CDSA/CSSM Authenticaton: Human Recognition Service (HRS) API
Copyright © 2000 The Open Group

Frontmatter


Open Group Technical Standard
CDSA/CSSM Authentication: Human Recognition Service (HRS) API
Document Number: C909
ISBN: 1-85912-271-X


©September 2000, The Open Group All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners.


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Preface

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This Document
The CDSA/HRS(Common Data Security Architecture - Human Recognition Service) is a CSSM (Common Security Services Manager) EMM (Elective Module Manager).

This HRS API provides a high-level generic authentication model - one suited to use with any form of human authentication - for operation with CDSA. Particular emphasis has been put on designing it for performing authentication using biometric technology.

The development of this specification has passed through several organizational groups, but was integrated into a generic authentication API by the BioAPI Consortium - see Acknowledgements.

This CDSA/HRS specification is based on BioAPI Version 1.0 8, published March 30, 2000, and uses the EMM facilities provided in CSSM to provide a generic authentication service for CDSA. It covers the basic functions of Enrollment, Verification, and Identification, and includes a database interface to allow a biometric service provider (BSP) to manage the identification population for optimum performance. It also provides primitives which allow the application to manage the capture of samples on a client, and the functions of Enrollment, Verification, and Identification, on a server. It is designed to support multiple authentication methods, both singularly and when used in a combined or "layered" manner.

Audience
The HRS is designed for use by both application developers and biometric technology developers.

To make the integration of the technology as straight-forward as possible (thus enhancing its commercial viability), the design approach has been to hide or encapsulate to the extent possible the complexities of the biometric technology. This approach also serves to extend the generality of the interface to address a larger set of potential biometric technologies and applications.

Typographical Conventions
The following typographical conventions are used throughout this document:

Trademarks

Motif®, OSF/1®, UNIX®, and the "X Device" are registered trademarks and IT DialToneTM; and The Open GroupTM; are trademarks of The Open Group in the U.S. and other countries.

Acknowledgements

The Open Group acknowledges Intel's submission of its CDSA/HRS specification into The Open Group's "Fast Track" Company Review process, to become an Open Group Technical Standard.

The Open Group also acknowledges the work of the BioAPI Consortium, in the development of this HRS specification. Intel were prime contributors to the BioAPI (biological authentication application programming interface) Consortium. Special recognition is due to John Wilson (Intel) who chaired and did the technical editing for their Application Working Group, whose work resulted in a BioAPI specification.

The BioAPI Consortium published several revisions of their BioAPI specification, as their work evolved. Intel's CDSA/HRS specification is based on BioAPI Version 1.0 8, published March 30, 2000.

Information on the BioAPI Consortium is available from their Web site at http://www.bioapi.org. The following list of BioAPI member organizations (as at June 2000) indicates the broad support for their BioAPI work on defining a common biologically-based authentication API and associated measurement devices and mechanisms:


Authentec
Barclays Bank
Biometric Identification Inc.
BioNetrix
Business Integrated Technology Solutions (BITS)
Compaq *
Dialog Communications Systems AG
Digital Persona
HP
IBM
Identix/Identicator
Image Computing Incorporated (ICI)
Infineon Technologies (formerly Seimens)
Integrated Visions, Inc.
Intel Corporation *
I/O Software, Inc.
IriScan *
ITT
J. Markowitz Consulting
Janus Associates
Kaiser Permanente
Keyware Technologies
Miros
Mytec Technologies *

National Biometrics Test Center
NIST *
NSA
OKI
Precise Biometrics
Recognition Systems
SAFLink *
Sagem-Morpho
Secugen
Sensar
Skytale
Startek
STMicroelectronics
Systemneeds, Inc.
Transaction Security
Transforming Technologies
TRW
UniSoft Corporation
Unisys *
Veridicom
Viatec Research
Visionics
Who?Vision

* Steering Committee Members

Referenced Documents

The following documents are referenced in this Technical Standard:

CDSA/CSSM

Common Security: CDSA and CSSM, Version 2, Open Group Technical Standard, Document Number C914, ISBN 1-85912-202-7, May 2000.


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