Patent Publication Number: US-2005144444-A1

Title: Data card and authentication process therefor

Description:
BACKGROUND  
      The present invention was conceived in the context of aircraft pilot identification, but it can be used in any situation that requires positive verification of the identity of an individual carrying an identification card.  
      As is well known, most identification methods that require verification can be defeated quite easily. All that is required is that a person hack into a database containing the information used for verification and insert his or her own photograph, signature, or whatever is used for verification. At an even more basic level, there are web sites that allow the user to create a counterfeit driver&#39;s license for just about any state by inserting the user&#39;s photograph, signature, and vital statistics into a form on the web site and then printing out and laminating the resulting “license”.  
      A successful verification system should be fast and easy to use, otherwise it would constitute a bottleneck in processing large numbers of people. Ideally, the process would be set up to be started by swiping a card having a magnetic strip, barcode, optical storage area, or any combination thereof on it through a card reader such as is done today with credit cards. The process should also have more than one component of authentication, since the probability of someone hacking into more than one database increases geometrically rather than arithmetically with the increase in number of databases that need to be penetrated. The process of enrolling people in the system should also be convenient and fast in order to encourage its use. Ideally, it would also use existing equipment as much as possible in order to reduce the cost as much as possible.  
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an identification system that provides a level of security that is greater than that in present systems.  
      It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system that allows quick and easy enrollment of persons in it.  
      It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system that is quick and easy to use.  
      It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system that uses existing computer-related equipment to a large extent.  
      It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system having a verification method comprising two or more components that are stored in physically separate locations for additional security. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  shows the overall, layout of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  shows an identification card according to the present invention. 
    
    
     SUMMARY  
      Briefly, the present invention comprises a system for creating an identification card incorporating a secure means of verifying both the card and the person presenting the card. When a person is to be enrolled in the system he or she provides unique information such as a photograph of anything desired which is to be incorporated on the card, and his or her signature, which is also unique to that person and incorporated on the card. The photograph and signature are digitally scanned and the grayscale or color plane values of certain pixels, chosen by means of a characteristic value function algorithm, are recorded on a magnetic strip, barcode, optical storage area, of a combination of these data storage media on the card along with the cardholder&#39;s name and any other desired information. The digital photograph and digital signature are recorded in a remotely located secure database. When the card is presented for authentication the holder&#39;s name is sent to the remote database, along with the pixel values that were recorded on the card. The pixel values and identifying information are then sent, together with the stored digital photograph and digital signature, to a remote, network-inaccessible processor. The characteristic value function algorithm that was used to determine the pixel values that are stored on the card is stored at this location; the digital processor uses it to determine the pixel values from the digital photograph and signature. The processor then compares the pixel values it received with the pixel values it determined from the digital photograph and signature. If they are not identical, a message is sent back to the point of authentication request indicating that the card is not authentic. If they are identical, a message is sent back confirming the authenticity of the card and holder; the stored digital photograph and signature are also sent back and displayed, to allow further visual authentication.  
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      As shown in  FIG. 1  the present invention comprises a system for creating and authenticating a secure identification card. The system comprises card  10  having a magnetic strip, barcode, optical storage area, or a combination of these data storage media on it, conventional card reader  12  for reading the data on card  10 , database  14  at a first remote location, remote network-inaccessible processor  16  at a second remote location, and display means  18  located near card reader  12 . Card reader  12  and display means  18  are placed in locations such as controlled access areas, stores, etc. where identification cards are presented for verification. All of the components except processor  16  are connected by means  20  such as conventional telephone wires, a wireless network, or the internet. Processor  16  is connected to database  14  by secure communication link  21 , as is well known in the art, so that in use processor  16  can be accessed only from the first remote location housing database  14 . Isolating processor  16  in this manner assures a high level of security for the overall system. For added security, the output from processor  16  can be sent to display means  18  by a secure communication link if desired.  
       FIG. 2  shows identification card  10  according to the present invention. It has on it certain unique information that in this example comprises photograph  22  and signature  24 . Card  10  also has on it magnetic strip, barcode, optical storage area, or combination of these data storage media  26 , which has encoded thereon the pixel values determined using the characteristic value function algorithm when the card was created. Card  10  may also contain any other information desired, either on its face or encoded onto storage medium  26 . Photograph  22  may be of any subject desired by the owner of card  10 ; signature  24  is that of the card owner. Storage medium  26  also contains the information needed to begin the verification procedure.  
      To determine the pixel values to be encoded onto storage medium  26 , photograph  22  and signature  24  are scanned to produce digital copies (not shown) which are comprised of discrete pixels, as is well known in the art. Then the digital photograph and digital signature are processed using a characteristic value function algorithm that selects certain pixels and reads their grayscale or color plane values, which are encoded as is well known in the art onto magnetic strip  26 . The characteristic value function algorithm used to select the pixels may be the same for all cards or it may be varied from card to card. The characteristic value function algorithm is then stored in the same location as network-inaccessible processor  16 . See the Appendix for a further explanation of the authentication process.  
      The digital copy of photograph  22  and digital copy of signature  24  are then sent to remote database  14  where they are stored and indexed in a way that allows them to be retrieved when desired to authenticate that particular card.  
      In operation, when the cardholder presents card  10  for verification it is swiped in conventional card reader  12 , which then begins the verification process. Remote secure database  14  is contacted and the digital copies of photograph  22  and signature  24  are retrieved and sent to network-inaccessible processor  16 . The cardholder&#39;s name and pixel values encoded on storage medium  26  are also sent to processor  16 . Processor  16  applies the characteristic value function algorithm to the digital copies of photograph  22  and signature  24  and the values of the pixels determined by the characteristic value function algorithm are read. Since a digital image is stored as a series of discrete pixel value entries in a table, the characteristic value function algorithm will determine the same pixels, and hence the same pixel values, each time; i.e., its repeatability is 100%. Thus every time card  10  is read the pixel values determined by processor  16  will be the same as those that were encoded on storage medium  26  when card  10  was created.  
      Processor  16  next compares the pixel values it received with the request for authentication to those it determined by applying the characteristic value function algorithm to the digital photograph and signature it received from the remote database. If they are not the same, the card is rejected as counterfeit and a message is returned to display means  18  indicating the rejection. If they are the same, the digital photograph and signature are sent back to display means  18  along with an indication that card  10  and its holder have been authenticated. Displaying photograph  22  and signature  24  on display means  18  allows further visual authentication of the card presenter.  
      The comparison between the pixel values determined by processor  16  and the pixel values encoded on magnetic strip  26  has been described as analytical, taking place remotely from where the card is presented. In addition, card  10  is created at another remote location, both of which insure that end-to-end security is maintained and the characteristic value function algorithm remains secret.  
      Also, the digital signature could be stored at a separate location to provide additional security. For even greater security the pixel values on the digital signature could be determined by a second characteristic value function algorithm which would require a second processor, stored in yet another location. Counterfeiting this latter embodiment of card  10  would require that two databases and two network-inaccessible processors be hacked into and/or that two characteristic value function algorithms, even if stored on magnetic strip  26  in assembly language, be reverse engineered, a situation that would provide a very high degree of security.  
      Obviously also the card could have encoded on magnetic strip  26  one or more pieces of unique information in addition to the picture and signature, thereby increasing the level of security even more.  
      In the following Appendix Section 1 defines the general terms used in the calculations and describes the context of the calculations. Section 2 contains a high-level overview of the process of creating the data that will be encoded on the card. Section 3 contains a short description of what is actually stored on the card. Section 4 gives a short description of the data that will be used to verify a card when it is presented for verification. Section 5 contains the core mathematics used in implementing the system. Section 6 expands on the contents of Section 5 and describes the preferred embodiment of the analytical methods behind the system of the present invention. Section 7 describes a method of preventing identical data from being encoded onto two or more cards. Section  8  describes methods of implementing the above analytical methods on a computer. Section  9  discusses the memory and storage requirements for a system as shown herein.