Biometrics Evaluation Center (BEZ)

Institute for Safety and Security Research (ISF)

Welcome to the BEZ

Applied research at the Biometrics Evaluation Centre (BEZ) - The BEZ combines research, development and application of biometric technologies. Long-term evaluations of biometric systems additionally enable the review and optimisation of the state of the art. The results lead to training courses and workshops for authorities, police forces, manufacturers and end users.

The BEZ at the Sankt Augustin campus was designed and built from 2018 to 2021 in cooperation between the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and the university's Safety and Security Research Institute (ISF). Since 2021, it has been operated jointly by the two institutions.

Background

In the age of advancing digitalization, the recording of biometric characteristics for authentication by means of electronic systems is an important aspect. But how secure are such biometrics systems?

To answer this question, the BEZ aims to evaluate biometric systems continuously. The objects of investigation are performance (recognition accuracy), vulnerabilities (resistance to different attack variants), and usability of biometric systems. For this purpose, long-term and one-time test series for special systems are carried out at the BEZ, which enables direct testing with a large number of test persons. The concrete implementation of the test series is carried out by the Biolab project, which has been running at the BEZ since May 2021.

Location

Sankt Augustin Campus, building part H, 2nd floor. You will find a description of how to get there at the end of the page.

More about the Biolab project

The BEZ at the Sankt Augustin Campus

News and events

Pressetermin: Eröffnung Biometrie-Evaluationszentrum

Gesicht zeigen für sichere Biometrie

Testreihen zur Handbiometrie am BEZ- Oktober bis November 2022

Secure test environment

The BEZ focuses on the continuous evaluation of biometric systems with real test subjects. Data protection and security and the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are top priorities in the context of the evaluations. To ensure this, the BEZ facility meets the highest security standards. These include extended structural security measures, as well as IT security measures. In all tests carried out, the BSI is responsible for the secure recording, storage, and processing of the data collected and is thus the responsible party in the sense of the GDPR.

Federal Office for Information Security (BSI)