In the world of biometrics, one of the most well-known benchmarks is the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) facial recognition vendor test verification (FRVT 1:1). This NIST certification is highly regarded in the biometric industry as it is a globally recognized certification that assures trustable measurements of the quality and reliability of biometric authentication algorithms.

Many government agencies, financial institutions, and private companies require NIST-certified biometric algorithms for their operations, making it a significant certification in the field of biometrics.

But what does it mean to your business to choose a NIST-certified solution? 

Let’s see...

What is the NIST certification?

The NIST certification is a comprehensive evaluation of biometric algorithms that is conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is a division of the United States Department of Commerce. A NIST certificate is a document that indicates that a product has been thoroughly tested for standards. These standards are based on a set of predefined criteria, such as accuracy, speed, robustness, as well as fairness (absence of age/race/gender bias), and are designed to ensure that biometric technologies are reliable and accurate.

The NIST certification process is considered the gold standard in biometric certification, and companies that obtain NIST certification can be confident that their algorithms have undergone rigorous testing and evaluation. NIST certification is also recognized internationally, which makes it an essential certification for companies that operate globally.

💡 In the biometric certification industry, NIST is regarded as the gold standard.

3 reasons to choose a biometric solution that is NIST-certified  

Rigorous evaluation

NIST-certified biometric solutions undergo rigorous independent testing and evaluation to determine their performance metrics. The testing is done against large databases of labelled biometric data to ensure that they can accurately identify individuals under a wide range of conditions. This testing includes variations in lighting, facial expression, and other factors that can impact the accuracy of biometric authentication. By using a biometric solution with top-tier performance in NIST, you can be confident that the system can accurately identify individuals, even under challenging conditions.

Transparent and independent testing

The testing results are open and accessible to the public. This means that anyone can review the testing results to determine the accuracy and reliability of every algorithm that was tested. Also, once a vendor submits an algorithm, it will be published regardless of the performance. These results include information on the accuracy and precision of the product being tested.

Overall, the transparency of NIST testing ensures that the results are reliable and widely accepted in industry and academia. By making the testing process and results accessible to the public, NIST promotes accountability and fosters a culture of continuous improvement and transparency.

NIST certification can help organizations meet these requirements and demonstrate their commitment to security and data protection. The NIST guidelines are widely recognized and accepted by many regulatory bodies, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) for the payment card industry.

It is essential best practice to only rely on face recognition algorithms that have been submitted to NIST or to a similar independent and transparent benchmark. If your current provider is not ranked on NIST, that is generally a red flag, and you should certainly understand why.

Top-tier algorithm

A top-tier NIST algorithm is widely regarded as one of the most reliable and secure options among similar algorithms. Also, faster and more efficient algorithms can reduce the time and resources required for authentication. This can be especially important in high-throughput environments, where speed and efficiency are critical. Within the increasingly important topic of responsible AI, fairness is of utmost importance, and the NIST certification makes explicit measurements of various types of bias, including gender, race and age.

💡 The main benefits of a top-tier NIST biometric solution: accuracy, reliability, and fairness. 

Before you go

Remember: a NIST-certified biometric solution can be a valuable asset to any business or organization that requires reliable and secure biometric authentication. Choosing a NIST-certified solution provides numerous benefits, including rigorous testing and evaluation, compliance with security standards and regulations, and access to top-tier algorithms.

Recognizing the significance of certification for biometric algorithms, we dedicated our time and resources towards submitting an improved algorithm for evaluation by NIST. So, if you're planning to implement biometric face authentication in your company or just curious about our products, you can:

👉 Read about our improved face algorithm.

👉 Test it for free.

👉 Get advice from our team of experts.