What is Facial Recognition – Definition and Explanation

Facial recognition is a way of identifying or confirming an individual's identity using their face. Facial recognition systems can be used to identify ... SkiptomainHomeHomeSecurityResourceCenterDefinitionsWhatisFacialRecognition–DefinitionandExplanation Whatisfacialrecognition? Facialrecognitionisawayofidentifyingorconfirminganindividual’sidentityusingtheirface.Facialrecognitionsystemscanbeusedtoidentifypeopleinphotos,videos,orinreal-time. Facialrecognitionisacategoryofbiometricsecurity.Otherformsofbiometricsoftwareincludevoicerecognition,fingerprintrecognition,andeyeretinaoririsrecognition.Thetechnologyismostlyusedforsecurityandlawenforcement,thoughthereisincreasinginterestinotherareasofuse. Howdoesfacialrecognitionwork? ManypeoplearefamiliarwithfacerecognitiontechnologythroughtheFaceIDusedtounlockiPhones(however,thisisonlyoneapplicationoffacerecognition).Typically,facialrecognitiondoesnotrelyonamassivedatabaseofphotostodetermineanindividual’sidentity—itsimplyidentifiesandrecognizesonepersonasthesoleownerofthedevice,whilelimitingaccesstoothers. Beyondunlockingphones,facialrecognitionworksbymatchingthefacesofpeoplewalkingpastspecialcameras,toimagesofpeopleonawatchlist.Thewatchlistscancontainpicturesofanyone,includingpeoplewhoarenotsuspectedofanywrongdoing,andtheimagescancomefromanywhere—evenfromoursocialmediaaccounts.Facialtechnologysystemscanvary,butingeneral,theytendtooperateasfollows: Step1:Facedetection Thecameradetectsandlocatestheimageofaface,eitheraloneorinacrowd.Theimagemayshowthepersonlookingstraightaheadorinprofile. Step2:Faceanalysis Next,animageofthefaceiscapturedandanalyzed.Mostfacialrecognitiontechnologyrelieson2Dratherthan3Dimagesbecauseitcanmoreconvenientlymatcha2Dimagewithpublicphotosorthoseinadatabase.Thesoftwarereadsthegeometryofyourface.Keyfactorsincludethedistancebetweenyoureyes,thedepthofyoureyesockets,thedistancefromforeheadtochin,theshapeofyourcheekbones,andthecontourofthelips,ears,andchin.Theaimistoidentifythefaciallandmarksthatarekeytodistinguishingyourface. Step3:Convertingtheimagetodata The facecapture processtransformsanaloginformation(aface)intoasetofdigitalinformation(data)basedontheperson'sfacialfeatures.Yourface'sanalysisisessentiallyturnedintoamathematicalformula.Thenumericalcodeiscalledafaceprint.Inthesamewaythatthumbprintsareunique,eachpersonhastheirownfaceprint. Step4:Findingamatch Yourfaceprintisthencomparedagainstadatabaseofotherknownfaces.Forexample,theFBIhasaccesstoupto650millionphotos,drawnfromvariousstatedatabases.OnFacebook,anyphototaggedwithaperson’snamebecomesapartofFacebook'sdatabase,whichmayalsobeusedforfacialrecognition.Ifyourfaceprintmatchesanimageinafacialrecognitiondatabase,thenadeterminationismade. Ofallthebiometricmeasurements,facialrecognitionisconsideredthemostnatural.Intuitively,thismakessense,sincewetypicallyrecognizeourselvesandothersbylookingatfaces,ratherthanthumbprintsandirises.Itisestimatedthatoverhalfoftheworld'spopulationistouchedbyfacialrecognitiontechnologyregularly. Howfacialrecognitionisused Thetechnologyisusedforavarietyofpurposes.Theseinclude: Unlockingphones Variousphones,includingthemostrecentiPhones,usefacerecognitiontounlockthedevice.Thetechnologyoffersapowerfulwaytoprotectpersonaldataandensuresthatsensitivedataremainsinaccessibleifthephoneisstolen.Appleclaimsthatthechanceofarandomfaceunlockingyourphoneisaboutonein1million. Lawenforcement Facialrecognitionisregularlybeingusedbylawenforcement.AccordingtothisNBCreport,thetechnologyisincreasingamongstlawenforcementagencieswithintheUS,andthesameistrueinothercountries.Policecollectsmugshotsfromarresteesandcomparethemagainstlocal,state,andfederalfacerecognitiondatabases.Onceanarrestee’sphotohasbeentaken,theirpicturewillbeaddedtodatabasestobescannedwheneverpolicecarryoutanothercriminalsearch. Also,mobilefacerecognitionallowsofficerstousesmartphones,tablets,orotherportabledevicestotakeaphotoofadriverorapedestrianinthefieldandimmediatelycomparethatphotoagainsttooneormorefacerecognitiondatabasestoattemptanidentification. Airportsandbordercontrol Facialrecognitionhasbecomeafamiliarsightatmanyairportsaroundtheworld.Increasingnumbersoftravellersholdbiometricpassports,whichallowthemtoskiptheordinarilylonglinesandinsteadwalkthroughanautomatedePassportcontroltoreachthegatefaster.Facialrecognitionnotonlyreduceswaitingtimesbutalsoallowsairportstoimprovesecurity.TheUSDepartmentofHomelandSecuritypredictsthatfacialrecognitionwillbeusedon97%oftravellersby2023.Aswellasatairportsandbordercrossings,thetechnologyisusedtoenhancesecurityatlarge-scaleeventssuchastheOlympics. Findingmissingpersons Facialrecognitioncanbeusedtofindmissingpersonsandvictimsofhumantrafficking.Supposemissingindividualsareaddedtoadatabase.Inthatcase,lawenforcementcanbealertedassoonastheyarerecognizedbyfacerecognition—whetheritisinanairport,retailstore,orotherpublicspace. Reducingretailcrime Facialrecognitionisusedtoidentifywhenknownshoplifters,organizedretailcriminals,orpeoplewithahistoryoffraudenterstores.Photographsofindividualscanbematchedagainstlargedatabasesofcriminalssothatlosspreventionandretailsecurityprofessionalscanbenotifiedwhenshopperswhopotentiallyrepresentathreatenterthestore. Improvingretailexperiences Thetechnologyoffersthepotentialtoimproveretailexperiencesforcustomers.Forexample,kiosksinstorescouldrecognizecustomers,makeproductsuggestionsbasedontheirpurchasehistory,andpointthemintherightdirection.“Facepay”technologycouldallowshopperstoskiplongcheckoutlineswithslowerpaymentmethods. Banking Biometriconlinebankingisanotherbenefitoffacerecognition.Insteadofusingone-timepasswords,customerscanauthorizetransactionsbylookingattheirsmartphoneorcomputer.Withfacialrecognition,therearenopasswordsforhackerstocompromise.Ifhackersstealyourphotodatabase,'liveless'detection–atechniqueusedtodeterminewhetherthesourceofabiometricsampleisalivehumanbeingorafakerepresentation–should(intheory)preventthemfromusingitforimpersonationpurposes.Facerecognitioncouldmakedebitcardsandsignaturesathingofthepast. Marketingandadvertising Marketershaveusedfacialrecognitiontoenhanceconsumerexperiences.Forexample,frozenpizzabrandDiGiornousedfacialrecognitionfora2017marketingcampaignwhereitanalyzedtheexpressionsofpeopleatDiGiorno-themedpartiestogaugepeople’semotionalreactionstopizza.Mediacompaniesalsousefacialrecognitiontotestaudiencereactiontomovietrailers,charactersinTVpilots,andoptimalplacementofTVpromotions.Billboardsthatincorporatefacerecognitiontechnology–suchasLondon’sPiccadillyCircus–meansbrandscantriggertailoredadvertisements.  Healthcare Hospitalsusefacialrecognitiontohelpwithpatientcare.Healthcareprovidersaretestingtheuseoffacialrecognitionto accesspatientrecords,streamlinepatientregistration,detect emotion andpaininpatients,andevenhelptoidentifyspecificgeneticdiseases. AiCure hasdevelopedanappthatusesfacialrecognitiontoensurethatpeopletaketheirmedicationasprescribed.Asbiometrictechnologybecomeslessexpensive,adoptionwithinthehealthcaresectorisexpectedtoincrease. Trackingstudentorworkerattendance SomeeducationalinstitutionsinChinausefacerecognitiontoensurestudentsarenotskippingclass.Tabletsareusedtoscanstudents'facesandmatchthemtophotosinadatabasetovalidatetheiridentities.Morebroadly,thetechnologycanbeusedforworkerstosigninandoutoftheirworkplaces,sothatemployerscantrackattendance. Recognizingdrivers Accordingtothisconsumerreport,carcompaniesareexperimentingwithfacialrecognitiontoreplacecarkeys.Thetechnologywouldreplacethekeytoaccessandstartthecarandrememberdrivers’preferencesforseatandmirrorpositionsandradiostationpresets. Monitoringgamblingaddictions Facialrecognitioncanhelpgamblingcompaniesprotecttheircustomerstoahigherdegree.Monitoringthoseenteringandmovingaroundgamblingareasisdifficultforhumanstaff,especiallyinlargecrowdedspacessuchascasinos.Facialrecognitiontechnologyenablescompaniestoidentifythosewhoareregisteredasgamblingaddictsandkeepsarecordoftheirplaysostaffcanadvisewhenitistimetostop.Casinoscanfaceheftyfinesifgamblersonvoluntaryexclusionlistsarecaughtgambling. Examplesoffacialrecognitiontechnology Amazonpreviouslypromoteditscloud-basedfacerecognitionservicenamed Rekognition tolawenforcementagencies.However,inaJune2020blogpost,thecompanyannounceditwasplanningaone-yearmoratoriumontheuseofitstechnologybypolice.TherationaleforthiswastoallowtimeforUSfederallawstobeinitiated,toprotecthumanrightsandcivilliberties. Appleusesfacialrecognitiontohelpusersquicklyunlocktheirphones,logintoapps,andmakepurchases. BritishAirwaysenablesfacialrecognitionforpassengersboardingflightsfromtheUS.Travellers'facescanbescannedbyacameratohavetheiridentityverifiedtoboardtheirplanewithoutshowingtheirpassportorboardingpass.TheairlinehasbeenusingthetechnologyonUKdomesticflightsfromHeathrowandisworkingtowardsbiometricboardingoninternationalflightsfromtheairport. Cigna,aUS-basedhealthcareinsurer, allowscustomersinChinatofilehealthinsuranceclaimswhicharesignedusingaphoto,ratherthanawrittensignature,inabidtocutdownoninstancesoffraud. Coca-Colahasusedfacialrecognitioninseveralwaysacrosstheworld.ExamplesincluderewardingcustomersforrecyclingatsomeofitsvendingmachinesinChina,deliveringpersonalizedadsonitsvendingmachinesinAustralia,andforeventmarketinginIsrael. FacebookbeganusingfacialrecognitionintheUSin2010whenitautomaticallytaggedpeopleinphotosusingitstagsuggestionstool.Thetoolscansauser'sfaceandofferssuggestionsaboutwhothatpersonis.Since2019,Facebookhasmadethefeatureopt-inaspartofadrivetobecomemoreprivacyfocused.Facebookprovidesinformationonhowyoucanopt-inoroutoffacerecognitionhere. Googleincorporatesthetechnologyinto GooglePhotos andusesittosortpicturesandautomaticallytagthembasedonthepeoplerecognized. MACmake-up,usesfacialrecognitiontechnologyinsomeofitsbrick-and-mortarstores,allowingcustomerstovirtually"tryon"make-upusingin-storeaugmentedrealitymirrors. McDonald’shasusedfacialrecognitioninits Japaneserestaurants toassessthequalityofcustomerserviceprovidedthere,includinganalyzingwhetheritsemployeesaresmilingwhileassistingcustomers. Snapchatisoneofthepioneersoffacialrecognitionsoftware:itallowsbrandsandorganizationstocreatefilterswhichmouldtotheuser’sface—hencetheubiquitouspuppydogfacesandflowercrownfiltersseenonsocialmedia. Technologycompaniesthatprovidefacialrecognitiontechnologyinclude: Kairos Noldus Affectiva Sightcorp Nviso Advantagesoffacerecognition Asidefromunlockingyoursmartphone,facialrecognitionbringsotherbenefits: Increasedsecurity Onagovernmentallevel,facialrecognitioncanhelptoidentifyterroristsorothercriminals.Onapersonallevel,facialrecognitioncanbeusedasasecuritytoolforlockingpersonaldevicesandforpersonalsurveillancecameras. Reducedcrime Facerecognitionmakesiteasiertotrackdownburglars,thieves,andtrespassers.Thesoleknowledgeofthepresenceofafacerecognitionsystemcanserveasadeterrence,especiallytopettycrime.Asidefromphysicalsecurity,therearebenefitstocybersecurityaswell.Companiescanusefacerecognitiontechnologyasasubstituteforpasswordstoaccesscomputers.Intheory,thetechnologycannotbehackedasthereisnothingtostealorchange,asisthecasewithapassword. Removingbiasfromstopandsearch Publicconcernoverunjustifiedstopsandsearchesisasourceofcontroversyforthepolice—facialrecognitiontechnologycouldimprovetheprocess.Bysinglingoutsuspectsamongcrowdsthroughanautomatedratherthanhumanprocess,facerecognitiontechnologycouldhelpreducepotentialbiasanddecreasestopsandsearchesonlaw-abidingcitizens. Greaterconvenience Asthetechnologybecomesmorewidespread,customerswillbeabletopayinstoresusingtheirface,ratherthanpullingouttheircreditcardsorcash.Thiscouldsavetimeincheckoutlines.Sincethereisnocontactrequiredforfacialrecognitionasthereiswithfingerprintingorothersecuritymeasures–usefulinthepost-COVIDworld–facialrecognitionoffersaquick,automatic,andseamlessverificationexperience. Fasterprocessing Theprocessofrecognizingafacetakesonlyasecond,whichhasbenefitsforthecompaniesthatusefacialrecognition.Inaneraofcyber-attacksandadvancedhackingtools,companiesneedbothsecureandfasttechnologies.Facialrecognitionenablesquickandefficientverificationofaperson’sidentity. Integrationwithothertechnologies Mostfacialrecognitionsolutionsarecompatiblewithmostsecuritysoftware.Infact,itiseasilyintegrated.Thislimitstheamountofadditionalinvestmentrequiredtoimplementit. Disadvantagesoffacerecognition Whilesomepeopledonotmindbeingfilmedinpublicanddonotobjecttotheuseoffacialrecognitionwherethereisaclearbenefitorrationale,thetechnologycaninspireintensereactionsfromothers.Someofthedisadvantagesorconcernsinclude: Surveillance Someworrythattheuseoffacialrecognitionalongwithubiquitousvideocameras,artificialintelligence,anddataanalyticscreatesthepotentialformasssurveillance,whichcouldrestrictindividualfreedom.Whilefacialrecognitiontechnologyallowsgovernmentstotrackdowncriminals,itcouldalsoallowthemtotrackdownordinaryandinnocentpeopleatanytime. Scopeforerror Facialrecognitiondataisnotfreefromerror,whichcouldleadtopeoplebeingimplicatedforcrimestheyhavenotcommitted.Forexample,aslightchangeincameraangleorachangeinappearance,suchasanewhairstyle,couldleadtoerror.In2018,NewsweekreportedthatAmazon’sfacialrecognitiontechnologyhadfalselyidentified28membersoftheUSCongressaspeoplearrestedforcrimes. Breachofprivacy Thequestionofethicsandprivacyisthemostcontentiousone.Governmentshavebeenknowntostoreseveralcitizens'pictureswithouttheirconsent.In2020,theEuropeanCommissionsaiditwasconsideringabanonfacialrecognitiontechnologyinpublicspacesforuptofiveyears,toallowtimetoworkoutaregulatoryframeworktopreventprivacyandethicalabuses. Massivedatastorage Facialrecognitionsoftwarereliesonmachinelearningtechnology,whichrequiresmassivedatasetsto“learn”todeliveraccurateresults.Suchlargedatasetsrequirerobustdatastorage.Smallandmedium-sizedcompaniesmaynothavesufficientresourcestostoretherequireddata. Facialrecognitionsecurity-howtoprotectyourself Whilebiometricdataisgenerallyconsideredoneofthemostreliableauthenticationmethods,italsocarriessignificantrisk.That’sbecauseifsomeone’screditcarddetailsarehacked,thatpersonhastheoptiontofreezetheircreditandtakestepstochangethepersonalinformationthatwasbreached.Whatdoyoudoifyouloseyourdigital‘face’? Aroundtheworld,biometricinformationisbeingcaptured,stored,andanalyzedinincreasingquantities,oftenbyorganizationsandgovernments,withamixedrecordoncybersecurity.Aquestionincreasinglybeingaskedis,howsafeistheinfrastructurethatholdsandprocessesallthisdata? Asfacialrecognitionsoftwareisstillinitsrelativeinfancy,thelawsgoverningthisareaareevolving(andsometimesnon-existent).Regularcitizenswhoseinformationiscompromisedhaverelativelyfewlegalavenuestopursue.Cybercriminalsofteneludetheauthoritiesoraresentencedyearsafterthefact,whiletheirvictimsreceivenocompensationandarelefttofendforthemselves. Astheuseoffacialrecognitionbecomesmorewidespread,thescopeforhackerstostealyourfacialdatatocommitfraud—increases. Acomprehensivecybersecuritypackageisanessentialpartofprotectingyouronlineprivacyandsecurity.WerecommendKasperskySecurityCloudwhichprovidesprotectionforallyourdevicesandincludesantivirus,anti-ransomware,mobilesecurity,passwordmanagement,VPN,andparentalcontrols. Biometrictechnologyoffersverycompellingsecuritysolutions.Despitetherisks,thesystemsareconvenientandhardtoduplicate.Thesesystemswillcontinuetodevelopinthefuture—thechallengewillbetomaximizetheirbenefitswhileminimizingtheirrisks. Relatedarticles: Howtoprotectyourprivacyagainsthackers InternetofThings:WhatisIoT Whatiscloudsecurity? Strongpasswords:Howtocreateandbenefits FakeVideos&DeepFake-Howcanusersprotectthemselves? 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