 for fast track processing as ISO/DIS 21352, Biometric information management and security. This fast track has now failed, due largely to insistence by the chairman of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17 that all such biometrics standards work belongs in SC 17.

ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 - The importance of biometrics standards to the IT security standards work within ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 can be expected to grow.

Specific Proposal to Form a New ISO/IEC JTC 1 Subcommittee for Biometrics Standardization

Title: Biometrics

Scope: Development of generic biometric standards which include common file formats and application program interfaces, as well as related application/implementation profiles, to support interoperability and data interchange between applications and systems.

Initial Liaisons: Active and effective liaison activities will be needed to provide for interoperability between applications and systems. Initial liaisons would include:

  1. ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 17
  2. ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 27
  3. ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 29/WG 1
  4. ISO TC 68

Secretariat: The US offers to serve as the Secretariat.

Initial Program of Work:

  1. Application Program Interfaces (APIs) (e.g., INCITS 358, BioAPI Specification, Version 1.1)
  2. File formats (e.g., augmented version of the CBEFF)
  3. Profile development based upon 1 and 2 above
  4. Biometric template standardization