Signature and Keystroke Dynamics

Signatures are used everyday for credit card and checking account transactions. However, the signatures are usually not verified for authenticity. For instance, at gas stations, people can buy gasoline without signing a paper due to the new pay-at-the-pump system.

Keystroke dynamics is rather new and developing.

The Use of the Signature and Keystroke Dynamics in Biometrics:

Signature and keystroke dynamics are considered behavioral. A user's mood, illness and other enviromental factors can change them. Because of this, signatures and keystroke dynamics are used mainly for verification, rather than recognition.

Signature Verification

Signature verification measures for not only what the signatures looks like, but also how it was signed. It analyzes characteristics such as shape of signature, speed of signing, pen pressure when signing, and pen-in-air movements. This is known as dynamic signature verification (DSV). The system is aware that signatures can not be perfect matches. Therfore, some systems will reject perfect matches.

Signature verification is also used to certify documents. When a person signs a document using a program such as PenOp Signature, a Biometric Token is attached. The Biometric Token contains information such as when the document was signed and the contents of the document. Anybody changes a previously signed document and do not sign again. Next, somebody checks to see if it changed since the signature. The Biometric Token will notice the change and alert the person who is checking the document.

Some people are also considering using signature verification to make e-commerce more secure and less likely to be hit by fraud.

CyberSign and PenOp sell signature verification programs.

Keystroke Dynamics

Developed by Net Nanny, the company that also makes the popular Internet filtering software. Every time a person types, he/she has a typing pattern. The key parameters are "flight time", the amount of time that a user uses to reach for a certain key and "dwell time", the amount of time a user spends pressing one key. The user types a specific password many times so an algorithim can develop the user's "electronic signature." The user still has to remember the ID and password. However, if anybody else discovers both of them and tries to use them, the keystroke dynamics will stop him/her.

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