StorCard

Six Sigma Security – Why Settle for Anything Less?

Just 99% accurate can sometimes spell disaster. With 600 million border crossings each year in the United States, a 1% probability of false acceptance rates represents 6 million unauthorized entries into the country

Six Sigma is a set of statistical and management tools able to make rapid improvement in performance, reliability, and processes. Originally used to eliminate assembly-line defects, Six Sigma has expanded into almost every operation of modern business. When a process reaches Six Sigma, it has a failure rate of less than 3.4 per million, or 99.99966% accuracy. A Six Sigma Border Crossing program would dramatically increase border security and the predictability of the true identity of persons entering the country.

Can we address these challenges with Six Sigma fundamentals?

• "When I get on an airplane and someone shows ID, I'd like to be sure they are who they say they are," said Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia.
• "The number of illegal aliens flooding into the U.S. this year will total 3 million — enough to fill 22,000 Boeing 737-700 airliners, or 60 flights every day for a year." TIME Magazine, 2004
• "The Automated Targeting System that CBP (customs) relies on to identify high-risk cargo shipments is too dependent on cargo manifest information which is error-prone and does not provide transshipment data" – testimony by Stephen E. Flynn, Commander, U.S. Coast Guard (ret.)

Two fundamental questions must be addressed in any such operation: Are you who you say you are? and Are you authorized to perform the requested action? President Bush mandated in the wake of the Sept. 11th attacks to use the latest technology for a unified identification system that tightens the security of our borders, federal facilities, and computer systems. These new ID cards must be flexible enough in their use to grant entrance to a high-security building or to log onto government computers to send encrypted e-mail.

The most commonly used technology today is a magnetic strip or smart chip in the ubiquitous credit card form factor. However, there are several limitations preventing them from performing effectively to a Six Sigma security level. These cards do not have sufficient storage capacity (ranging from 8Kbytes to even the newest with 128Kbytes), and limit the amount of data and applications that can be utilized to ensure Six Sigma identification solutions. To accommodate the capacity constraints, most use a subset of the raw data (minutia) to predict a probable match with the card holder. With more storage capacity, the entire data set of multiple personal identifiers/biometrics, can be used to improve accuracy to Six Sigma levels while improving ease of use.

Why not 99.99966% accuracy at border crossings, ports of entry, commercial transportation, etc.? Is it possible to reduce the 1% probability of false acceptance rates by storing full biometrics, not minutia, on an ID card? The possibility of these Six Sigma level solutions is real and only requires a modest paradigm shift. Imagine one card enabling a complete set of personal identifiers including all 10 digit fingerprints stored on the card, retina, iris, face scans, voice, and even digital signature. All of this encrypted and securely stored along with all the software (algorithms) required to match a person's unique biometric profile positively to the card holder. This enables a true matching of the individual proving "You are you who you say you are," and that "You are authorized to perform this request" Privacy is guaranteed, since all biometric information is encrypted on the card and matched on the card to authorize your transaction/access.

Overall Identification Requirements

• Machine readable, biometrically supported, cost effective, and tamper resistant system for a broad range of security access requirements (Level 1-5, border crossing, facilities entry, system access, personal credentials, etc.).
• Economically solve today’s problems, easily integrated with existing systems and infrastructure, and be flexible and upgradeable to meet tomorrow’s emerging requirements.

Key Considerations

• Multiple biometrics and personal data sets are required for a complete security profile to prevent false positives (multiple finger and hand prints, high quality digital photo, iris and facial scans, and voice). Full resolution means never having to collect personal data again.
• Fast transaction processing with the existing systems and infrastructure. Local authentication for 24x7 operations without increasing infrastructure or bandwidth.
• Flexibility to store and run applications directly from card
• Digital signatures and transaction certificates (such as PKI) for information and transactions.

Current Technology Alternatives

• Smart Cards: Limited storage capacity and performance limit security capabilities.
• Laser Card: Offers more storage capacity (up to 2.8MB of data) over Smart Cards, but is very slow and not updateable. Card readers are very expensive and slow.
• Badge Cards: Visual recognition is only means of identification and easy to counterfeit.

StorCard Features/Benefits

• Storage capacity for today’s requirements and future opportunities
  — Upgradeable from 8MB to 100MB+ (Gigabyte capacity for combined applications)
• Customizable to meet a broad range of tailored solutions
• High performance delivers fast, sub-second transaction times for 24x7 operator with existing infrastructure
• Unbreakable security via a real-time crypto-engine with audit tracking and secure field upgradeability
• Easily integrates with existing systems
• Reads traditional smart cards and applications
• Available with contact or dual function smart chips
• Durable, credit card form factor
• Affordable card and reader for ease of deployment
• ISO 7816 compliant

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