DIGIMARC® CENTRIAN™ FACIAL IMAGE INVESTIGATION TOOLS
by Nigel Ward

AN INVESTIGATIVE SOLUTION FOR FACIAL IMAGE MANAGEMENT OFFERED AS PART OF DIGIMARC’S SECURE IDENTIFICATION SOLUTIONS

Centrian Facial Image Investigation Tools are based on the best of today’s cutting-edge facial analysis and matching technology. Digimarc has deployed these systems to meet our customer’s antifraud objectives.

ID Fraud
The first objective is to pre-empt fraud at the point of issuance of an identification document. The second is to discover ongoing fraud through back office investigation. To meet these objectives, the Centrian Facial Image Investigation Tools can be implemented in two forms:

Identity verification
One to one (1:1) matching of faces at Digimarc Centrian™ ID Workstation is a powerful deterrent to fraud during the document renewal process. Centrian Facial Image Investigation Tools detect attempts at fraud by matching the ‘live’ portrait against a previously stored image. If a mismatch is detected, the operator is alerted and the issuance process halted until a manager over-rides or cancels the transaction.

This Check:-

  • prevents new documents from being re-issued with fraudulent information
  • reduces collusion and prepares the facial image for future (optional) forensic applications
  • reduces operator error such as accidental issuance to the wrong person

Forensic Fraud Detection
Software that searches an ID document issuer’s entire database (1:N searching) for potentially matching facial images after a document has been issued, is a highly effective fraud investigation tool.

In particular, 1:N searches help detect:-

  • one individual holding two or more documents under different names
  • different individuals holding the same document
  • attempts to alter signatures and facial features
  • operator error, such as two identities used for the same ID document
  • patterns of error that might indicate collusion
  • known offenders returning for a new and fraudulent document
  • applying for multiple documents on a single day

Through these investigations, other suspicious patterns may emerge. For example, many fraudulent document holders may be living at the same address. Or the address may be nonexistent. In this way, the system may help you find fraud that may otherwise remain undetected.

Batch Processing
Everyday, all newly captured images are enrolled as a batch in the Centrian Facial Image search database. All, or a subset, of these images may be tagged to be checked for fraud. For each tagged image, the system automatically searches the whole database and a list of possible records worthy of further study is presented to the investigators. These records would include details of previously issued documents. This searching process is often carried out overnight with a new list of possible fraudsters available to the investigators in the morning.

Interactive Processing
Each investigator may also interactively choose a record from the issuer’s image server and search for duplicates or multiple identities, using an intuitive, web-based interface. The candidate images are sorted according to facial similarity and ordered with the most similar images at the beginning of the list. An operator may pick one of the candidates and zoom in to images for a side to side comparison of the faces and optionally signatures and fingerprints. A dossier may also be printed with summary demographics and all the images.

System Feedback
Whenever fraud is detected the investigator may flag the record and send the result to the issuer’s image server or mainframe to block further issuances.

Accelerated Deployment
The Centrian Facial Image Investigation Tools system is based on secure web technology. Deployment in the field is fast since no client software needs to be installed. Once an investigator is assigned an account he/she logs in to the Centrian Facial Image Investigation Tools and uses all the functions through Internet Explorer® which comes with all current versions of Microsoft® Windows.

Legacy Database Enrolment
If a database of images already exists, they can be quickly and automatically enrolled. Parallel processing allows multiple enrolment stations to be employed to accelerate the process.

Secure Access To The Workstations
The use of 1:1 facial recognition can also be used to secure access to the system. Before being allowed to log-on to the system, operators can be required to pass an automated facial recognition check. A centrally managed operator database can allow authorised operators to securely access any or only designated workstations. Multiple simultaneous log-ons can be prevented, log-on limited to certain designated hours or certain transactions only allowed after a successful facial recognition check.

The Investigator Counts
It is important to note that automated fraud detection systems do not make a decision. Investigators make the final judgement. It is precisely because judgement is required, that human intervention is essential.

Centrian Facial Image Investigation software is an optional, backward compatible and fully integrated module available in Digimarc Centrian ID Workstation products.

Centrian Facial Image Investigation Elements
The base product provides essential investigative functions.

Hardware

  • intranet server
  • tracking database and image manager
  • facial recognition server
  • search engines (up to 2 million facial recognition templates stored on each search engine)

Software

  • batch processing
  • interactive searching with web browser
  • progressive searching on candidates
  • custom interface to issuing authority’s image server
  • legacy enrolment
  • activity reports
  • system backup and recovery software

Optional Features
You can grow the Centrian Facial Image Investigation Tools by adding optional features.

Security

  • secure sockets layer (SSL) network protocol to prevent eavesdropping
  • digital signature to validate the computer used to access the system
  • fingerprint log-on to verify each user of the system
  • strong encryption

Performance Upgrades

  • Networked attached storage unit for image caching
  • Dual CPU web server or database server
  • Image thumb-nailing

Optional Investigation Tools

  • 1:1 verification of candidate facial images compared to probe facial images
  • Adobe PDF dossier file creator
  • Searching with probe images obtained from scanned photographs

About Digimarc’s Secure Identification Solutions
Digimarc is the world leader in supplying secure identification solutions to governments, businesses and organisations that require highly secure high quality and large volume ID systems and documents. Digimarc’s Secure Identification Solutions can be customised to meet the special needs of an organisation and include the hardware, software, services, card materials and secure IDs. Digimarc’s Secure Identification Solutions are used daily in thousands of locations around the world. Digimarc produce more than 60 million government-issued photo IDs a year, including drivers licences for 32 American states, as well as national and voter ID cards, social security and welfare cards and drivers licences in over 24 countries internationally, including Mexico, Philippines, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Botswana, United Kingdom, Latvia, Russia and New Zealand.

A Case Study in Facial Image Management for Antifraud

Digimarc’s Centrian Facial Image Management Tools are deployed at the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR). This system is integrated with DOR licensing systems to detect fraud, to increase the integrity of their licence database and to protect cardholders from identity theft.

Facial biometrics is required by Colorado legislative mandate because it is:-

  • effective investigative tool
  • accepted by the public
  • proven to reduce identity fraud
  • advanced the DOR towards compliance with rule: one person-one licence

Colorado’s image template database contains over 11 million facial templates and is growing at the rate of about 5,000 per day. In the addition, about 1,000 of these images are earmarked by DOR for fraud checking. Even at this scale, it takes less than a minute to search all 11 million records and build a candidate list for each record.