Recently, face authentication technology has been introduced for all life scenes. Face authentication is a type of biometric authentication that verifies the identity of the person based on the location and size of the eyes, nose, and mouth. The image of the person stored in the database and the face image of the subject photographed by the camera are collated and authenticated. It is characterized by being able to quickly perform non-contact identity verification. For example, in China, digitalization is progressing rapidly, and face authentication technology is being used to respond to the new coronavirus. In places where many people gather, CCTV or temperature sensors detect people with high body temperatures, and face recognition systems identify people. The results are notified to the local authorities, and measures are being taken to test specific people for the new coronavirus.
In addition, in Japan, taking advantage of the characteristic of "smoothly identifying individuals", face authentication is widely used in boarding and admission procedures at airports, commercial facilities, amusement parks, and large-scale events, in payment at retail stores, and in the entry/exit management system at offices. On the other hand, because it is natural, there are cases where our faces are being used for crime prevention and marketing purposes, such as street surveillance cameras, without even being aware of it. In this study, after introducing the benefits and system of face authentication, we would like to mention the potential risks of the face authentication system and countermeasures that policy makers, business operators, investigative agencies, and judges should take note of.
The biggest advantage of face authentication is that it can be authenticated even if it is not a short distance away, so it can be authenticated even with a large number of people and under a wide range of conditions. Face authentication can obtain two types of information. The first is information unique to an individual that proves that it is the person in the form of eyes, nose, or mouth on the face. The second is information on thinking and thinking based on facial expressions and gestures. Emotions are read from facial expressions and used for marketing and customer satisfaction improvement purposes.
Even the seemingly universal face recognition technology has its risks. The first is that there are cases where the level of the facial recognition technology itself is low. It is good if all face authentication is high-performance like the NEC system, but the more you try to increase the level, the higher the introduction cost. Therefore, depending on the introducing company, the accuracy or security is lowered and face authentication technology is introduced, so there is a high probability of misunderstanding in identity verification. Second, if the authentication conditions are not met, the accuracy is lowered. Third, facial data has a greater impact when leaked compared to other data. General driver's license number, ID number, personal number, and various passwords used for financial and electronic transactions can be changed after being leaked, but the face cannot be easily changed. Various risks must be considered when reviewing the practical application of face authentication technology.