Photographic Fingerprints

Did you know that your digital camera has fingerprints? Apparently it does. Researches at Binghamton University have indicated that they can identify which digital photos come from which digital cameras. In comes down to the slight variations caused by the sensors in the individual camera. Each camera has a unique “fingerprint” that it leaves on each and every digital photo it takes in the form of a noise-like pattern. The caveat is you have to know what camera took the photo, and you have to have a sampling of photos from that camera to be able to identify the common noise pattern, so it’s not as if you can just grab a digital pic and say it came from John Doe’s camera.

So why should we care? First of all law enforcement is interested in being able to use this technology to catch predators who use digital cameras for unlawful purposes which could be a leap forward in catching criminals. Secondly this could also mean a way to identify and prove what photos were taken with your camera. Perhaps the technology of fingerprinting digital cameras will lead to a means to register your camera in a database, with samples of its unique fingerprint as a means to verify ownership of your photography. Keeping the rights to our creative works is always a concern for digital artists and photographers, and this could potentially be another way to protect your work. It will certainly be interesting to see how the technology progresses in the future.

Reference: Wolfe, Alexander “Fingerprints In Your Photos” Information Week 2006 (1 May 2006 pg. 18)