An IC card with biometric authentication function that utilizes PIN input

Abstract

To provide means for allowing a holder of an IC card with a biometric authentication function to freely select whether to perform identity verification by PIN input or biometric information authentication, utilizing an external interface of the current system as it is.SOLUTION: An IC card with a biometric authentication function including selection means for authentication means upon usage includes: means for performing identity verification by comparing biometric information acquired by biometric information acquisition means on the card with biometric information of a card owner stored in the card if a PIN entered into a payment terminal is a pre-specified specific number that cannot be set as a PIN, upon a PIN query command for identity verification from the payment terminal on which the card is set; and means for performing identity verification by comparing a PIN entered by using the existing PIN comparison procedure as it is with a PIN stored in the card if the PIN entered into the payment terminal is other than the above-mentioned specific number.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an IC card with a biometric authentication function. [Background technology]

[0002] When using IC cards such as cash cards, debit cards, and credit cards, identity verification typically relies on a personal identification number (PIN) consisting of four to six digits, but there have been issues with the hassle of having to remember the number and the risk of the number being stolen.

[0003] In response to this, technology has been proposed that improves the convenience and security of identity verification when using an IC card by using an IC card with the function of acquiring biometric information unique to the user, such as a fingerprint (Patent Document 1 below).

[0004] However, in the technology of Patent Document 1, the payment terminals installed at store counters, etc. are also compatible with conventional identity verification systems using PINs, so authentication procedures using both PINs and biometric information may have to be carried out, which poses an issue of complexity.

[0005] In response to this, a technique has been proposed that omits identity verification using a PIN at the payment terminal to avoid the complexity of the procedure (Patent Document 2 below).

[0006] However, the technology in Patent Document 2 requires an authentication procedure using biometric information, and since a dedicated device is also required for this, the entire system, including authentication and payment, must be modified, which is time-consuming and costly. This initial investment hurdle has hindered the widespread use of biometric authentication. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-133491 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2007-323229 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The present invention has been made to address the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a means that utilizes the external interface of the current system as is, allowing the owner of an IC card with biometric authentication function to freely choose whether to verify his or her identity by entering a PIN or by biometric information authentication. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] As a means for solving the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 is an IC card with a biometric authentication function, which is provided with a means for selecting an authentication means when using the IC card with a biometric authentication function, When a PIN inquiry command for identity verification is issued from an IC card payment terminal into which the IC card is set, a means for verifying the identity of the cardholder by comparing biometric information acquired by a biometric information acquisition means provided in the IC card with the biometric information of the cardholder stored in the card when the PIN input to the IC card payment terminal is a specific number that cannot be set as a pre-designated PIN; This is an IC card with a biometric authentication function, which is characterized by having a means for verifying the identity of the user by comparing the entered PIN with the PIN stored on the card using an existing PIN verification procedure if the PIN entered into the IC card payment terminal is other than a specific number that cannot be set as a pre-specified PIN.

[0010] The invention described in claim 2 is the IC card with biometric authentication function described in claim 1, characterized in that the biometric authentication function is a fingerprint authentication function.

[0011] The invention described in claim 3 is the IC card with biometric authentication function described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the specific number that cannot be set as the pre-specified PIN is "0000." Effect of the Invention

[0012] Regardless of whether PIN authentication or biometric authentication is used, from the IC card payment terminal's perspective, identity verification simply involves entering a PIN and receiving a response from the IC card regarding whether authentication was successful. Therefore, the authentication procedure can be carried out without any changes to the payment terminal or payment system, making it possible to reduce the initial implementation costs of biometric authentication.

[0013] Users can choose either PIN authentication or biometric authentication depending on the situation. In situations where biometric authentication is difficult, such as when gloves must be removed to use fingerprints as biometric information or when fingerprints are difficult to read due to rough hands, users can choose PIN authentication, thereby improving convenience for users.

[0014] The above features are expected to improve the convenience of identity authentication procedures and promote the widespread use of IC cards with biometric authentication. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an image diagram of a biometric information registration scene according to the embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a biometric information registration procedure according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an IC card used in the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of an IC card being connected to an IC card payment terminal in this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

[0017] The IC card 100 used in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, comprises a memory unit 110 that stores information necessary for authentication, an acquisition unit 120 that acquires biometric information, a processing unit 130 that performs the authentication process and data processing, and a communication unit 140 that performs data communication with a higher-level host such as a payment terminal.

[0018] The processing unit 130 is a central processing unit (CPU) that has an OS on the hardware layer of an IC chip and has the function of executing various applets stored in the memory unit 110 by integrating and controlling the memory unit 110, the communication unit 140, and the acquisition unit 120.

[0019] The storage unit 110 has a function of storing the codes of various applets and data or results required for arithmetic processing, and mainly includes Random Access Memory (RAM) which supports high-speed and frequent rewriting, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) such as a rewritable flash memory which holds data even when power is not supplied, and Read Only Memory (ROM) which holds data that does not need to be permanently rewritten. It consists of a storage device.

[0020] The acquisition unit 120 is a sensor device for biometric information, such as a fingerprint, and has a function of extracting the pattern features of the fingerprint by contact scanning the user's finger in the case of a one-dimensional sensor, or by holding the finger in contact in the case of a two-dimensional sensor. The biometric information is not limited to this, and any information that is unique to the user and can be acquired by a sensor provided on the card, such as a vein pattern or iris pattern, may be used.

[0021] Although not shown, a display unit that indicates the status of the IC card or the authentication process may also be provided. The display unit provides visual information to the user using a single-color or multi-color light-emitting device, such as an LED. The display unit has the function of notifying the user of the status of the IC card and changes therein by transitions of combinations of display color, display time, display fluctuations, and other visually identifiable information.

[0022] The IC card issuer provides the user 300 with an IC card 100 in which a PIN specific to the user 300 has been stored in advance in the storage unit 110, and the user 300 registers biometric information in the IC card 100 in order to activate the IC card 100.

[0023] The activation procedure will not be explained here, but in the present invention, the IC card 100 used is one in which both the PIN information and the biometric information are registered, i.e., both the PIN information and the biometric information are stored in the memory unit 110.

[0024] Fig. 1 shows an image of an IC card usage scene in the present invention. IC card user 300 inserts card 100 into IC card payment terminal 200 (S1001). Next, in response to a PIN input request from IC card payment terminal 200, a PIN unique to user 300 is input into IC card payment terminal 200 (S2005). Alternatively, after inputting "0000" instead of the PIN into IC card payment terminal 200 (S3001), biometric information unique to user 300 is provided to acquisition unit 120, which is a biometric information acquisition function provided in IC card 100 (S3006). This is the general flow.

[0025] The procedure in the IC card usage scenario will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 2, from steps S1001 to S3010.

[0026] Step S1001: When the user 300 receives the card 100 and uses the card 100 to make a payment, the user sets the IC card 100 in the IC card payment terminal 200 at a counter or store.

[0027] 4 shows an example of the situation in which the IC card 100 is set in the IC card payment terminal 200, and depicts a scene in which the contact-type IC card 100 equipped with the fingerprint sensor acquisition unit 120 is inserted in the direction of the arrow into the card slot of the IC card payment terminal 200 to proceed with the payment process. The IC card payment terminal 200 is equipped with a keyboard 201 that accepts input of necessary information such as a PIN. The IC card 100 does not necessarily have to be of the contact type as shown in this figure, and a non-contact type IC card and IC card payment terminal may also be used.

[0028] Step S1002: When the IC card payment terminal 200 detects that the IC card 100 has been set, it begins supplying power to the IC card 100, sends a reset command to the communication unit 140 to activate the IC card 100, and begins processing based on the normal PIN authentication procedure.

[0029] Step S1003: The IC card payment terminal 200 requests the user 300 to input a PIN.

[0030] Step S2004: The user 300 selects whether to verify his / her identity using PIN authentication or biometric authentication, and, if PIN authentication is to be used, inputs the PIN via the keyboard 201 provided on the IC card payment terminal 200 (S2005), or, if biometric authentication is to be used, inputs a specific number that cannot be set as the pre-specified PIN (S3001).

[0031] Due to security concerns, "0000" is a value that cannot be set as a PIN, and therefore cannot become the PIN for user 300. Therefore, in the following explanation, "0000" will be considered as a specific number that cannot be set as the pre-specified PIN.

[0032] Step S2006: The IC card payment terminal 200 that has accepted the input of the PIN transmits a PIN Verify command to the IC card 100 to verify whether the input PIN is unique to the user 300.

[0033] Step S2007: After receiving the PIN Verify command via the communication unit 140, the processing unit 130 proceeds to step S2008, which is a PIN authentication procedure, if the PIN received from the IC card payment terminal 200 is other than "0000", or to step S3002, which is a biometric information authentication procedure, if the PIN is "0000".

[0034] The following steps S2008 to S2010, S3009, and S3010 constitute the PIN authentication procedure.

[0035] Step S 2008 : The processing unit 130 requests the storage unit 110 to transmit the PIN stored in the IC card 300 . Step S2009: The memory unit 110 returns the stored PIN to the processing unit .

[0036] Step S2010: Processing unit 130 compares the PIN received from IC card payment terminal 200 in the Verify command with the PIN received from storage unit 110, and if they match, notifies IC card payment terminal 200 via communication unit 140 that PIN verification has been completed successfully (S3010). If the PINs do not match, notifies IC card payment terminal 200 via communication unit 140 that PIN verification has failed (S3009).

[0037] The following steps S3002 to S3008, S3009, and S3010 constitute the biometric authentication procedure.

[0038] Step S3002: The processing unit 130 issues a request to the acquisition unit 120 to enter a reading standby state for acquiring biometric information, and the acquisition unit 120 enters a reading standby state (S3003).

[0039] Step S3004: The processing unit 130 also requests the storage unit 110 to transmit the registered biometric information stored in the IC card 300. Step S3005: The storage unit 110 returns the stored registered biometric information to the processing unit .

[0040] Step S3006: The user 300 provides biometric information to the acquisition unit 120 of the IC card 100. For example, in the case of a two-dimensional fingerprint sensor, the user holds a finger in contact with the sensor.

[0041] Step S3007: The acquisition unit 120 acquires the biometric information of the user 300 acquired in step S3006. The information is notified to the processing unit 130.

[0042] Step S3008: Processing unit 130 compares the registered biometric information received from storage unit 110 with the biometric information received from acquisition unit 120, and if they match, notifies IC card payment terminal 200 via communication unit 140 of successful completion of PIN verification (S3010). If the biometric information does not match, notifies IC card payment terminal 200 via communication unit 140 of authentication failure as a result of PIN verification failure (S3009).

[0043] By doing as described above, in either case of PIN authentication or biometric authentication, similar to the conventional PIN authentication procedure, the payment terminal 200 side only obtains a success or failure response to the transmitted PIN Verify command from the IC card 100, making it possible to proceed with the authentication procedure without making any changes to the payment terminal or payment system.

[0044] In the procedure from steps S3002 to S3008 from acquiring biometric information to matching, it is assumed that it may take longer to complete reading of the biometric information than normal PIN authentication. In this case, a timeout error can be avoided by sending a processing extension request to the payment terminal 200 via the communication unit 140 at regular intervals. This communication can also be handled without modifying the conventional payment system.

[0045] Although not shown, in the case of an IC card having an IC card status display unit, the display unit may be transitioned when the reading is standby in step S3003, and also when the biometric information acquisition is completed in step S3007, to notify the user 300 of the status of the biometric information acquisition. For example, a procedure can be applied in which the display unit, which was turned off when waiting to read, is turned on, and when the reading is completed, the display unit, which was turned on, is turned on after blinking for a certain period of time. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 100 IC card with biometric information acquisition function 110 Storage section 120 Acquisition Department 130 Processing section 140 Communications Department 200 IC card payment terminals 201 Keyboard 300 users

Claims

1. An IC card with a biometric authentication function, comprising a means for selecting an authentication means when using the IC card with a biometric authentication function, When a PIN inquiry command for identity verification is issued from an IC card payment terminal in which the IC card is set, a means for verifying the identity of the cardholder by comparing biometric information acquired by a biometric information acquisition means provided in the IC card with the biometric information of the cardholder stored in the card when the PIN input to the IC card payment terminal is a specific number that cannot be set as a pre-designated PIN; An IC card with biometric authentication function, characterized in that if the PIN entered into the IC card payment terminal is other than a specific number that cannot be set as a pre-specified PIN, the card has a means for verifying the identity of the user by simply comparing the entered PIN with the PIN stored on the card using an existing PIN matching procedure.

2. 2. The IC card with biometric authentication function according to claim 1, wherein the biometric authentication function is a fingerprint authentication function.

3. 3. The IC card with biometric authentication function according to claim 1, wherein the specific number that cannot be set as the PIN is "0000."

Images