Biometric Data Storage

Biometric data, be it fingerprint or facial, is captured by the Clocking Terminal as a digital image known as a 'live scan.' The live scan is then processed to create a biometric template based on points of interest. For a fingerprint, these could be the points at which certain fingerprint ridges end, converge, or split. For a face, they might be the distance between the eyes or the shape of the mouth. The biometric template is stored within the Clocking Terminal as a mathematical algorithm which the Terminal can reference in order to determine whether the biometric templates derived from future 'live scans' are from the same finger or face. 

The live scans themselves are only used to create these biometric templates, and are not stored by the Terminal. In this way we can be sure that the Clocking Terminal only collects characteristic points of user's biometric data, and not images of the face or fingerprint themselves. 

It's helpful to think of the fingerprint or face like a map, with the characteristic points as co-ordinates. In the same way that co-ordinates alone will not give you an image of the map itself, characteristic points of a specific fingerprint or face do not give you the full image.   

Fingerprint and facial algorithms can be downloaded from the Clocking Terminal onto USB to allow for backups and transfers between Terminals, but there is no way to process, manipulate, or reverse engineer these algorithms from the file on the USB Stick. The ability to access these algorithms is also protected through the use of an 'Admin Card' and password.