August 29, 2013 – by Peter B. Counter
Fujitsu has announced what it is calling a first for the world: homomorphic encryption technology that enables statistical calculations and biometric authentication without having to decrypt it. The innovation, made possible through a special bit-string ordering technique applied before batch encrypting the data, dramatically increases the speed at which private data can be read by allowing calculations or processing to occur at a batch level.
This is a milestone in encryption and one that will directly benefit Fujitsu’s biometric products. The current offerings in homomorphic methods inhibit practical application due to the slow bit-by-bit processing that is used in encryption. Earlier this summer Fujitsu introduced a new palm vein biometric solution that enrolls user data in renewable 2,048 bit codes. With these new analytic capabilities, the verification codes generated by the company’s biometric offerings will be able to be further encrypted without having to sacrifice speed.
By allowing data to be used while still encrypted, a number of versatile cloud-based operations can be made available where sensitivity of information had previously prevented that sort of solution, with information becoming vulnerable as soon as decryption occurs. Fujitsu’s attitude towards the encryption of biometric data is forward thinking and enabling, specifically when considering its commitment to seeing both vascular and fingerprint biometrics in its smartphone and LIFEBOOK computer products.
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