US patent for King Saud University invention in information security

RIYADH: In a major academic breakthrough for scientists from the King Saud University (KSU), their information security invention based on iris and fingerprint recognition has won the prestigious US patent.
“The United States Patent and Trademark Office has approved and issued a patent entitled ‘Systems and Methods Improving Cryptosystems with Biometrics’ under the US patent number 9,825,761 to the KSU,” Professor Muhammad Khurram Khan, one of the co-inventors, told Arab News on Monday. Other inventors from the KSU include Professor K. Alghathbar and Dr. Maqsood Mahmud, Khan said.
He added that owing to the large-scale proliferation of information and communication systems, security of data is of paramount concern for individuals, corporations and governments alike.
He said: “Conventional cryptosystems do not need any complex image processing and pattern recognition procedures as used in biometrics-based identification systems.”
Biometrics, which refers to methods for recognizing humans based on traits such as iris and fingerprints, represents the future of information security systems around the world.
“Biometrics can play an instrumental role and add an intricate layer in developing more secure and robust cryptosystems with increased confusion and diffusion properties,” Khan said.
“This invention is an innovative step toward building a resilient and secure cryptosystem while maintaining security and usability requirements.
“Biometrics is a great alternative and has a huge potential to substitute passwords, which are hard to remember and easy to be hacked or guessed,” he said, adding: “It also offers a new mechanism for securing the cryptographic keys.
“Thus, cryptographic keys can be protected by biometric authentication and it can also be used to encrypt or decrypt any kind of data. Our invention achieves it with high accuracy and security.”
Cryptography is a widely accepted solution to modern security systems and researchers are always looking to develop more secure, robust and resilient algorithms to protect critical data and systems from intruders and hackers.
Biometrics, when combined with classical and modern cryptographic algorithms, can achieve more robust security without compromising the performance of cryptosystems.
“This unique invention is an innovative contribution in the field of biometrics-based cryptosystems and very useful to enhance the secure storage and communication of data,” Khan said, adding that the invention meets with the new goals and aims of Saudi Vision 2030 to transform Saudi Arabia into a knowledge-based economy.