Biometrics-Based Continuous Authentication for MOPP

During operations where exposure to chemical and biological threats is expected, warfighters will need to wear Military Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) suits. To allow the warfighters secure and efficient access to networked workstations, a method of continuously authenticating the warfighter in a MOPP suit is needed. In the proposed program, we will develop a wearable device that continuously obtains biometric data from the wearer to authenticate access to a workstation. The wearable biometric device communicates with a base station through a radio frequency link that has a range limited to the immediate vicinity of the workstation. Upon initial enrollment of the biometric authentication device, the user is able to simply walk up to a workstation enabled with a base station to be authenticated for access. The wearable device will be designed to operate for extended periods on a small battery. The proposed work is based on Linea"s work on physiological monitoring and on short range nearfield communications.