Generation and authentication of biometric information using watermark

1. An apparatus for generating biometric information, the apparatus comprising:

a biometric scanning module configured to scan a body of a user to generate biometric image information;

a seed supplying module configured to supply a secure seed having a security that is effective for a preset time period and valid for a one-time use;

a security pattern generating module configured to generate a secure watermark pattern based on the secure seed; and

a biometric information generating module configured to generate biometric information to be used for authentication by the use of the biometric image information and the secure watermark pattern.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the seed supplying module comprises a watermark key receiving unit configured to receive a watermark key which will be used as the secure seed and provide it to the security pattern generation, wherein the watermark key is provided in real-time from a biometric authentication apparatus which utilizes the biometric information to authenticate the user.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the seed supplying module comprises a one-time password (OTP) generating unit configured to generate an OTP that is effective for the preset time period and supply the OTP to the secure pattern generating module as the secure seed.

4. A method for generating biometric information to be used for authentication, the method comprising:

generating biometric image information by scanning a body of a user;

generating a secure watermark pattern based on a secure seed having a security that is effective for a preset time period and valid for a one-time use; and

generating the biometric information through the use of the biometric image information and the secure watermark pattern.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein said generating a secure watermark pattern comprises generating the secure watermark pattern using a watermark key as the secure seed which is received in real-time from a biometric authentication apparatus which utilizes the biometric information to authenticate the user.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein said generating a secure watermark pattern comprises generating the secure watermark pattern using a one-time password (OTP) as the secure seed.

7. An apparatus for authenticating biometric information, the apparatus comprising:

a seed generating module configured to generate a secure seed having a security that is effective for a preset time period and valid for a one-time use;

a secure pattern verifying module configured to perform a primary authentication on biometric information to be used for authentication when the biometric information includes a secure watermark pattern that is generated based on the secure seed;

a biometric information storage module configured to store reference biometric information to be used for an authentication procedure; and

a biometric authenticating module configured to perform a secondary authentication depending on a result of comparison between the biometric information and the reference biometric information when the primary authentication has been performed.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the seed generating module comprises a watermark key generating unit configured to generate in real time a watermark key as the secure seed which is capable of generating the secure watermark pattern.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the watermark key generating unit is configured to provide the watermark key to a biometric information generating apparatus which generates the biometric information by scanning a body of a user.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the seed generating module comprises a OTP generating unit configured to generate a one-time password (OTP) as the secure seed.

11. A method for authenticating biometric information, the method comprising:

generating a secure seed having a security that is effective for a preset time period and valid for a one-time use;

performing a primary authentication on biometric information to be used for authentication when the biometric information includes a secure watermark pattern that can be generated based on the secure seed; and

performing a secondary authentication depending on a result of comparison between the biometric information and a pre-stored reference biometric information.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein said generating a secure seed comprises generating in real time a watermark key as the secure seed that is capable of generating the secure watermark pattern.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein said generating a secure seed comprises generating a one-time password (OTP) as the secure seed.

14. A system for generating and authenticating biometric information, the system comprises:

a biometric information generating apparatus configured to generate biometric image information by scanning a body of a user, generate a secure watermark pattern based on a secure seed which is effective for a preset time period and valid for a one-time use, and generate biometric information to be used for authentication through the use of the biometric image information and the secure watermark pattern; and

a biometric information authenticating apparatus configured to perform a primary authentication on the biometric information when the biometric information includes a secure watermark pattern that is generated based on the secure seed and perform a secondary authentication depending on a result of comparison between the biometric information and a pre-stored reference biometric information.