UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2012/2013
EXAMINATION FOR THE BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
BIT 4205 BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
DATE: AUGUST, 2013 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question ONE and any other TWO Questions
QUESTION ONE: 30 MARKS (COMPULSORY)
a) Define the term “Biometric” (2 Marks)
b) Discuss six motivations that lead to the departure from the ID/Password security
access mechanism to the biometrics paradigm. (6 Marks)
c) “A biometric system may operate either in verification mode or identification mode”
substantiate this state; differentiating between the two between modes. (6 Marks)
d) Describe the following biometric systems performance metrics (6 marks)
i) FAR
ii) FRR
iii) FTE
iv) FTA
e) Using a well labeled diagram illustrate and describe the components of a biometric
system (6 Marks)
f) Outline four important attributes in a signature as a biometric measure. (4 Marks)
QUESTION TWO: 20 MARKS
a) Describe the following biometric system stating two disadvantages for each.
(6 Marks)
i) Gait.
ii) Speech/Voice recognition
b) Discuss five factors that should be considered in the choice of a biometric system.
(5 Marks)
c) Describe the following terms used in biometric systems context. (4 Marks)
i) Recognition
ii) Identification
iii) Enrollment
iv)Authentication
d) Using a sketch of a finger print, describe any five minutiae of interest in a finger
print. (5 Marks)
QUESTION THREE: 20 MARKS
a) Discuss five advantages of biometric systems. (5 Marks)
b) Define the following terms used in the context of biometric systems. (4 Marks)
i) Vulnerability
ii) Threat.
iii) Attack
iv) Biometric template
c) State and briefly explain five reasons why biometric systems have failed in the past.
(5 Marks)
d) Describe six forms attacks common to biometric security systems. (6 Marks)
QUESTION FOUR: 20 MARKS
a) State and explain five desirable attributes of any biometric system. (5Marks)
b) Giving real life examples, discuss five application areas of biometric systems.
(5 Marks)
c) Describe four factors that determine the acceptability of biometric systems by user.
(5 Marks)
d) Discuss the following concepts in biometric systems giving an example for each
(5 Marks)
i) Multi-modal biometrics
ii) Soft biometrics
QUESTION FIVE: 20 MARKS
a) Discuss any four attacks on finger print-based systems and show how they can
thwarted. (6 Marks)
b) Explain three reasons why an organization may select a multi-modal based biometric
system. (4 Marks)
c) Discuss three legal, professional and social issues with biometric, giving examples of
concerns in each. (6 Marks)
d) By use of a diagram, discuss the features of interest in an iris scan. (4 Marks)
