Privacy-preserving outsourcing scheme of face recognition based on locally linear embedding

Abstract

Face recognition is a biometric-based technology that identifies or verifies a person’s identity by analyzing and comparing patterns in their facial features. Among kinds of face recognition algorithms, Locally Linear Embedding (LLE) algorithm has the advantage of preserving the local structure of face data. However, the LLE algorithm requires some computationally intensive matrix calculations, which might introduce latency to the device. In this paper, we propose a privacy-preserving outsourcing scheme of face recognition based on LLE algorithm for the first time. By outsourcing matrix multiplication, linear equations, and eigenvalue decomposition of the LLE algorithm to a cloud server, we reduce the computational load on the client device. To ensure data security, we generate a novel type of sparse orthogonal matrix through square root application and random permutation of diagonal elements, used as secret keys to blind the client’s data. Meanwhile, due to the sparsity of key matrices, the complexity of client-side computation complexity is reduced from O(n3) to O(n2). The experimental results show that our proposed scheme reduces computational costs while maintaining almost identical face recognition accuracy as the original LLE-based algorithm.