�����������

Event: A simple ZKP scheme of remote human presence based on biometric cryptosystem

Date:  Tuesday 25 February 2025

Time:  12:00-13:00

Venue: Faculty of ICT, ICT Communications Lab (Level 0, Block B, Room 1)

---

A biometric cryptosystem is a family of privacy-preserving biometric algorithms that is designed to work with cryptographic solutions that forms the basis of security in the Internet. Trust Stamp has recently extended this solution, known as stable IT2, which is capable of extracting 256 bits of entropy from an individual's live face capture session. The extracted "stable key" can be bound to any token or secret, which can be used to represent their online presence, their digital identity, their digital travel credentials, single-sign-on sessions, and more.

This biometric binding means that cryptographic secrets no longer need to be strictly stored on a hardware secure module (which is fundamental to the FIDO2 protocols). Since devices can be easily lost or stolen, attackers often exploit this loophole by impersonating the target victim, which often relies on less reliable authentication mechanisms such as recovery emails and passwords.

Effectively, stable IT2 replaces this hardware requirement, making it possible to perform account recovery using biometrics, the very same technology that is used for device authentication. As a result, a much higher authentication assurance, at the levels of NIST AAL2 and AAL3, can still be achieved. Therefore, our solution can complement existing FIDO2 protocols and is particularly useful for account recovery and other situations where authentication can only take place without any device. Since the 256-bit secret can only be generated by a live, authenticated presence of the account holder, the solution can ensure a “trusted presence ®”, meaning that a relying party can be sure that only the right person with the right credentials, using the right device, is present right now as they process their transactions.

This is a talk from the Data Science Platform Seminar Series

---

Speaker’s Bio.

Norman Poh is a technical leader at Truststamp, specializing in privacy-preserving biometrics and identity management to address KYC/AML issues. With a diverse background in data science, he has worked in financial forecasting for the oil and gas industry and in healthcare, focusing on disease progression modelling.

He is currently an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Malta and has previously held various academic positions at the University of Surrey, where he led a Medical Research Council-funded project on chronic kidney disease. Poh has over ten patents and more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, earning multiple awards, including Researcher of the Year at the University of Surrey in 2011.

He obtained his Ph.D. in information fusion from EPFL in 2006. Additionally, he has served as an adviser and reviewer for several academic and professional organizations in the fields of biometrics and security.

Norman Poh can be contacted .

This can also be saved on