Conformance Test Suite for CBEFF Biometric Information Records

Deployment of standards-based biometric technologies is expected to significantly raise levels of security for critical infrastructures that has not been possible to date with other technologies. These systems require a comprehensive set of technically sound standards that meet the customer´s needs. The existence of standards alone, however, is not enough to demonstrate that products meet the technical requirements specified in the standards. Conformance testing captures the technical description of a standard and measures whether an implementation faithfully implements the standard. Conformity assessment provides confidence to users through programs that demonstrate the conformity of products to specific standards. This paper discusses a conformance test suite (CTS) for biometric information records (BIRs) claiming conformance to data structures specified in common biometric exchange formats framework (CBEFF) standards. The paper summarizes conformance testing procedures and criteria for testing these data structures. A conformance testing architecture and a CTS implementation developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to assess conformance to these CBEFF data structures is described. Ongoing and future work is discussed.