Here you can find the Biometric News of Q1 of 2010. (Newest on top).
Every week, a selection of this news has been published in the Weekly Biometrics Newsletter.
You can subscribe to this (free) Newsletter by sending an e-mail to rene.bense@xs4all.nl
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has spent $7.4 million on Project Falcon to accelerate the progression of gathering palm and finger prints, enlarge the storage space for those items and increase electronic search capabilities. The Falcon Biometrics System was created to tackle that problem. The FBI currently operates the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which is a national database for fingerprints and images used by law enforcement agencies. The Falcon Biometrics System is comparable, but its entries are from cases that occurred in Florida and it contains mug shots, fingerprints, palm prints and images of tattoos and scars.
SecuGen announced the availability of the SecuGen iD-USB SC a combined fingerprint reader and smart card reader. The iD-USB SC can use USB device that facilitates dual-factor authentication right out of the box. The new unit targets the fast growing number of projects and applications that combine fingerprint biometrics with smart cards. The SecuGen iD-USB SC reader contains SecuGen's popular optical fingerprint sensor with a highly scratch resistant platen and comes in a desk mountable case. SecuGen intends to follow this product shortly with the release of a fully FIPS 201/PIV compliant version.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) say that since the agency began using biometrics-fingerprints-to identify criminal aliens in Fairfax County one year ago, ICE officers have identified more than 1,200 aliens charged with or convicted of crimes. As part of ICE's Secure Communities strategy for improved authentication and removal of criminal aliens, ICE has removed 144 individuals, while the remaining are in immigration proceedings or will be removed from the United States once they serve their criminal sentence. In March 2009, as part of the Secure Communities strategy, ICE deployed IDENT/IAFIS interoperability to Fairfax County law enforcement agencies, which enables fingerprints submitted during the booking process to be checked automatically against the Department of Justice's ( DOJ ) criminal history records and DHS records, including immigration status. When fingerprints match DHS records, ICE is automatically notified and promptly determines if enforcement action is required. This process applies to all individuals arrested and booked into custody, not just those suspected of being foreign nationals.
Smartlinx Inc. has launched SmartVM, an eGovernance application to be used with biometric systems. SmartVM will use Fujitsu's Palm Vein Authentication Technology. Smartlinx has agreed to use the SmartVM application, which will now include the Fujitsu Vein Authentication Technology, in the development of a biometric based voting system for the Forest Department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, India. The application using PalmSecure scans the unique vein pattern located inside a persons palm to verify them when their palm is placed on the devices screen.
With recent advances in the technology, new biometrics systems are coming onto the scene, such as the full-body scanners that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced will be landing at 11 U.S. airports by summer 2010. In addition, as more scanning systems roll out, thus linking citizens to databases, privacy advocates worry about the risks of having personal information in the open.
"We don't want to the see the same problems we've seen with other identification systems," said Lillie Coney, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public interest research group in Washington, D.C. "Before people jump in the deep end of the pool, they need to really consider the short-term and long-term consequences. Any information that's collected has got to be protected."
UK Home Office Identity Minister Meg Hillier says that the Identity and Passport Service has "custom built" its own database for the identity card scheme.
This follows reports that the IPS had cancelled plans to store biographical information on the Department for Work and Pensions' database. Hillier said that the controversial scheme has three databases that holds the facial image and fingerprints, the biometric data, then the other information which is generally already on the passport and the third bit is the one that links the two.
4G Identity Solutions Pvt. Ltd. says it has won a contract with the United Nations World Food Program to expand a critical food distribution program with the objective of eliminating fraud and ensuring that all qualified citizens receive their proper share of assistance. The objective was to employ the new technology and processes to purge fraud, so that aid gets to as many eligible recipients as possible. The first phase of the project, also implemented by 4G ID, was the multi-biometric solution for approximately one million citizens in the Rayagada district.
The solution captured three biometrics --a face picture, two irises, and ten fingerprints, and demographic details of citizen. In addition, 4G ID provided a specialized de-duplication solution to eliminate fraud. The contract calls for expanding the WFP's Public Distribution System (PDS) project in the state of Orissa, India by completing the enrollment of the entire population of the Rayagada district and providing an end-to-end solution for Point of Sale distribution that works effectively in remote areas.
G4S Justice Services LLC, an electronic monitoring and community supervision company, announced it has selected PerSay as its Voice Biometrics technology vendor. G4S Justice Services LLC has deployed PerSay's VocalPassword" Voice Biometrics platform in electronic monitoring projects around the world. The innovation behind VocalPassword architecture will equip G4S Justice Services LLC, with a capability to alleviate risks and comply with high levels of standards and requirements while providing the flexibility to customize the voice solutions to meet each customer's needs.
The South Bronx is known for many things -- the New York Yankees, fires in the 1970s, poverty -- but now it is known for something usually seen at European airports. iris identification technology at one its clinics.
There clinic employee scans patient eyes using a handheld camera. Within seconds, the camera reads his iris patterns, and a computer locates his medical record. the South Bronx clinic receives federal funding and operates in one of the most impoverished U.S. areas uses the instruments to prevent medical record mishaps.
Urban Health Plan, which serves mostly the uninsured and underserved, fully integrated iris identification to match patients to their medical records in 2009.
Doormen could be replaced or have their duties sliced by voice and face recognition technology. A company called Kent Security Services provides virtual doorman services. H undreds of buildings in New York City are already monitored with video cameras and audio communication instead of live doormen, but Kent adds biometrics to the surveillance. When somebody approaches the door, the computer begins clicking away and takes 40 photos of the subject per second and compares it to the photo of the resident on file. If it's a match, you're in.. If no match is found, the computer asks, "Do you live in the building?" and the subject's response is subjected to voice recognition comparison. So far, Kent has not figured out how to get the device to hail a taxi.
AOptix Technologies, Inc., a developer of iris biometrics products and long-distance wireless optical communications solutions, announced it has signed a partnership agreement with Daon, a provider of identity-assurance software products, to participate in the DaonAdvantage Program. As part of this partnership, the AOptix InSight iris recognition system has been tested, certified and integrated into Daon's identity assurance platform. AOptix has installed its InSight system at the Daon Demo Center in Reston, VA as a part of a fully integrated iris interoperability demonstration created by Daon. Users enroll their iris images on a traditional short-range iris system; an identification application then controls the InSight to capture iris images for authentication and performs the matching function within DaonEngine.
Billed as "one of the major IT-trends of the last two years handwritten signatures are embedded in more and more digital workflows to guarantee authenticity. Combining the benefits of biometric signatures and cryptographic techniques is becoming more and more extensive. In 2009 the European IT security association TeleTrusT awarded its innovation award for best practice in applied electronic signatures to Softpro-customer CECA - the Spanish Savings Banks Organization (Confederación Española de Cajas de Ahorros) for the use of SignPads for digitizing of handwritten signatures in Spanish savings banks. In 2010 Softpro presents this solution as "best practice" at the leading IT-event for the financial industry in the Gulf region - MEFTEC in Bahrain from April 20 -21.
Speed Identity AB has received an order from Gemalto AB for the supply of signature capture machines and photo type Speed Capture Light for delivery to the Swedish Tax authority. The equipment will be used for the production of secure ID cards for residents in Sweden. Speed Identity's part of the supply is biometrics collection equipment, primarily the innovative model Speed Capture Light, compact and user-friendly collection of ICAO approved signatures and facial images. The equipment will be placed at the tax service offices which will sum up to a hundred offices during 2010. The large number of application areas will mean greatly improved service to citizens who quickly and safely will receive their ID cards.
Experts practical advice, published in CIO, list biometric dos and don'ts that include using a multi-modal process. The experts say biometrics solutions will increasingly employ more than one mode, which is more accurate and secure. For instance, using keystroke recognition in conjunction with face recognition, to evaluate subjects against a watch list, and iris recognition to perform one-to-one authentication.
Although biometrics will limit identity theft it will not be a cure all for all that ails it. While biometric identification is more and more vigorous, realities mean the use of false travel documents will endure, Frank Gregory, Professor of European Security at Britain's Southampton University, said. Developers of biometrics, the computerized recognition of features such as fingerprints, irises and faces being introduced by rich countries, and fraudsters are in a unending competition to get ahead of one another's technology. The need to keep travelers moving in an age of mass transit meant there was a trade-off between passenger "flow" and the personal attention a border control officer could give to a single case.
MIT research uses information about how frequently objects are seen together to improve the conclusions of object recognition systems. At present, computers cannot consistently recognize the objects in digital images. Now, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have discovered a method to advance object recognition systems by using information about context.
A typical object recognition system will scan a digital image for groups of pixels that differ from those around them; those pixels could define an edge, a corner or some other feature of an object. If the MIT system thinks it is identified a chair, for instance, it becomes more confident that the rectangular thing nearby is a table.
The FBI likes technology dating back for many decades but its future promises to be not only high-tech but biometrically infused as well. Among some of the more interesting items coming down the pike: coordinating current FBI biometric systems-such as our systems for fingerprints and DNA-and exploring new biometric technologies that can be turned into usable tools for law enforcement and intelligence agencies; ensuring interoperability between fbi biometric systems and other federal, state, and international biometric systems; and developing biometric training for our law enforcement and intelligence partners, establishing biometric standards, and certifying biometric products.
Neuromarketing methods are making headlines for big business. Frito-Lay studied women's brains to help develop an ad campaign, and Campbell Soup (CPB, Fortune 500) just unveiled a packaging redesign based on consumers' "neurological and bodily responses" to different mockups. By hooking customers up to EEG or MRI machines, a company can learn about what's really going on inside a buyer's brain -- possibly even before the buyer knows it. The bad news is the technology is not cheap. firms performing neuromarketing research typically have ad budgets of $30 million to $100 million. Help may be on the way for smaller companies sicne Companies testing a product or marketing campaign using biometrics typically only have to test a tenth of the people they'd survey in a standard focus group according to researchers.
Mars 500, a test that will begin in the middle of this year in Moscow, inside a warehouse on the campus of the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems. There, a crew of seven men (three Europeans, three Russian cosmonauts in training, and one Chinese) will lock themselves inside a series of rooms no bigger than a tiny house for 520 days -- the approximate amount of time a trip to Mars would take, with a 30-day layover on the planet. If they last, each crew member will get a bounty, possibly upwards of $100,000. Most of the trials will study the crew members themselves, through questionnaires, fitness tests, detailed biometrics, and daily blood and urine tests.
Two U.S. senators met with President Obama on Thursday to push for a national ID card with biometric information such as a fingerprint, hand scan, or iris scan that all employers would be required to verify. In an opinion article published in Friday's edition of the Washington Post, Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) say the new identification cards will "ensure that illegal workers cannot get jobs" and "dramatically decrease illegal immigration." Schumer and Graham pitched the idea to President Obama during a private meeting Thursday at the White House. Graham said afterward that Obama "welcomed" their proposal for a new ID card law; the White House said in a statement that the senators' plan was "promising."
New Delhi— Census 2011, for which canvassing and house-listing will begin this April, will capture the biometric details (face, iris and ten finger prints) of every citizen over the age of 15, so that they can also be assigned unique IDs by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The home ministry and the Registrar General of India (RGI) have agreed to synchronized the details that are to be captured in the National Population Registrar (NPR) being created with the upcoming Census with the UIDAI’s biometric standards that were unveiled recently. In line with the recommendations of the Biometric Committee under the UIDAI, the NPR, will have details of face, iris and ten fingerprints as a necessary requirement for registration of residents. This is in order to have a common identification standard as the UID has an agreement to synchronized the data feeds of the NPR into its data base.
The Polaris Data Centre in Queensland’s booming Western Corridor has received praise from one of the most respected authorities in the international data center industry. Following a recent data center tour of Australia, AFCOM CEO Jill Eckhaus says she was most impressed with the $230 million Polaris Data Centre at Springfield (located halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast) saying it was unlike any center she’d seen before. AFCOM is a Californian based organization with more than 4,000 members and 32 chapters worldwide. Springfield Land Corporation’s Executive Director of Commercial Development Chris Schroor says Eckhaus’ comments are high praise from the head of such a well regarded international authority. “AFCOM is a global organization which commands great respect within the data center industry. The Polaris Data Centre is Australia’s first purpose built data center and features high-tech security including bullet proof glass and biometric fingerprint scanners.
Traditionally, biometrics has been the stuff of fantasy. Hollywood films often use it to show the evils of automation. For some, it conjures up images of clandestine organizations and covert activities. In theory, biometrics is a great way to authenticate computer users that provides a great, additional layer of security. It’s impossible to lose your fingerprint (barring the most gruesome of developments), and you can’t forget it like you could a password. In practice, though, there are so many things that, for now, limit the more widespread use of this technology.
At 5:45 a.m. every workday, Pauline Cochran arrives at a school bus compound near West Palm Beach, places her thumb on a machine that looks like an oversized calculator and waits for it to recognize who she is. That rarely happens smoothly, she says. "Those time clocks are always breaking down," said Cochran, a bus aide for the Palm Beach County School District. She's one of about 15,000 hourly district employees who must electronically punch in and out of work using their fingerprints as part of a $2.5 million project that has seen its share of glitches. When the biometric "time collection device" doesn't work, the scanner either does nothing or tells Cochran to see a supervisor or punch in her employee identification number.
Aware products contribute key functionality to Lockheed Martin's "Advanced Technology Workstation" for NGI BEDFORD, Mass. -- Aware, Inc., a global provider of imaging and biometrics software, today announced that it has supplied biometrics software for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Workstation (ATW). Lockheed Martin recently announced that they had successfully delivered the first ATWs for the Next Generation Identification (NGI) system. ATW includes several COTS Aware software products, including NISTPack, WSQ1000, AccuPrint(TM), and AccuScan(TM). "Aware's partnership with Lockheed Martin goes back to the earliest days of automated biometric identification, when we collaborated to enable advanced fingerprint capture and quality assurance," said Rob Mungovan, vice president at Aware. "We are pleased to again be contributing best-of-breed biometrics technology to the most advanced biometric identification system in the world."
VELUR (MEDAK DISTRICT): The villagers from that particular ward came one by one to participate in the exercise being held at Panchayat office in this tiny village with a population of about 4,000. First they showed their ration cards on which the details of the entire family were available. The staff sitting with the laptops loaded with ration card data of the entire village checked the details of the ration card and made corrections wherever required. The corrections includes names, date of births and other important thing that need to be entered. Once the process was over, they were told to entered into the second compartment where the ration cardholder were taken a photo. Then the finger prints were be collected with the help of finger print scanner in 4+4+2 mode (four left fingers first followed by four right fingers and two thumbs). This should match with the individual scanning of all the fingers that would be taken immediately. Even a small mismatch of a single finger scan would be warned by the system and immediate correction would be made.
USA Supreme Technology is a US company that is introducing a true Biometric Car Starter to the US. The Biometric Car Starter is a fingerprint-ID security device using True Biometrics. USA Supreme Technology www.biometricsbiz.com is a US company that is introducing a true Biometric Car Starter to the US. The Biometric Car Starter is a fingerprint-ID security device offering redundant, fail-safe automotive security. Easily installed, it renders vehicles inoperable to any non-authorized user. This device is a proactive barrier to theft or car- jacking, in contrast to reactive systems such as GPS, basic car alarms, and other similar products, which emit only noise or radio signals while a vehicle is being stolen.
Most of us remember where we were and what we were doing on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. For Robert LaPenta, president, chairman and chief executive officer of Stamfordbased L-1 Identity Solutions, that day's terrorist attacks led to an epiphany about U.S. defense, and a company aimed at filling the huge, suddenly apparent, gaps. "I watched the towers come down from my offices on 600 Third Ave.," said LaPenta, who was president of a company he co-founded, L-3 Communications, at the time. "It was that event that really was the genesis, the starting point of me beginning to think about a new business that ultimately spawned L-1," he said in an interview with Hearst Connecticut Newspapers.
The Schwarzenegger administration is considering buying $5,000 high-tech devices to photograph and fingerprint Californians who get subsidized in-home care for the elderly and disabled. The MorphoTrak "mobile biometric identification" device can fingerprint, snap a photo and transfer data to government systems, according to state social service officials. Officials say legislators authorized and budgeted money to invest in tools to curb fraud and save millions of dollars. The fingerprinting applies as of April 1 to any new recipients of the In-Home Supportive Services program.
Arlington-based Ideal Innovations Inc., one of a dozen companies competing for nearly $500 million in Army biometrics work over the next five years, has been awarded a contract worth as much as $30.5 million with the Army’s Biometrics Task Force. The contract is for one year, with two one-year options. Ideal Innovations said it will staff 55 new and existing positions as part of the contract win. The company currently has about 300 employees. The majority of the work will be done at the Biometric Task Force’s facility in Clarksburg, W.V.
Jennifer Road inmate tried to use another prisoner's ID card
Sharp-eyed county jail officers using biometric technology were able to thwart an escape attempt last week by an inmate who tried to pose as another prisoner. Officials said Gregory Wayne Boyd used another inmate's identification card in an attempt to get an early release from the Jennifer Road Detention Center in Parole. But unlike a similar ruse that was used successfully in Baltimore the week before, the staff noticed discrepancies in his appearance and checked his fingerprints within the county's biometric identification system, which has facial recognition and fingerprint data for each inmate. Terry Kokolis, director of the county's Department of Detention Facilities, had been reviewing proper procedures after learning about the Baltimore inmate who was mistakenly released. These incidents have a habit of repeating themselves locally, he said.
JERUSALEM —The killing of a Hamas operative in a Dubai hotel may signal the end of an era: the moment when modern technology finally caught up with the cloak-and-dagger world of disguised assassins and fake passports. “The last assassination of its kind,” said a headline in the Israeli daily Haaretz. Some believe the fallout — the killers whose faces and aliases were made startlingly public, their movements gone from state secrets to YouTube favorites — could mean a permanent change in the murky world of espionage. The hit team got into the Persian Gulf city undetected, pulled off the highly complex killing of Mahmoud al- Mabhouh, and escaped unscathed: mission accomplished, or so they must have thought. But then the photos on their doctored passports were released by Dubai police and published worldwide. So were their 26 aliases, more than half of which turned out to belong to real-life dual nationals living in Israel, whose Mossad agency is widely assumed to have been behind the killing.
DAYTONA BEACH --With an average of 3,000 people arrested daily in Florida, the state's top law enforcement agency is now armed with a tool that examines much more than fingerprints left behind at crime scenes. A new, $7.4 million computer system has the software capability of storing and examining palm prints and larger areas of the finger lifted from crime scenes. In addition, the new program -- called the Biometric Identification System -- for the first time is able to retain suspects' mug shots, as well as images of a crook's tattoos and other identifying marks, said Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime analyst Stacy Colton-Clark. Because of the new technology, the number of fingerprint "hits" has tripled in cases handled by the state's Daytona Beach crime lab, Colton-Clark said. The lab handles cases from Volusia, Seminole and Brevard counties.
The increase in fingerprint hits occurred in the last six months of 2009, compared to the same time period in 2008.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), with the assistance of the United Nations (UN), will this year use Biometric technology to conduct voter registration. Biometric technology is used to measure and analyze human body characteristics, such as fingerprints, for either identification or verification purposes.
The UN, through its Development Program (UNDP), has already selected a company called Smartmatic to provide the new technologies for the improvement of the electoral register for ECZ. For the first stage of the project, Smartmatic will supply ECZ with 1,000 mobile electronic biometric registry units, known as PARkits. This kit will include all hardware and software components, with their respective protective cases, training services, technical assistance and a one-year warranty.
Valve co-founder Gabe Newell isn't exactly known for keeping his opinions about the gaming industry a secret. In keeping with that fine tradition, the Half-Life creator used his acceptance speech at this year's Game Developer's Choice Awards to shed some light on what he believes the future holds for gaming: real-world biometrics in games. "We think biometrics will be really important," the Valve boss told his GDC audience.
"We've seen a lot of work since the Wii shipped to explore how motion -- and with this next generation of controllers – how vision systems are going to affect our games."
SINGAPORE-- The Asia Pacific biometrics market has made hay against the background of escalating security concerns in the region. The Bali bomb blasts and recent attacks on the city of Mumbai have raised concerns regarding the existing security measures.
Legislations are being passed to beef up security across the countries in the region. In such a scenario, biometrics have assumed great importance, and it will only be a matter of time before it becomes the standard security technology. With the backing of the government, biometrics is being considered for official government buildings, military installations, laboratories, and hospitals.
Immediate deployments worldwide will utilize PerSay VocalPassword(TM) as part of G4S suite of electronic monitoring services
ATLANTA -- G4S Justice Services LLC, the world's leading international electronic monitoring group announced today that it has selected PerSay as its Voice Biometrics technology vendor. G4S Justice Services LLC has deployed PerSay's VocalPassword(TM) Voice Biometrics platform in electronic monitoring projects around the world. The selection was announced following a thorough selection process and was based on PerSay's superior technology and distinct field experience.
Voice Biometrics technology plays a critical role in enhancing electronic monitoring solutions and services. It can be utilized in-lieu of or in conjunction with traditional ankle bracelet-based solutions for monitoring offenders under home arrest or other court ordered supervision program. Upon a court order, using Voice Biometrics is cost effective and convenient to both the agency as well as to the party being monitored.
Considering a biometric access system? Experts offer practical advice in these dos and don'ts.
DO expect resistance. All biometrics systems require user enrollment and credentialing, which are expensive and resource-intensive processes, Most says. "There is well-founded resistance to the idea of large, centralized repositories of personal information," she says. Eventual solutions to this problem may include anonymous identification, encrypted transmission of templates, and identity-centric infrastructures with distributed storage models.
As Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are working on a Senate version of comprehensive immigration reform and it includes a very controversial idea. There is a provision in the draft bill to force all Americans to possess a biometric ID card.
Sources on Capitol Hill confirm to Big Government that the idea of a national ID card is part of the comprehensive immigration reform bill being negotiated between Graham and Schumer.
Engineers have developed a billboard, similar to one used in the Tom Cruise blockbuster, that uses in built cameras to instantly identifies a shopper’s age and gender as they walk past. The facial-recognition system, called the Next Generation Digital Signage Solution, then offers consumers a product it thinks is suited to their demographic. NEC said each billboard had a small camera with a “flat-panel monitor” built in. As a person walks past their personal information, including their age to within 10 years and gender, is then sent to an internal computer using facial recognition software.
Experts said the technology, being developed by NEC, the Japanese electronics company, would allow advertisers to develop more accurate campaigns that were suited to consumers.
Fairfax, VA - IriTech Inc., a leading provider of iris-based biometric identification technology, has unveiled another industry leading advancement – strong embedded security in iris acquisition cameras. IriTech's IriCAMM family of affordable iris acquisition cameras has already received numerous accolades from users for ease of use and rapid capture. IriTech’s addition of powerful security features raises performance even further, providing on-board Device-Level Encryption, Device Identification, and Administrative Certificates. Device-Level Encryption enables the cameras to encrypt images and templates after capture, ensuring security of the data at the point of origin.
This safeguards critical identification information during communication and processing. Device Identification supplies each camera is its own digital signature to support proper accountability and system management. A digital signature enables throughput analysis, operator performance tracking, and equipment troubleshooting. With this capability fraudulent activity is easily traced and corrected.
Neurotechnology, a provider of biometric identification technologies, has released MegaMatcher Accelerator 2.0, which the company calls a packaged hardware and software solution for high-volume, high-speed fingerprint identification. Version 2.0’s fingerprint matching engine is capable of up to 40 million fingerprints per second, according to Neurotechnology, four times the speed of the current version.
While Version 2.0‘s extended version has the capability of matching 40 million fingerprints per second, the standard version will match up to 20 million fingerprints per second, running on a simple PC, providing a less-expensive solution for smaller biometric applications, the company says.
BAE Systems has drafted in Human Recognition Systems (HRS) to help ‘fast forward’ 3D facial recognition technology that will vastly improve security in train stations and airports.
The project will ultimately help police and security professionals to identify suspects on CCTV as they move quickly through public spaces, read their lip and speech patterns and build up a picture of their behaviour through multiple CCTV cameras.
HRS is currently assisting facial biometric experts OmniPerception by enrolling the faces of over 250 Liverpool-based employees at its company HQ. The mass face enrolment trial, which consists of sitting on a revolving platform whilst hundreds of images are taken of faces from all angles, will help the 3D face recognition technology to identify known criminals just by the shape of their nose or cheekbone.
During 2010, HRS will be working closely with OmniPerception and BAE Systems to develop further applications for the technology, including mass transit systems and schemes that require large-scale enrolment or verification in airports, train stations, sea ports and at large sporting events.
More on Human Behavioural Analytics on:
http://www.hrsltd.com/technology.php?page=48
Security Systems Technology (SST) are offering a biometric time & attendance (TNA) solution that can operate on a standalone basis or fully networked (LAN/WAN). The product allows live multiple-site integration and is particularly suited to applications in the leisure sectors.
The TNA system has recently been installed at London Heathrow Airport in a hospitality environment where it is helping senior management monitor their staff movement and working hours in a carrier’s executive passenger lounges. Five hundred employees working on a shift basis clock in and out by scanning their hand, a solution that avoids the problems of 'buddy' punching as well as inaccurate or fraudulent timekeeping and unauthorised absences.
TNA is distinct from fingerprint reading since the whole hand is scanned from above, so avoiding many data protection issues and logistical difficulties notably for staff in the hospitality sector. The system is an alternative to non-contact proximity cards or fobs which are commonly abused, and the technology has reduced client payroll costs by up to 5% as only precise hours worked can be claimed by shift workers. Users report that return on Investment (ROI) is almost immediate.
TNA will perform detailed calculation of employee hours including incremental overtime rates as well as documenting lateness, early exits and sickness. The equipment is particularly suited to staff at leisure destinations and sports venues who may have split and rotating duty hours.
Crown House Day Nursery in Evesham UK installed a new hi-tech security system using fingerprint identification for access. Nursery owner Louise Lees said: "We feel that in recent times the security of your child whilst at nursery has become increasingly significant, and we have acknowledged this by incorporating the use of the biometric technology to enhance our already sound child protection policies.
Feedback from the parents has been overwhelmingly positive, and they really value the added peace of mind."
Vilnius, Lithuania - Neurotechnology, a provider of high-precision biometric identification technologies, has released MegaMatcher Accelerator 2.0.
MegaMatcher Accelerator v2.0 Standard manages up to 3 million fingerprints and matches 20 million fingerprints/sec. Supporting database of up to 20 million fingerprints, MegaMatcher Accelerator v2.0 Extended performs matching at speeds of 40 million fingerprints/sec.
Both match MegaMatcher and standard fingerprint templates, so users can match another provider's AFIS-generated data. Software/hardware solutions utilize NIST MINEX-certified fingerprint recognition algorithm.
South African Biometrics company Ideco Group aims to grow globally, after its takeover of Kroll Background Screening. The company now owns 100 percent of Kroll, and renamed the company Managed Integrity Evaluation (MIE). Ideco wanted to buy MIE because it is a complementary business. Its service is an automated fingerprint verification process, which eliminates the possibility of a candidate applying for a job with a stolen identity document. "We replace names and identification documents with fingerprints."
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has received 19 bids for its first information technology project, on application development services. Among those who applied are Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, HCL and IBM. The high interest of IT firms in the project is due to the immense opportunity ahead. Biometrics (which includes fingerprint, face and iris recognition) and computing power hold the keys to the UID project. For every rupee of IT spending on the project, industry experts estimate, around 60 per cent of this will go to hardware vendors.
Don’t dissolve English in adrenaline—– A biometric perception
The incorporation of biometrics in the education model has been investigated in a pilot study involving foreign students enrolled in the ESL course at the ESL Institute, VIT University in Australia. They measured the electro- photonic emission (also called GDV-grams) of students fingertips before and after language activities, specifically listening comprehension tasks and showed that the anxiety index in listening comprehension paradigm corresponds to the increase of entropy level of left hand corresponding to the right hemisphere. The pilot data confirms the recent findings of correlation of right hemisphere involvement in second language acquisition at the level of language proficiency. consequently, computational biometrics based gas discharge visualization (GDV) tools may be used to assess and potentially recognize apprehension in ESL learners.
The nose knows but in the world of biometrics researchers say the snout has been neglected and would work well for ID in stealthy observation. However, security experts say it is unlikely that noses will surpass irises as the future biometric preference. A researcher told the BBC that noses have advantages, "Noses are harder to conceal so a system that recognizes noses would work better with an uncooperative subject or for covert surveillance." The research is in its infancy, with only 40 noses involved in the tests. "Ears have been looked at in detail, eyes have been looked at in terms of iris recognition, but the nose has been neglected," he said.
With a large privacy law reform agenda before Australia this year, Karen Curtis says her office will remain focused on "business as usual". The big-ticket item for government is a planned rewrite of the Privacy Act for the digital age, in response to recommendations by the Australian Law Reform Commission. The increasing use of biometric systems both by governments and business is also on Curtis's radar: "On biometrics, I think it would be sensible to stop and take stock of what's happening in this country. Increasingly, there are state government projects based on facial recognition, federally our passports include biometrics, and businesses are using these systems for everything from security access to buildings to computer log-ons."
Hackers inserted his digital photo of the "King" into a U.K. passport, and used it at a self-service passport machine at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport to gain clearance to board a plane. This incident occurred in September 2008. However, this security vulnerability persists. The alleged killers of Mabhouh included 11 people holding U.K. and other European passports.
All of the killers used passports containing fake photographs and signatures. The reason is that digital passports - and indeed digital data in general - suffers from an inherent security flaw.
With the new "ultra-secure" digital passports, if you figure out how to change the data on the RFID chip, the earlier data vanishes. There is absolutely no trace of the tampering.
International defence and security company BAE Systems has drafted in biometric and identity management specialist Human Recognition Systems (HRS) to help "fast forward" 3D facial recognition technology to improve security in train stations and airports. The project will ultimately help police and security professionals to identify suspects on CCTV as they move quickly through public spaces, read their lip and speech patterns and build up a picture of their behaviour through multiple CCTV cameras. HRS is currently assisting facial biometric experts OmniPerception by enrolling the faces of over 250 Liverpool-based employees at its company HQ.
The fear a year ago that the biometrics industry would have a slow year has passed. According to Frost & Sullivan there were few cancellations and delays in biometric related projects, primarily due to budget cutbacks. While many smaller vendors saw a drastic reduction in their revenues in the first half of 2009., the industry "saw a healthy growth especially in the government vertical with numerous national ID card projects being thrown into the limelight." In particular Voice biometrics, which has always been in the shadow of physiological biometrics showed promise in 2009 with banks in Asia and Europe testing voice biometrics for banking verification. In addition Fingerprint biometrics, continues to show strength with more that 70 percent of the biometrics revenues in the Asia Pacific region attributed to it.
It worked for Aladdin and now it works for real.
Voice biometrics may not get the same attention as other biometrics, but it has inimitable benefits. principal among these is its capacity to allow remote authentication over the telephone. This phone-centric model means it does not need any extra hardware, and geographic proximity is immaterial. bearing in mind that call centers devote 12 percent of call duration to authenticating a customer's identity, any solution that expedites authentication and increases security would be critical.
This is the core of the voice opportunity. While there are many different voice biometric vendors, the systems typically work in a similar manner.
The user undergoes a two-factor authentication, identified with ID number or PIN and then authenticated by having him speak a phrase or password.
The U.S. government is to shell out funding for the installation of iris scanning systems intended to deter escape attempts such as the recent escape by a Baltimore inmate who talked his way out, according to a Security Info Watch article. The Baltimore escapee, who was serving three life sentences for multiple murders, impersonated his cellmate. The grants, given out in $10,000 increments to assorted agencies in the U.S., seek to equip law enforcement people with iris scanners as well as build a biometric database of inmates around the country. While many of the recipients of the grants have put the technology to use mainly in their squads, places like Story County in Iowa are moving to implement the technology at the Story County jail.
The Conservative government has promised to move ahead with biometric passports for Canadians, two years after first vowing to adopt a more secure electronic travel document by 2011. First promised in the 2008 federal budget, the advent of a passport with encoded identification information, such as an iris scan, fingerprints, or facial recognition data, was delayed by questions over logistics, and how to cover costs. A passport encrypted with biological information "will significantly improve security," one of several measures previously promised and highlighted under the title of criminal justice and national security improvements.
The arrival of the biometrics will limit the kind of identity fraud carried out by the killers of a Hamas commander in Dubai but will not eliminate the practice, a border security expert says. While biometric recognition is more and more vigorous, the use of false travel documents will continue, says Frank Gregory, Professor of European Security at Britain's Southampton University.
Developers of biometrics -- the computerized detection of features such as irises, fingerprints, and faces being introduced by affluent countries -- and fraudsters were in a perpetual race to get ahead of one another's technology, Gregory told Reuters. "It's a constant catch up," he said, adding intelligence services around the world were believed to use several tactics to thwart biometric barriers to move staff across borders.
Parascript announced CheckPlus International for Argentina. The software reads the courtesy amount, legal amount and MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) line on checks, enabling banks to minimize cost and labor associated with check processing.
CheckPlus International for Argentina processes the entire stream of documents for Proof-of-Deposit (POD) and remittance applications including machine printed and handwritten Argentinean checks and cross-validates courtesy and legal amounts to ensure the highest recognition rates.
The Parascript image analysis suite extracts important information from images. Employing patented digital image analysis and pattern recognition technologies, the Parascript image analysis suite helps decision quality in medical imaging, postal and payment automation, fraud detection, and forms processing operations.
U.S. national security leaders and cyber soldiers from all over the world gathered to design defenses against criminals and spies that more and more affect the Internet. Technology firms ranging from giants such as Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, Symantec joined smaller cyber warriors specializing in fields including biometrics, encryption, and online behavior in this week's RSA Conference. They were joined by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and White House Cyber Security Coordinator Howard Schmidt along with computer defense companies and technology icons such as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Craigslist creator Craig Newmark. Social networking and applications being hosted as services in the Internet "cloud" are among hot Internet trends presenting opportunities for hackers and challenges for those guarding networks.
Watch all the Video’s of the Keynote speaker Sessions and more on: http://www.rsaconference.com/2010/usa/recordings/keynote-catalog.htm
IBM announced that it has completed the acquisition of National Interest Security Company (NISC), a provider of systems engineering, biometrics, document and media exploitation, systems integration, software development, enterprise architecture, security, information assurance, analysis support and critical infrastructure protection.
NISC will be integrated into IBM Global Business Services, operating initially as a wholly-owned subsidiary. With the completion of the acquisition, the combined offerings are expected to enable IBM to expand its capabilities with federal, state and local government entities, particularly in the fast-growing areas of defence, healthcare, energy, logistics and security.
Security experts still search for the perfect authentication solution. While Multi-factor authentication -- using more than one form of authentication to verify the legitimacy of a transaction via smart cards, tokens or biometrics, for example -- is often mentioned as a better remedy there are still issues remaining. The reason, as in the password problem. With some many passwords to manage people write their PINs right on their token.
Freight thefts enlarged significantly in the U.S. in 2009 -- and that raises apprehension about the integrity and safety of the supply chain. RFID can help avert cargo thievery and help identify individuals involved in it. RFID ID cards (preferably including some form of secondary authentication such as biometrics or PIN) can be used to grant and track access to the yard and other facilities.
The FreightWatch report showed that an increasing number of thefts, mostly truckloads, were from supposedly secure lots. it means that "secure lots" really aren't all that secure -- whether because of gaps in security procedures or complicity on the part of employees or others with access to lots.
Download this report on: http://www.freightwatchintl.com/webfm_send/50
What's to become of one of the world's largest biometric manufacturers?
STAMFORD, Conn.—Biometric giant L-1 Identity Solutions made its potential sale official March 2, when it announced that it has hired Goldman Sachs and Stone Key partners to explore its strategic alternatives. Why sell now? Bob LaPenta, CEO and the largest single shareholder of the company, having invested $100 million of his own money, reiterated that he’s said all along that when 2010 arrived, the company would assess its position. Asked if there were other reasons for exploring alternatives, Jay Beaghan, managing director for Imperial Capital said, “I think Bob’s being transparent in a good way. I think he’s telling The Street what he’s doing,” Beaghan said.
RESTON, Va. -- Daon, the award-winning global provider of identity assurance software and services, announced today that the company has reached another milestone in global adoption of its products. Daon has been selected by governments and other leading enterprises on five continents to provide registration and biometric enrollment software which will be used to process a projected 50 million enrollments per year. The estimated annual identity enrolments span program requirements in a variety of sectors ranging from banking and education to government services and even firearm registration. From a single software platform, well over 150 different enrollment processes will be managed ensuring compliance and integrity helping to remove human error. The flexibility of Daon's software dramatically reduces the cost of implementing large scale enrollment services to previously unattainable levels, unlike competitive alternatives including custom development or single purpose enrollment software.
Company wants to use Seekonk as test subject in student tracking pilot program
The Seekonk School Committee, in partnership with Volpe Industries Inc., is exploring the idea of deploying GPS tracking and facial recognition equipment on a Seekonk school bus. The proposed system does not included groundbreaking technologies, but does deploy existing technologies in a new way that will hopefully prove beneficial to the wellbeing and safety of the children.
Composed of two cameras, a mini computer, and GPS tracking equipment, the system would provide real-time GPS tracking of the bus, the ability for the school administration to view and hear the interior of the bus, tracking students with facial recognition to confirm correct bus placement, and display special student information such as medical needs.
Isn't technology grand?
Yes, in many ways, but not when it comes to collection on biometric data that could infringe on personal privacy rights, Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, said. Biometric data sounds like a sci-fi future trend of personal identification, but it's here now. Entities can require fingerprints scans, facial recognition scans, retinal scans and more for a variety of reasons, and Wielechowski has a bill on the table that would ban such things. He's concerned that once that information is out there, it could be used to track people's movements. Several years ago, the Legislature gave broad support to a proposal by Sen. Donny Olson, D-Nome, to prohibit the collection, storage and analysis of DNA from law-abiding people. But technology has changed, and Wielechowski wants to update state law to account for new personal data collection methods, like fingerprinting and facial recognition scans.
With the simple touch of a finger, a user can establish identity to gain access to IBM Tivoli Access Manager for Enterprise Single Sign-On protected applications and networks without having to remember a password or produce a token or ID card. This convenient alternative to passwords and tokens can reduce costs, strengthen security, improve productivity and address IT security and compliance requirements. One of the unique features of the BIO-key fingerprint identity software is its fingerprint reader independent platform. This provides the ability to interface with every major fingerprint reader manufacturer including readers integrated into laptops, tablets and keyboards by PC manufacturers.
A new research report called “Global Biometric Forecast to 2010” by RNCOS forecasts that the Iris recognition technology market will grow at a CAGR of around 30% during 2010 – 2012 and the biometric market overall will grow at a CAGR of around 18% during the same time period. “Global Biometric Forecast to 2012” predicts that the Iris recognition technology market could reach around US $ 900 million by the end of 2012. The report also investigates factors that could both fuel and restrain the growth of the biometric industry.
Discussions on applying biometrics to airport security have traditionally focused on iris, facial or fingerprint verification technology, but gait-based concepts are emerging as part of a multimodal solution. One project investigating the reliability of gait involves researchers from the University of Southampton in the UK, where a biometric 'tunnel' has been created to analyze unique characteristics that individuals exhibit when they walk. In testing at the university, synchronized closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras follow subjects as they walk through the tunnel. With the application of complex software, the imagery is then duplicated digitally in three-dimensional (3-D) format for categorization and storage on a database. This is then matched against CCTV footage when the subject next passes through the tunnel.
Want to know more on Gait Biometrics?
Read this whitepaper on:
http://www.iu.hio.no/nik07/bidrag/Gafurov.pdf
Copying of passports Israel problem for the IPS
In the last ten days we have learnt that “persons unknown” stole the identity of British citizens and cloned modern UK passports to enter Dubai to perform an assassination.
Last week, the Foreign Secretary got up in the House of Commons to say that his legal action before the Court of Appeal was to protect intelligence vital to national security given to the UK by the USA’s national security agencies.
There are obvious data protection consequences that flow from these events that are not being picked up by journalists as part of the current public discourse.
Effective use of data could have prevented apparent theft of identities, says law's architect Meir Sheetrit. Effective use of biometric data could have prevented the apparent theft of Anglo- Israelis’ identities, MK Meir Sheetrit (Kadima), the architect of the country’s Biometric ID Law, and a former minister of intelligence services, told The Jerusalem Post Thursday evening. Sheetrit said the identification documents – identity cards and passports – that would come into use as a result of his law would “be impossible to forge.”
Informative and Well-Timed White Paper Highlights the Convergence of Biometric Identity Resolution and Identity Management Solutions
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- A new class of vendors has developed unique technologies and solutions that integrate biometric and biographic data for identity resolution within robust and flexible system architectures that connect and enable business processes for identity management purposes Frost & Sullivan recently published a white paper, The Next Level of Identity Solutions: The Convergence of Biometric Identity Resolution and Identity Management Solutions that explores this topic by analyzing the concepts of Biometric Identity Resolution and Identity Management Solutions and their importance, describing the market trends driving their adoption, and considering the new market entrants in this emerging field.
If you are interested in receiving a copy of The Next Level of Identity Solutions: The Convergence of Biometric Identity Resolution and Identity Management Solutions, please send an e-mail to Sarah Saatzer, Corporate Communications, at sarah.saatzer@frost.com with the following information:
your full name,
company name,
title,
company telephone number,
company e-mail address,
city, state, and country.
STAMFORD, Conn. L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc. was awarded a seven-year contract by the State of New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to provide a secure driver’s license solution. The first year of the contract will include the ramp up and implementation of the new system and the remaining six years will consist of card production and equipment and software maintenance.
New Jersey is changing its pre-existing workflow process for driver’s license issuance to incorporate photo-first capabilities as part of the State’s effort to curb identity-related fraud. In addition, the State is implementing a secure card production solution as part of its over-the-counter system that will exceed the recommended standards set by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, making the cards compliant with proposed standards set forth in the REAL ID Act.
AllTrust Networks, a developer of biometric products and services, spoke at the Winter Biometrics Summit in Miami. In particular, AllTrust discussed the ways biometric technology can improve an organizations customer service experience.
For example, biometrics can lessen customer waiting-time to have their identity authenticated for sensitive transactions and serve as a way to deter fraudsters and identity thieves. The speaking engagement featured officials from National Supermarket #2 that uses AllTrust's biometric check cashing system Paycheck Secure, which includes a high-end optical fingerprint reader that identifies and verifies; ensuring you know it is your customer.
Cogent Systems announced that it has been selected as the sole winner for all six components of the U.K. National MobileID service (formerly known as Mobile Identification at Scene or MIDAS). Cogent will provide an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) of the UK National Fingerprint Collection along with all services to provide a nationwide mobile biometric identification system available to all police forces in the UK. Cogent will provide a Framework Catalogue and an online ordering system for police forces to purchase a variety of biometric capture devices to suit a broad range of policing needs.
There is no doubt that biometrics is seen as way to bolster security in many different venues. In South Africa, Design Indaba -- an institution that celebrates all the creative sectors including flagship conference and expo -- introduced a biometric security system that will see delegates fingerprinted when they collect their access tags in order to prevent multiple use of single tickets. According to sources, Security has always been firm at Design Indaba and this year will be no different. Tags remain non-transferable. As soon as it became apparent that biometrics would be implemented, various questions were put to Design Indaba on Twitter, questioning the reasoning and technological solution behind the move.
Cross Match Technologies, Inc. has expanded its Rapid ID solution within the state of Florida to include a mobile, wireless scanner. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is utilizing this technology to help modernize its identity verification process. FALCON is FDLE's state-of-the-art system for identifying criminal suspects and reporting data. The Cross Match Mobile Rapid ID solution is centered on the Cross Match Verifier MW, the first FBI-certified handheld portable fingerprint capture device. Verifier MW was designed to provide military and law enforcement agencies with the capability to immediately capture and collect forensic-quality fingerprint images.
Animetrics Inc., a face recognition biometric solution provider, has been granted patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patents entitled, Facial Recognition System and Method, Generation of Image Database for Multifeatured Objects, and Viewpoint-Invariant Image Matching and Generation of 3D Models from 2D Imagery are breakthrough technologies, which are. according to the company, "already revolutionizing" the face biometric for use in security, surveillance, and computer vision. The technology covered by the patents specifically provide methods for (i) generation of 3D models from arbitrary numbers of uncalibrated photographs at any orientation and scale, and (ii) generating databases from 3D models for use in biometric systems for training or for recognition, and (iii) face recognition systems based on normalization using 3D models.
Parents usually know the distinct cries of their infants but there is always room for help. Future baby monitors could interpret infant cries, so that parents will know for sure whether their child is sleepy, hungry, needs a diaper change, or is in discomfort. Japanese scientists report details of a statistical computer program that can analyze a baby's crying in the International Journal of Biometrics. Engineers in Japan have turned to an approach to product design, known as kansei engineering, invented in the 1970s by Professor Mitsuo Nagamachi, Dean of Hiroshima International University, which aims to "measure" feelings and emotions.
The Hampton (Va.) Sheriff's Department will use iris biometrics technology with inmates and sex offenders. Officials say it will help guarantee that the right person's being detained and the right person's being set free. Authorities will use a digital camera to scan an individual's iris. That image will be stored in a secure, nationwide network and registry. Officials say it takes no longer than five seconds to get a positive ID and track someone's criminal past. Iris Biometrics can also be used in cases involving missing children and the elderly suffering from Alzheimer's or other memory illnesses.
Um, Um good. It turns out that the Campbell Soup Company gallant redesign of its iconic label came with the help of some neuromarketing. Campbell invested two years studying "microscopic changes in skin moisture, heart rate, and other biometrics to see how consumers react to everything from pictures of bowls of soup to logo design?" By the end of the two-year study, over 1,500 subjects were interviewed and tested using multiple methodologies--which ranged from traditional consumer feedback to innovative neuromarketing techniques. This included a combination of pupillometry -- measurement of the diameter or width of the pupil of the eye, proprietary micro facial expression analysis obtained by in-store cameras, in-aisle eye tracking and intercept interviews.
There was a launch of a non-profit peer-reviewed International Journal of Innovation. Its mission includes: Encourage and motivate researchers in challenging areas of BioMetrics and Forensics; Engineering, Sciences, BioEngineering, NeuroSciences and Technology viz., BioEngineering, BioEthics, BioMedical Engineering, BioTechnology, Medical Informatics, Medicine, Medical Sciences, Pharmacy, Psychology and all areas of Allied Health Sciences, Management, Technology, Law and Public Health and BioEntrepreneurship & BioMarketing, GeoSciences, Atmospheric Sciences, and Remote Sensing; and Life Sciences within the scope of the International Journal of Innovation (IJInn).
Passlogix announced v-GO Universal Authentication Manager (v-GO UAM), that will enable Microsoft Windows to accept any identification device for logon -- including door access (RFID) badges, government-issued citizen identity cards, standalone or built-in laptop biometrics, one time passwords via mobile phones, and question and answer sequences. The solution provides fast and secure network access for users and lowers the cost of back-end strong authentication infrastructure in corporate networks from more than $100 to just $15 per user. According to Phil Schacter, Vice President and Service Director for Burton Group Security and Risk Management Strategies, "Many organizations require the flexibility to maintain a mix of password and stronger authentication credentials, depending on the risk profile associated with each use case and its community of users."
Sydney – In October 2009, the new Immigration Act passed into law in New Zealand. According to the Immigration Minister, Jonathan Coleman, it will enhance border security and improve the efficiency of immigration services. “Key aspects of the new Act include the ability to use biometrics, a new refugee and protection system, a single independent appeals tribunal and a universal visa system.” Over 50 experts from government and industry will gather at Holiday Inn Hotel in Wellington for the 6th Biometrics Institute New Zealand Conference & Exhibition on the 26 March 2010 to discuss biometrics in identity management and immigration services and to see the latest developments in biometrics technology. The event is organized by the independent Biometrics Institute.
With Over 500 Hospitals and 1 Million Healthcare Users, Imprivata Is the Proven Leader in Helping Hospitals Bridge the Gap Between Security and Clinician Productivity LEXINGTON, MA. -- Imprivata(R), Inc., the company that simplifies and secures user access, today announced the launch of its Global Healthcare Division. The new division is built upon the company's successful track record of working with more than 500 hospitals in 12 countries, one million healthcare users and strategic relationships with leading HIS vendors. The new division reinforces Imprivata's commitment to help hospitals make patient data easily accessible throughout clinical workflows, enforce patient privacy and deploy transparent security. Imprivata helps chief medical officers make patient data easily accessible throughout clinical workflows. Physicians, nurses and other clinicians are empowered through fast EMR access. Chief information officers and privacy officers can enforce stringent patient privacy policies and information security professionals can deploy transparent security across their healthcare information systems.
Targeted at terrorist hotspots. Citizens of "around ten countries" will have to submit fingerprint and facial images to apply for electronic visas to enter Australia under a $69 million plan revealed today. The measure was announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as he unveiled the overdue counter-terrorism white paper. Foreign minister Stephen Smith declined to reveal which countries would be subject to the tough new visa processing arrangements. "We expect the rollout to be in about 10 countries," he said.
Is the age of forged passports and bogus aliases drawing to a close? The unprecedented video images streaming out of Dubai in recent days showing what police in the Gulf emirate say is a professional hit squad at work raise new and profound questions about the future of covert operations. In a world dominated by biometric identification, increasingly interconnected border control centers, and closed circuit television surveillance, will intelligence agents be able to travel under bogus aliases and carry missions deemed vital for the national security of their countries?
“As technology improves, those who fight terrorism [on a covert level] will see a drop in their abilities,” Rami Igra, a former senior Mossad official, said this week.
Telos ID Delivers Secure Verification and Access Control System ASHBURN, Va.-- Telos Identity Management Solutions, LLC (Telos(TM) ID) has delivered the MobileAssure Access Control (MAAC) system to credential and verify the identities of employees and contractors at FedExField, home of the Washington Redskins. Built using technologies developed to meet the rigorous security requirements of the Federal government and DoD, MAAC is a versatile system that leverages a broad range of biometrics devices, and integrates with multiple HR management, scheduling and payroll systems.
Questions have been raised about the feasibility of biometrics as an authentication method if the data was hacked. LogLogic CEO Guy Churchward claimed that while technologically a great idea and as a two-factor authentication it is good, the problem with biometrics is in the fact that you cannot change your fingerprint like you can with a password. He said: “The issue I have is biometrics are unique to you but once you have your fingerprint scanned it will give a unique data sequence which if compromised is not exactly something you can change.
The world of biometric security managed to get all shook up when a couple of “ethical hackers” managed to get through Amsterdam airport’s border patrol with a passport under the name of Elvis Presley, complete with the hip-shaker’s picture. Slipping the doctored document through an automated passport scanner the Double Trouble duo managed to pull the wool over Schiphol airport’s security using a fake biometric chip. Adam Laurie and Jeroen Van Beek say they do what they do in order to expose security flaws in order to push governments to fix them, before International passport faking scams can occur. Oh, ooops, cough, Dubai. Van Beek told CNN that making the faked chip was not just easy, but cheap too, costing less than $100 in "off the shelf equipment."
"What we did for that chip is create passport content for Elvis Presley and put it on a chip and sign it with our own key for a nonexistent country. And a device that was used to read chips didn't check the country's signatures."
Watch the CNN video clip on: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/02/19/passport.security/index.html
The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has decided to drop a key existing part of the National Identity Scheme (NIS) and has decided to build something new instead, according to Computer Weekly. A government source has told Computer Weekly that the original plan to use an existing Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) database has been dropped. The Customer Information System (CIS) database was too complex and not considered secure enough. In December 2006, the IPS said it would spread the data required for the NIS across three systems involving national insurance, asylum applications and passports. But now it appears the IPS believes that it is cheaper and easier to drop the CIS and build their own system.
Two years after Arizona began requiring all employers to use a federal online program to ensure a legal workforce, a new study indicates that illegal workers are slipping through the system more than half of the time by using stolen identities. Fifty-four percent of the illegal workers whose names were run through the program nationwide were wrongly found to be authorized to work, according to the report by Westat, a Maryland research company hired by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to evaluate the system, known as E-Verify. The system's high inaccuracy rate for illegal workers using stolen identities has greatly alarmed business groups in Arizona. The state's 2008 employer-sanctions law mandates that employers use E-Verify and gives authorities the power to close down businesses found to be knowingly hiring illegal workers.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- Canada's Transport Minister John Baird today announced new dedicated funds that will help to strengthen Canada's air transportation system against terrorist attacks, enhance the protection of air travellers and better align the aviation system with international security requirements. The Government of Canada will provide $1.5 billion over five years to the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) to enhance Canadian aviation security, through Canada's Air Travellers Security Charge (ATSC). "The terrorist attack that took place just two months ago today was a stark reminder for governments to remain vigilant about aviation security," said Baird. "Our government is unwavering in our determination to keep all Canadians safe and secure from terrorism, and we are taking the necessary measures to meet this goal."
A leading global information technology services provider has relaunched an ambitious national social security fund solution in Africa that will enable the institutions to uniquely identify their members. Individual countries that will acquire the new technology, known as members’ identification management system and launched by Techno Brain Ltd, will use automated fingerprint identification system to trace its members. The fingerprints are then used to generate a unique identification number, called NSSF number.
DES MOINES, Iowa — A Baltimore inmate who bluffed his way out of prison probably wouldn't have tricked guards if they had eye-scanners such as those being installed at dozens of jails nationwide. The federal government is paying for the scanners as part of an effort to build a nearly foolproof identification system to put a stop to such escapes. Taylor was serving three life sentences for shooting his ex-girlfriend and her two teenage daughters. He impersonated his cellmate Thursday and was released. He was arrested the following day in West Virginia.
Comverse will be releasing an app in which it married social marketing with facial recognition software to create what it is billing as the first ever socially augmented reality tool. It has also prompted questions about privacy and appropriateness - questions that are becoming more relevant as this technology is more widely deployed in apps. The app takes advantage of Face.com's facial recognition algorithms and its database of images to deliver its friend recognition technology - technology that links a particular face with an appropriate profile.
The Biometric Automated Toolset (BAT) is basically a laptop computer with separate plug-in units that record mug shots, fingerprints and retinal characteristics. Personal data -- such as name, date of birth, home village, father’s and grandfather’s names -- are entered into the laptop with the biometric data and transmitted to the United States, where the information is permanently entered into a database and cross-checked against previously entered files. Within that database are fingerprints taken from previously detained individuals or from seized arms and munitions caches and improvised explosive devices. Troops not carrying a BAT system use a HIIDE (Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment) unit which resembles a camera. A lens captures retinal details while fingerprints are obtained through the use of a top-mounted panel on the device. Troops have to take personal details with pen and paper, but these are later entered into the BAT computer along with the captured images.
India-based mydigitalfc.com reports that the Reserve Bank of India has announced plans to roll out new guidelines on the business correspondent model that would facilitate greater spread of banking services to remote areas. Among the new guidelines, which aim to help financial institutions in the country reach unbanked and under banked populations are stipulations governing the use of biometrics at ATMs. Punjab National Bank, in coordination with RBI’s announcement, has launched a biometric ATM at Ranikhera village. The biometric feature is expected to offer physical identification, such as impression of finger or the palm, at the ATM.
Many users of Facebook, Myspace and other social networking sites are already worried about prospective employers who troll social networking sites for behavior which can disqualify potential employees. Now those users have a new and more intrusive user to worry about, perfect strangers. An invasive new mobile-phone software program might make it possible for someone to snap your picture with their camera phone and use facial recognition to discover your identity in the blink of the lens eye.
BIO-key International, Inc., a provider of finger-based biometric identification solutions, announced the availability of BIO-key's fingerprint ID solution as part of the standard release of IBM Tivoli Access Manager for Enterprise Single Sign-On. With the touch of a finger, the company noted, a user can establish identity to gain access to IBM Tivoli Access Manager for Enterprise Single Sign-On protected applications and networks without having to remember a password or produce a token or ID card. BIO-key said that one of the unique features of the BIO-key fingerprint identity software is its fingerprint reader independent platform. This provides the ability to interface with every major fingerprint reader manufacturer including readers integrated into laptops, tablets and keyboards by PC manufacturers.
A time and attendance specialist is helping UK road haulage and public transport companies streamline their operations while helping employees keep track of their bonus, overtime and holiday entitlement using the latest biometric fingerprint recognition technology. North East Time Recorders Ltd based in Blaydon, Tyne and Wear has worked with Computime Systems Ltd of Leeds to develop software, which enables a biometric reader to act as a time clock and job cost system at multiple sites, with the data automatically feeding back to head office. The system is based on the proven Krypton Access biometric fingerprint reader, designed for easy installation and low maintenance.
The FS22 from Futronic Technology is fingerprint access and attendance control device with Mifare enabling Axeze to provide a full range of fingerprint access and attendance control with either biometrics or by card/fob. "Our range of products are priced in the mid range and ideal for the small to medium sized corporate looking for a high end solution. In fact we believe that they are superior in value and extremely low in price," said Shelley Elder, CEO of Axeze. Biometrics is highly reliable and cost effective as there is limited administration required, which means huge savings to end users. Once you are enrolled, you are enrolled. Your fingerprint or face are unique to you and cannot be copied and you only need to enroll once. Additionally no cards or fobs are required and this can be a huge cost saving for the commercial establishment, let alone the administration of the cards/fobs.
The Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia have voiced apprehension that the new fuel subsidy system which uses MyKad for petrol purchase may create hassles for consumers. The association is worried that the system could cause congestion and cost petrol dealers more. They believe it would take a longer time to process transactions because biometrics would be used to confirm the vehicle owner's identity through thumbprint scanning and this could lead to possible congestion at the fuel stations. A new petrol pricing mechanism is expected to start on May 1, which is aimed at ensuring that only targeted groups are allowed to buy subsidized fuel. Association president Datuk Hashim Othman said, "Experts in the field may say it is applicable but people on the ground are worried that the thumbprint scan, which is similar to the practice in the airport, may delay transactions and create congestion at petrol stations."
A Coral Gables media company is launching a biometric security measure for parents to protect their children from pornography, predators and cyberbullying. Dolphin Secure sells a $60-a-year subscription service permitting parents to control what sites a child visits and who they can talk to within a kids-only social network, called Dolphin Surf.
Dolphin Secure combines a social network with a fingerprint scanner. Biometric scans of fingerprints are becoming more prevalent as the next step beyond passwords in keeping online information and identities secure. Unless a parent overrides the default settings, children will be blocked from sites that have precarious content or offer unsupervised chats. The idea is to keep all conversations within the network, Dolphin Surf, limited only to children are talking to parent-approved age and gender groups.
Rajasthan is planning to set up 6000 women-exclusive IT kiosks under the central government's Common Service Centre (CSC) scheme. A variety of services would be made available through point-of-service hardware, which recognizes customers through a permutation of smartcards and biometrics such as fingerprints. The biometrically secured kiosks open up services including deposition of utility bills and government levies, birth and death registrations, land and revenue records, financial services like banking services, insurance and investment services besides providing Public Information Service like new government schemes and examination results to the rural customers.
Tools for rent firm Speedy and biometric specialist consultancy Human Recognition Systems (HRS) have joined forces to offer an all-in-one biometric site access system for construction sites in the UK. MSite features full height turnstiles connected to a biometric reader that uses hand geometry or iris scanning technology to record access to a construction site. Specific parameters can be established, allowing only those with the right accreditation to enter the site. MSite also records a host of other data related to the construction site, including details of individuals' CSCS, real-time muster reports, site safety records, time and attendance reports, and financial reporting of hours worked. This provides detailed management information to site managers.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Hostage Rescue Team wanted something portable and lightweight to ID faces and fingerprints, but couldn't find an interested vendor interested for such a limited market. So they sought help from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop an alternative to the 20-pound rugged laptop plus fingerprint scanner the teams carried, said Evelyn Brown, NIST's spokesperson. Brown said the FBI asked NIST to design and compile software requirements for the agency's biometrics platform of choice, a handheld device with a touch screen about the size of an index card. NIST researchers developed a design that matched their needs: a user interface that could take pictures of faces or fingerprints and send the data wirelessly to a central hub for analysis, all with a minimum of touch strokes. However, the researchers, Mary Theofanos, Brian Stanton, Yee-Yin Choong and Ross Micheals, wanted to take the program further. With smart phones with touch screen becoming available, they determined they could scale their design down even more to fit a 2-inch by 3-inch screen.
Now JustLook face recognition systems IS in the market to enhance premise's security. All the solutions are efficient and supportive at different premises. JustLook, a part of Aditech Infotech, promotes the implementation of face recognition systems at premises. The firm is composed of a team of security experts, knowledge workers and other technical experts who continuously work for the advancement of the security solutions. Face identification system is the existing advantage in the field of security these days.
KeyLemon adds an extra layer of security to your computer log-in process by using your Webcam. Instead of typing your password, KeyLemon associates your face with your profile, and then regularly checks to make sure that the person sitting in front of the computer matches the image attached to that profile. If it does not think they match, the computer takes a photo via the Webcam and then automatically goes to hibernate. KeyLemon is a simple solution to log on to your personal Windows account by using your face. If you computer has multiple users the software automatically logs you into the right Windows account. When you leave the computer, it will automatically lock it and then unlock it when you are back. KeyLemon works as a password manager for popular internet sites. When you connect to a website (Facebook, Twitter and / or LinkedIn), KeyLemon automatically logs you into your account by using your face. The latest version of KeyLemon introduces a Firefox plug-in called LemonFox that lets users log in to three social-networking services using their Webcam.
PFU Systems' latest prototype dual display kiosk is astonishing, considering it relies on face recognition technology that is capable of delivering a more personalized advertising experience. The top screen on the kiosk will show off an animated face courtesy of Big Towns, a specialist in computer graphics, whereas the bottom touchscreen display functions as an interface instead for you to navigate through. Omron's software that is loaded within is capable of determining one's gender. With such details in hand, it will then pull out the more appropriate advertisements for your viewing pleasure.
Juniper Research estimates that there will be a total of 612 million mobile banking users globally generating more than $587bn (£299bn) worth of financial transactions by 2011. A Munich company gets ready to become one of the key players. VoiceCash Bank now exists, and has opened for business in Malta . customers range from the Allianz group through the Swiss military to the USAEC. VoiceCash specializes in International Mobile Money Transfer. The VoiceCash services enable mobile users to share money with family members or friends abroad. This involves voice biometrics. For example, the cardholder transfers money from one card to another, or to a foreign bank account. He can do this by SMS or voice control. Because his voice is registered, and held in conjunction with his mobile phone number, an automatic call-back will suffice to verify that the voice profile matches the phone number.
LI has been busy. The State of New Jersey has awarded Connecticut firm L-1 Identity Solutions Inc. a seven-year contract worth $18 million to provide a system for secure driver's licenses. According to officials at L-1 (NYSE: ID), the first year of the contract will see the company preparing for and implementing the new system. Over the remaining six years, Stamford-based L-1 will produce cards and provide equipment and software maintenance. Last October, L-1 brought in $6.2 million for mobile biometric recognition devices. Under the contract, L-1's biometrics division will provide its Hand-held Interagency Identity Detection Equipment (HIIDE) to an unnamed client who plans to use the devices in areas of conflict. HIIDE is a ruggedized, mobile, biometric enrollment and recognition device that provides real-time identification using iris, finger and face biometrics. Also that month: L-1 landed a contract worth a potential $195 million from the U.S. Department of State to provide production systems for passports.
Scout Analytics, a startup based in Issaquah, says the cookie-based user per month metrics overestimate the number of unique visitors to sites by a factor of two to four. That is because most Americans use more than one computer to access the Internet, but cookie technology cannot tell that it is the same person hitting a site from both home and work computers or, more and more, from a cell phone. Scout's product involves inserting insert a Javascript program into a Web page. While the page is in front of you in your browser window, the program can measure your keyboard typing patterns: How long you hold each key, and how long between individual keystrokes. Scout does not record what you type. It quantifies the rhythms of your typing. Scout claims that everyone has personal typing rhythms that can be differentiated in as few as 12 keystrokes. A typical site login is sufficient to identify if there are more than one people sharing a username and password.
Cross Match Technologies, Inc., a provider of biometric identity solutions, filed a lawsuit against Suprema, Inc. and Mentalix, Inc. on February 10, 2010, in the U.S. District Court in Tyler, Texas. Suprema is based in Korea and manufactures the RealScan-D portable dual finger live scanner and RealScan-10 compact ten-print live scanner. Mentalix is based in Plano, Texas and distributes those products. Cross Match's complaint alleges that Suprema's live scan products infringe four of Cross Match's patents that protect the company's proprietary systems and methods, including its patented "auto capture" and rolled fingerprint capture capabilities, which allow for enhanced fingerprint acquisition.
A new class of vendors has developed unique technologies and solutions that integrate biometric and biographic data for identity resolution within robust and flexible system architectures that connect and enable business processes for identity management purposes. Frost & Sullivan recently published a white paper, The Next Level of Identity Solutions: The Convergence of Biometric Identity Resolution and Identity Management Solutions, that explores this topic by analyzing the concepts of Biometric Identity Resolution and Identity Management Solutions and their importance, describing the market trends driving their adoption, and considering the new market entrants in this emerging field. Biometric resolution (or "matching") systems help end users derive benefits that are traditionally associated with improved safety, security, and public well-being," says Frost & Sullivan Electronics & Security analyst Dilip Sarangan.
Large security systems comprised of any number of sensors are all interacting with something -- but is the appropriate person getting the right message delivered to the right device if a significant event occurs? Knowledge Vector's KVI Suite adds new, advanced functionality to existing sensor networks, connecting sensors to a centralized interface through event-based middleware.
The technology automatically identifies events as they happen, recognizes their significance, and manages the coordinated response. This includes ensuring that the appropriate responders are contacted, confirmed, and manage the process through to incident resolution. Biometrics are always implemented in association with other security controls. If you are using a fingerprint device, a password is likely also being used. There is generally a correlation to data sources. When using KVI, biometric devices don't need to be aware of any of the other security services b/c KVI provides the common middleware for all components to work. KVI enables biometric devices to become compatible with all components of the security network, an integrated component of the comprehensive security infrastructure.
The Journal of Computer Security has launched a special issue highlighting the results of six projects funded under the 'Information society technologies' (IST) Thematic area of the EU's Sixth Framework Program. The journal's editors called on the six projects to submit papers because they received exceptional reviews in the ICT [information and communication technology] Trust and Security EU calls. One project: The HUMABIO ('Human monitoring and authentication using biodynamic indicators and behavioural analysis') project focused on combining biometrics with advanced sensorial techniques to boost security across a number of applications. The authors of the paper discuss how biometric authentication is a leading security mechanism; they demonstrate how to establish and boost authentication measures. By combining data from multiple biometric sensors, such as facial properties, an authentication framework can be established which would protect users' privacy but also heighten the identification process. HUMABIO was backed with EUR 2.5 million in funding.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- MorphoTrak (Safran Group) announced today the biometric matching technology it uses, through Sagem Securite, earned the highest rank in the recent National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) test for latent fingerprint accuracy. In the preliminary report from the Evaluation of Latent Fingerprint Technologies: Extended Feature Sets (ELFT-EFS) test, the Sagem Securite/MorphoTrak algorithm excelled in accuracy under all conditions. An algorithm is a software process at the center of biometric matching performance. Such tests help local, federal and international agencies choose the top biometric technologies for their programs. The NIST ELFT-EFS test was developed to evaluate the current state-of-the-art in latent fingerprint matching. The test compared searches of features manually marked by experienced latent print examiners with automated (image-only) searches. Features included minutiae, extended feature sets (EFS), as well as other search criteria. The Sagem Securite/MorphoTrak algorithm was proven to be the most accurate with both automated searches and searches that followed examiner best practices, in addition to having the best overall accuracy. Five vendors, including all major AFIS companies, competed in the ELFT-EFS test.
The ELFT-EFS test results are available at http://biometrics.nist.gov/standard/cdeffs/Docs/ELFT-EFS_PreliminaryReport_DRAFT_2010-01-26b.pdf
STAMFORD, Conn. -- L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of identity solutions and services, was awarded a contract by the Commonwealth of Kentucky to provide a secure driver's license solution with facial recognition as part of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's effort to protect the public and prevent fraud. The contract with L-1 includes a base three-year term valued at approximately $11.1 million and three additional two-year extension options that bring the total contract value to approximately $33.7 million. Kentucky uses an over-the-counter system for secure driver's license issuance that includes fraud prevention processes such as photo first image capture and enrollment. The State also uses facial recognition technology designed, developed and maintained by L-1 to prevent persons from establishing duplicate identities.
From March 1 biometric passports will be issued in Switzerland - containing a holder’s photograph and fingerprints - bringing the country into line with its neighbors. The move was approved by a wafer-thin majority of voters last year amid skepticism over security. The Swiss abroad will be able to get their new passports from embassies and the document will allow visa-free entry into the United States. “Switzerland is part of the Schengen area and is obliged to follow Schengen rules. It had until March 1 to issue biometric passports,” Markus Waldner, project leader for biometric passports at the Federal Police Office, told swissinfo.ch.
The Sierra Leone Ports Authority (SLPA) is beginning to register its employees for the implementation of a biometric system designed for ensuring transparency, accountability and efficiency for the ports. Among some of the specific intents behind the soon to be completed biometric database and the ensuing systems utilizing the data are a time and attendance tracker to ease payroll issues and minimize corruption and to step up security through issuing passes reflective of the biometric data.
Collaborations between major companies and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will lead to greater innovation in the field of biometrics, said UK face recognition experts OmniPerception. The company, which is at the forefront of developing face recognition solutions for law enforcement, border security and leisure industries, has teamed up with defense and security giant BAE Systems to conduct cutting edge research into the development of biometric recognition technology. The ground-breaking project which started last year is part of BAE Systems’ Investment In Innovation (I3) program, set up two years ago to encourage and support innovative small and medium sized enterprises in the development of innovative security solutions.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The 62nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) will take place February 22-27, 2010, at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in downtown Seattle. This year's theme, Putting Our Forensic House in Order: Determining Validation and Expelling Incompetence, picks up on the February 2009 Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The issuance of the NAS Report triggered a storm of activity during the past year. Congress, the White House, and all agencies and organizations concerned with forensic science reliability - reliability that directly affects the U.S. justice system - responded with vigor to the Report's revelations and recommendations. This activity and concern will be reflected in many of the 700 presentations filling the scientific sessions of the eleven sections of the AAFS. In addition, there will be special sessions reflecting the theme, including a daylong Interdisciplinary Symposium entitled "Putting Our Forensic House in Order: The Best Path Forward?" Symposium participants will include authors of the NAS Report and shapers of the federal government's response to it.
Acting out of concerns for residents' privacy, the New Hampshire Legislature is considering a bill that would ban the use of biometrics data in identification cards. But at least two trade groups oppose the legislation, saying biometrics technology has a number of security benefits, namely around ID management. The bill would prohibit biometrics data, including fingerprints, retinal scans and DNA, from being used in state or privately issued ID cards, except for employee ID cards. In addition, it would ban the use of ID devices or systems that require the collection or retention of an individual's biometric data. Under the bill, biometric data would also include palm prints, facial feature patterns, handwritten signature characteristics, voice data, iris recognition, keystroke dynamics and hand characteristics.
Future college students may start to find underage drinking a little more challenging. Anil Jain, an award-winning researcher and professor of electrical and computer engineering at Michigan State University, talked about how biometrics technology could be used in the future of personal identification to about 60 people at Pugh Hall Wednesday night. Fingerprints, iris scans, voice scans and face scans could replace driver’s licenses and passports in the future, Jain said.
http://www.alligator.org/news/campus/article_cb290592-1145-11df-a625-001cc4c03286.html
BLUE BELL, Pa. -- Unisys today announced that its Mexican subsidiary has been awarded a contract by the Secretaria de Gobernacion/Registro Nacional de Poblacion (Mexican Ministry of Internal Affairs/National Citizen Registry) to create and manage an advanced citizen identification solution using biometric technologies. The project would create a database with iris, fingerprint and facial biometric data on up to 110 million Mexican citizens that would be utilized as part of the Mexican government's larger national ID card project. The contract, awarded to a consortium comprised of Unisys and Mexican communications company AXTEL, is worth approximately $50 million over three years, with approximately $32 million of the contract value expected to go to Unisys. Unisys will integrate the solution, provide the IT infrastructure and manage the data center hosting the solution. AXTEL will provide communications services as well as the data center facility and the service operations center.
The Unisys solution will be based on the proven Unisys LEIDA (Library of eID Artifacts software) framework, which creates building blocks for identity and credentialing solutions to accelerate development and reduce implementation time.
SAN DIEGO -- ImageWare Systems, Inc.(Pink Sheets:IWSY) and Vista LifeSciences announced today the formation of a strategic partnership to offer clients secure biometric identification of electronic medical records. Vista LifeSciences' products are actively used by the United States Department of Defense.
Vista LifeSciences is the exclusive provider of automated neurocognitive assessment technology to the United States Department of Defense that has been used to create more than 400,000 neurocognitive assessments.
Schneider Electric recently announced it is launching the world's first industrial switch to use biometric fingerprint-recognition technology in order to grant employee access to sensitive areas and machine functions. Schneider Electric's Harmony™ Biometric Switch is the first fingerprint-reading device designed specifically for industrial environments where security is highly critical to everyday functions, but manufacturing conditions require security systems to be "industrially hardened."
Biometrics Initiative
NEW YORK -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Dynamic Signature Verification - A Global Update of Market Trends & Opportunities
In an increasingly insecure and atrocity ridden world, there is a more pressing need than ever before, to protect businesses against fraudulent activities, misappropriation, and embezzlements. The need for advanced identity management solutions at competitive prices is therefore acute in a myriad range of applications and vertical markets. Earlier it was only the large and medium sized private financial institutions and banks that were on the risk radar, but today the situation appears to have changed dramatically.
Not only are the smaller, low stake businesses and banks also at equal jeopardy, but frequently even more so as the level of security is relatively less stringent. Therefore, the most obvious need of the hour is to immediately put in place and incorporate highly sophisticated, yet economical and effective authorization and verification measures for personal, business, data and transaction protection.
These and other market data and trends are presented in "Dynamic Signature Verification: A Global Update of Market Trends & Opportunities" by BizAcumen, Inc. Our reports are designed to be most comprehensive in geographic coverage and vertical market analyses.
Entering a car has come a long way since Henry Ford and his Model T, where keyless entry systems are the way to go these days. Well, here's an extension to that idea - the Biometric Fingerprint Car Security System.
It will be hooked up to the starter system of the car, requiring the right fingerprint before the vehicle allows authorization for you to steer away. Should 6 failed fingerprint swipes occur, the alarm will kick in to alert anyone around of a potential theft.
Nice to know it can hold the profiles of up to 9 other people, which means friends and family can still drive your beloved ride. Would you fork out $195 for added peace of mind, and perhaps top up that amount for a professional installation of the Biometric Fingerprint Car Security System?
STAMFORD, Conn. -- L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc., a leading supplier of identity solutions and services, today announced that it will be the exclusive provider for the program formerly known as Registered Traveler as a result of Alclear LLC winning the competitive bid for Verified Identity Pass Inc. assets. The competitive bidding process was conducted though procedures approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York. In connection with Alclear's purchase of VIP's assets, L-1 is expected to receive a multi-year contract to serve as prime integrator for the program formerly known as Registered Traveler. In that role, L-1 is expected to be the exclusive provider for all of the program's systems integration, enrolment services and verification needs once the program is re-started. In recognition of its prior investments and contributions to the program, L-1 will also receive an equity investment in Alclear.
NEW YORK -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Biometrics - Trends & Opportunities Worldwide.
Read the table of content on:
http://www.reportlinker.com/p0164202/Biometrics-Trends-and-Opportunities-Worldwide.html
Increasing security concerns ranging from individual identity theft, corporate security, to even national security represents factors that are important to the biometrics market.
Some countries have already rolled out biometric systems at airports and other ports of entry to check flow of illegal immigrants into their respective territories. On the technological front, noncontact systems could emerge as the answer to expel inhibitions exhibited by users. Development of industry-wide standards has been initiated by some industry groups, which would lead to lower costs and enable easier adoption of present and emerging technologies. Government initiatives could emerge as the key to biometrics growth.
Cologne, Germany - The tension level at the grocery store checkout sometimes rises when a customer needs extra time because they have no cash and therefore have to pay with a bank card. This is especially true in Germany where there is almost always a line at the cash register and it’s standard for customers to have to bag their own groceries. Some supermarkets in the country are working to remedy this problem by using a fingerprint scanner to verify identity and make the electronic payment.
Purchase, NY - Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii) is an accredited four-year undergraduate institution with a unique international student population. While providing superior education and instruction across numerous areas of study, BYU–Hawaii strives to maintain a commitment to operational efficiency and continuous improvement across all aspects of the University. After making an investment in PeopleSoft Time and Labor 9.0 as a workforce management solution, BYU–Hawaii sought a way to automate the collection of time from their varied and diverse workforce; from students who are employed on campus to full-time university employees, and they chose TimeLink (http://www.timelink.com) in support of their goal to increase the efficiency of daily operations and streamline business processes. As a part of their overall TimeLink solution, BYU-Hawaii also chose to implement TimeLink’s Biometric WorkPoint 3100 series of devices to ensure that all employees and students are paid accurately.
If state and local governments need proof that strategic partnerships can attract federal funding for smart technology, public officials might want to examine two community hospitals in a rural strip of northern Ohio. Supported by federal stimulus funds, Fisher-Titus Medical Center in Norwalk, Ohio, and Magruder Hospital in Port Clinton, Ohio, plan to implement Cerner health-care technology systems in the next 10 months, a move that would put the two organizations among the first all-digital, smart hospitals in the nation.
Tyndall Air Force Base will begin using a new ID scanning system this April. Officials want to make sure everyone who goes on base is registered.
Guards at Tyndall's gates will scan a bar code on the ID card that contains information, like a person's name and height.
7,000 people have already registered with the Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS). But, Tyndall officials are trying to let retirees know about the change. It is a Department of Defense initiative that streamlines ID and security systems on base. It lets officials know who should be allowed on the premises. MSgt. A.J. Perreault said the system would "allow us the ability to better secure the base, gives the security force members at the gate better ability to secure the area before they get a look at the ID card."
Arapahoe County will become the first law enforcement agency in Colorado to begin identifying criminals, missing children and seniors using biometric analysis of the human iris. A technician from the software and hardware developer demonstrated how their device analyzes the iris, which has 235 identifying points of reference, versus a fingerprint's 65. "Fingerprints change but irises stay stable throughout your life," said Patricia Lawton of Biometric Intelligence and Identifying Technologies, "Which is why it's a great biometric to identify somebody with."
The Indianapolis-based Indiana Blood Center had a problem. Regulations required that blood donors be positively identified each time they donated blood, but the problem was donors do not always have their government-issued identification card, such as a driver's license. Forgetting IDs was not the only problem moreover. Data entry errors were leading to duplicate records, names and date of birth weren't good enough for record keeping. storing Social Security numbers was a bad practice. So the Center entered into a contract with a commercial biometric software company to simplify donor identification and check-in using fingerprint identification. A representative of the Indiana Blood Center (IBC) reports that they now have about two months of experience with their digital fingerprint enrollment process and are approaching 5,000 donors who have enrolled. The reception has been very favorable to date and there have only been a few donors who have had difficulty enrolling.
DigitalPersona, Inc., released the latest version of its Digital Dining restaurant Point-of-Sale (POS) software, featuring U.are.U fingerprint biometrics technology from DigitalPersona, will be unveiled at the Digital Dining National Dealer Conference in Austin, TX. RCNY Restaurants LLC, a New York City-based Arby's franchisee, is one of the most recent quick service restaurant owners to select the combined Digital Dining/DigitalPersona solution.
RCNY discovered the addition of DigitalPersona fingerprint biometrics to their POS software provided immediate cost savings by preventing employees from clocking each other in and out and by eliminating unauthorized manager overrides at the register. The franchisee also realized that the Digital Dining/DigitalPersona solution helped to increase productivity by moving customers through order processes faster.
AuthenTec, introduced its newest smart sensor specifically tailored for convenient security, personalization and touch-based functionality in today's PCs and peripherals. AuthenTec's new AES2660 192-pixel-wide sensor complements the AES1660, a 128-pixel wide smart sensor for the PC market introduced six months ago, giving PC OEMs the ability to choose the appropriate sensor for the particular requirements of each individual product. The AES2660 offers the expanded functionality, biometric performance, low-power consumption, multiple packaging options, and low bill of materials (BOM) costs needed for easy integration into new consumer and enterprise notebook PCs, tablet PCs, and PC peripherals.
Confession may be good for the soul but a Polish priest thinks fingerprints can be rewarding as well. He has installed a fingerprint reader in his church for schoolchildren to leave their fingerprints in order to monitor their attendance at mass. The pupils leave their fingerprints every time they go to church over three years and if they attend 200 masses they will be freed from the obligation of having to pass an exam prior to their confirmation. The pupils in the southern town of Gryfow Slaski, in a Reuters report, said liked the idea and also the priest who invented it.
The new OKI Semiconductor MK67Q5250 fingerprint-matching module is designed to speed up installation of automated fingerprint identification and access control in applications ranging from locks and garage door openers to portable devices, computer workstations and POS terminals. This low-power module, measuring less than 1 sq. inch in size, utilizes the OKI ML67Q5250 LSI MCU that has been factory programmed to control the module's AES2510 fingerprint imaging sensor from Authentec; perform fingerprint processing and matching; store biometric control code, application code and templates; and communicate with a host processor. SPI is the default communications interface to the host processor from the module. The module can be configured for other communications protocols such as UART or USB
L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc., was awarded a contract by the Commonwealth of Kentucky to provide a secure driver's license solution with facial recognition as part of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinets effort to protect the public and prevent fraud. The contract with L-1 includes a base three-year term valued at approximately $11.1 million and three additional two-year extension options that bring the total contract value to approximately $33.7 million. Kentucky uses an over-the-counter system for secure driver's license issuance that includes fraud prevention processes such as photo first image capture and enrollment. The State also uses facial recognition technology designed, developed and maintained by L-1 to prevent persons from establishing duplicate identities.
There is a growing need for face-recognition access-control systems in various public and private sectors where access of several resources needs to be controlled. That is the position of Face Recognition Solution, which is now offering the various sectors what it calls "highly secured access control system." The existing research in the field of biometrics says that the face recognition access control system proposed by Face Recognition System is based on recognizing the biological features of the organisms that cannot be exchanged thus it will reduce the threats in future to the maximum that are being impose by the existing security systems. Face Recognition Solution's confirmed that, "the company has already started implementing this highly secured system to various campuses and the consequences are satisfactory". The company is ready to take the real time challenges going on in the market and offering a free trial to those companies that are not receiving the stated benefits. Face Recognition Solution says the various features it offers through Face Recognition Access Control System will eliminate the need of the conventional security systems.
VoiceCash Bank in Munich, Germany now exists, and has opened for business. VoiceCash specializes in International Mobile Money Transfer. The VoiceCash services enable mobile users to share money with family members or friends abroad. This involves voice biometrics. For example, the cardholder transfers money from one card to another, or to a foreign bank account. He can do this by SMS or voice control. Because his voice is registered, and held in conjunction with his mobile phone number, an automatic call-back will suffice to verify that the voice profile matches the phone number. Simple, and a boon to those who are illiterate or do not speak a recognized international language.
Voxeo, a provider of communication security solutions, has announced new partnerships with CSIdentity, PerSay, TradeHarbor and Vocalect, all developers of voice biometrics solutions. The fresh partnerships will permit both new and existing Voxeo customers to try out voice biometrics solutions with existing Voxeo offerings. Many of the new biometrics solutions offered through Voxeo are becoming common for use in call centers where a user may register their unique voiceprint and be verified over the phone from there on automatically by speaking a passphrase that will confirm their identity via matching up to their registered voiceprint.
The Cochise County Sheriff Office in Douglas, AZ announced its the first award in the nation of the federally funded iris biometric grant from the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA). The grant is through the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. The grant will enable the Cochise County Sheriff's Office to join Sheriffs and law enforcement agencies across the nation who have implemented The Child Project, Senior Safety Net, I.R.I.S and SORIS. The system enables law enforcement agencies to enroll, identify and locate missing children and adults through the use of iris recognition biometric technology. The system will also enable the Cochise County Sheriffs Office to better identify, register and track inmates and convicted sex offenders.
De La Rue Identity Systems announced that it will design and roll-out East Africa's first national eID project for the Government of Rwanda, as part of the ongoing Rwandan National ID project (NID). The plans for systems integration, to combine data from the current ID card, passport and driver's license, are already in progress. The first eID documents are expected to be distributed in around six months, following successful completion of the pilot phase. Rwanda's existing national ID card, also produced by De La Rue, is currently held by all citizens over the age of 16. It is envisaged the new eID card will replace this and contain additional e-government information, such as health and social security details, putting Rwanda at the forefront of regional IT advancement and offering further evidence of its strong economic resurgence.
The New Hampshire Legislature is pondering legislation that, if passed into a law, would ban the use of biometric data on ID cards issued privately or by the government with exception granted to employee ID cards. While the bill was formed out of fears surrounding the leak or theft of an individual's irreversible personal data, however, groups have come out against the bill citing the ID management benefits behind the use of biometrics. Among the groups coming out against the bill is a business trade group covering electronic and physical security called the Security Industry Association (SIA). Aside from requesting the state halt a vote before conducting a study on the benefits of the technology, SIA believes there is a misunderstanding regarding the privacy safeguards that have already been put into place.
Part of the Bill:
No government agency or private entity shall:
I. Issue an identification card, other than an employee identification card, or use an identification device or system, that requires the collection or retention of an individual’s biometric data.
II. Require an individual to disclose or provide biometric data as a condition of doing business with, engaging in any business activity or relationship with, or obtaining services from, that agency or entity.
359-K:3 Violation; Civil Action. Any individual aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may bring a civil action under this section to obtain the following:
I. An injunction of the agency or entity’s practice.
II. Actual damages or $2,500 for each violation, whichever is greater.
III. Reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2011.
Read the entire bill on:
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/billtext.aspx?billnumber=HB1409.html
Ritech International B.V. enlisted Orangecorp B.V as its marketing partner in hopes to greater expose their products in the biometrics and security markets. The company's products, Signature and the newest Signature Lite, are Biometrics encrypted hardware solutions. Signature Lite features a three-protection layer system.
The first layer consists of fingerprint protection and authentication process restricting, followed by an epoxy layer, and finally a series of algorithms at the Government "Top Secret" level. While the original Signature product targeted the government and financial services sectors, Signature Lite will broaden the demographic for data-loss prevention solutions. New markets are expected to include the financial, health care and local government industries.
OmniPerception has teamed up with BAE Systems to investigate together the development of biometric recognition technology. The endeavor, which started last year, is part of BAE Systems' Investment In Innovation (I3) program, set up two years ago to encourage and support innovative small and medium sized enterprises in the development of innovative security solutions. The company believes that collaborations between major companies and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will lead to greater innovation in the field of biometrics. Initial project findings are expected to be released later this year.
Reduced budgets and employment numbers predestined that the rollout of many security initiatives planned for 2009 were put on hold. nevertheless, recognizing that additional holdup may increase the risk of exposure to fraud, data theft and access breaches, 2010 will see government and commercial organizations implement new security measures to verify identity and protect confidential information " securing both the citizen and the border," predicts Unisys. "On the technical side ongoing miniaturization means that multiple security measures can be combined into a single sophisticated solution, or enable portable solutions; while attitudinal change means that consumers are now more accepting of new methods to prove their identity, such as biometrics, and will expect security measures to keep pace with them as they become more comfortable using smartphones for financial transactions," the company predicts.
CITeR (Center for Identification Technology Research) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC). Its mission to advance identification technology is strongly focused in the areas of biometric systems and credibility assessment.
West Virginia University is the Center’s founding and lead site focusing on biometrics and related identification technology and systems. The University of Arizona is the Center’s second site focusing on credibility assessment systems.
Each CITeR University site maintains and develops interdisciplinary collaborative partnerships with other academic institutions to effectively respond to affiliate research needs.
NORTH POTOMAC, Md.- Identification Technology Partners, Inc. (IDTP) announced that Robert F. Diegelman has joined IDTP. Mr. Diegelman brings over 37 years of executive management and technical experience including 32 years of service with the U.S. Department of Justice. Most recently, Mr. Diegelman worked with Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions (LMTSS) as the Director of Advanced Identification Programs. In this role, Mr. Diegelman advanced the objectives of Lockheed Martin as a leader in biometrics technology, spearheading the efforts to expand and strengthen its Biometrics Center of Excellence, and managing proposal development and execution of its multi-million dollar IT/biometrics programs and support contracts with the FBI/CJIS, DHS/USCIS and DoD/BOSS.
Technology has evolved to address the challenges of the modern business market. Mobile working and round-the-clock communication have tested information security, as has the need to lock down data from the inside-out. Securing the firewall was previously top of the CISO agenda, but today, securing internal access to applications by employees is equally important. Internal and external regulations exist to protect personal data and restrict employee access to information. As a result, staff are often required to input multiple passwords a number of times each day. To avoid locking themselves out of critical applications by forgetting complex passwords, employees resort to jotting down information which has an adverse effect on security. Users that attempt to fully comply with password policies often find themselves locked out of applications after forgetting credentials. This leads to disrupted workflow and pressure on the IT helpdesk.
Despite Congress's mandate in 2007 that the Department of Homeland Security track all foreign visitors biometrically by June 2009, DHS missed the deadline, and biometric exit, as opposed to the current biographic approach, has proved costly without adding much additional security. Following is a plan on how Congress can break the stalemate--and provide useful data and security for Americans as well as the many visitors who come to the U.S. every year.
In 2007, Congress mandated that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) biometrically track the exit of all foreign visitors from U.S. airports by June 30, 2009. DHS was unable to meet the mandate by the deadline, putting the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), whose continued expansion is linked to achieving the air exit deadline, in a stalemate.
While both the ruling BJP and opposition Congress in the MCD asserted on Friday that the earlier disclosure made by the civic body of having 22,853 “ghost employees” on its payrolls was “baseless”, senior MCD officials
preferred to remain tight-lipped till the final report is out. A probe team comprising five additional commissioners is looking into the issue, compiling relevant data of employee attendances from all 12 zonal offices of the MCD. However, senior officials claimed that the number of missing employees found so far had been negligible.
MCD House Leader Subhash Arya said: “The announcement by officials about unearthing a scam was done in haste in an attempt to mislead. The main confusion was because the safai karamcharis were not included in the registration system for the biometric system of attendance.”
YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) Police have arrested two South Korean women on suspicion of illegally entering Japan by using tape bearing the fingerprints of other people to evade the biometric identification system. The women, aged 32 and 31, allegedly slipped through the immigration process at Tokyo's Haneda airport in May and October 2008, police said Monday. It is the first case of arrests involving illegal entrants who used "fingerprint tapes," the Immigration Bureau said.
The cases came to light after both women received deportation orders in January 2008 for overstaying their visas while working as nightclub hostesses in Kanagawa Prefecture, and had their fingerprints taken by the bureau.
Highlighting the Benefits of Using Fingerprint Sensors Instead of Complex Passwords
SAN JOSE, Calif.-- Validity, Inc., a privately-held biometric sensor company specializing in convenient, secure and reliable fingerprint authentication solutions, launched its Password Independence(TM) marketing campaign at the 2010 CES show in Las Vegas in January 2010. Aimed at educating consumers about the usage and benefits of fingerprint sensors, the campaign demonstrates how Validity's fingerprint sensors provide enhanced security and convenience compared to maintaining a multitude of complex passwords for logging on to personal computing devices and web-based applications.
The New Hampshire State House of Representatives has passed a bill that will limit a banks ability to force a fingerprint sample as a form of identity in the state, according to a Nashua Telegraph article. While the bill’s language does not directly point to it going against the practices of just one bank, Bank of America had been the only major bank left in the state that still required non-customers to submit a fingerprint for fraud protection when using their services. While the act of requiring fingerprints from non-customers only started with the bank in late 2008, the banks New Hampshire division already released a statement saying they will be discontinuing the policy starting Feb. 8. While the senate has not yet argued on the bill to instate it as law, the removal of the fingerprinting policy means that the bill’s intent has basically already been fulfilled.
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Upek Inc., a supplier of biometric fingerprint devices, has launched an unsolicited bid to buy rival AuthenTec Inc. If the deal goes through, it would create the world's leading fingerprint sensor company. These devices are used in cell phones, PCs and other products. Under the plan proposed by Upek, AuthenTec stockholders would receive 50 percent of the common stock of the combined company. Upek stockholders would receive the remaining 50 percent of the common stock of the combined company. It is expected that, at the proposed closing, the combined company would be publicly traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market.
AuthenTec, a developer of fingerprint and other biometric solutions announced its rejection of a bid by fellow biometrics developer UPEK for a merger. Officials from AuthenTec called the unsolicited proposed deal, which would have required the replacement of AuthenTec's entire board of directors, "a highly dilutive and speculative transaction." Analysts expect that a deal detailing a merger between the two companies will be brokered at some point down the line, but due to stock reasons and subsequent proposals deemed unacceptable, they are not surprised by AuthenTec's refusal of UPEKs bid.
Munich, Germany-based Armatix GmbH has developed new technology to make our firearms safer and prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. The Armatix Smartgun uses a biometric radio wristwatch that acts as a safety, preventing the gun from firing unless it is in the hands of its approved user. The Armatix Smartgun includes both the pistol and the wristwatch, the latter of which is personalized to the user and accessible via a fingerprint. Touch the watch’s screen with the authorized fingerprint, the watch will then unlock the gun which can fire only when in direct proximity to the watch. The rear butt of the gun includes an LED light, showing green when the gun is armed and ready to fire, and red when the gun is locked and unauthorized for use.
If you are expecting to see your photograph on the Unique Identity card, whenever it is issued to you, forget it. For, the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) committee on biometrics believes fingerprints would better serve as biometrics data than facial recognition systems.
The UIDAI’s perception stems from its belief that while photographs may visually testify who you are, they will not reveal your true identity because, in this day and time of digital morphing, you may not be who you say you are.
The ten-member committee, chaired by Registrar General of India (RGI) C Chandramauli, has observed in its report, accessed by Deccan Herald, that a fingerprints-based biometric system shall be the core of UIDAI’s deduplication efforts.
National Information Technology Standardization Technical Committee (referred to as the "National Committee beacons"), Biometrics Standards Working Group will be held January 26 was formally established, marking the country's national standards for work in the new breakthroughs in the field of biometric recognition. Biometrics (Biometrics) technology is the current hot areas of information technology. With the popularity of the network and people's increased dependence on computers, and information security issues become increasingly acute.
Research In Motion (RIM), developers of BlackBerry smart phones and mobile devices, have extended a patent for biometric scanners embedded into their phones to include a fingerprint scanner built into the new BlackBerry Trackpad, according to a Network World article. The patent extension and potential implementation of such technology into RIM's devices could become a key security upgrade for corporate usage. However the technology has some worried because it suffers due to human error and ignorance getting in the way of proper utilization of it.
Sagem Wireless formed a partnership with UPEK to bring fingerprint identity capabilities to a range of new devices that Sagem Wireless is expected to launch later this year, including new Android-based mobile devices. "By offering an open, standards-based platform for mobile identity services, the strategic partnership between Sagem Wireless and UPEK enables an ecosystem of operators, manufacturers and application developers to seamlessly utilize fingerprint identity capabilities to personalize mobile services and make mobile applications more secure, faster and easier to use," says a press release.
Speed is the essence at the grocery store checkout sometimes when a customer needs extra time because they have no cash and therefore have to pay with a bank card. This is especially true in Germany where there is usually a line at the cash register and its standard for customers to have to bag their own groceries. A pilot project at a supermarket in the Rewe chain in German is under way to test the viability of implementing payment by fingerprint. Some supermarkets in the country are working to remedy this problem by using a fingerprint scanner to verify identity and make the electronic payment.
Suprema, Inc. announced the company's latest RealScan-F palm-print live scanner received certification from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the agency's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) Image Quality Specification (IQS) Appendix F standards. FBI IQS standard certification for livescan devices and systems is mandatory for the purpose of FBI, U.S. Ministry of Justice and most other countries' government procurements.
Animetrics, Inc., developer of 3D imaging technologies for facial biometric systems, announced that they have launched FaceR" Celebrity in the Apple App Store, the first of its planned FaceR" applications for the consumer marketplace connecting mobile devices to Cloud-based photographic stores. FaceR" Celebrity matches the iPhone user to their most similar celebrity.
Rapid evolution of building automation systems (BAS) is significantly affecting commercial and industrial facilities. Some of the trends and technology heading down the pike include biometrics for authentication ("We can buy cameras for everything, from front desk monitoring to checking the belt on a fan. It's a whole new world - radical change.") and access control. The key is finding one solution to fit everything.
Unisys announced that its Mexican subsidiary has been awarded a contract to create and manage an advanced citizen identification solution using biometric technologies. The project would create a database with facial, iris, and fingerprint biometric data on up to 110 million Mexican citizens that would be utilized as part of the Mexican government's larger national ID card project. The contract, awarded to a consortium comprised of Unisys and Mexican communications company AXTEL, is worth approximately $50 million over three years, with approximately $32 million of the contract value expected to go to Unisys. Unisys will integrate the solution, provide the IT infrastructure and manage the data center hosting the solution. AXTEL will provide communications services as well as the data center facility and the service operations center.
IriTech, Inc. was once again identified by NIST in the IREX I Supplemental Report as the most accurate iris technology for current operational data. For operational data, the OPS dataset, the next best competitor exhibits error rates approximately 50% higher than IriTech. The report addresses several factors critical to real-world use of iris identification, including enrollment, matching efficacy, and interoperability. The report states: "Across all datasets the [IriTech] SDKs give essentially zero failures to enroll."
In the past, a lack of standards stunted the growth of the iris industry. However the market has changed and the results of an interoperability test shows promise. Iris has a lot of potential because it is capable of recognizing individuals from a distance. It also has the potential to be used for non-intrusive or stealthy identification. Demonstrating that the technology can work with multiple vendors could be a benefit for the market.
Watch the video on: http://www.thirdfactor.com/2010/02/05/test-shows-iris-interoperability
In Canada, a study conducted for a television industry client by biometrics specialist Innerscope Research suggests TV outperforms others in securing high emotional and cognitive responses to ads. Innerscope measured consumers' unconscious emotional responses with its "Biometric Monitoring System." These measures were captured through the firm's wireless vest that monitors skin sweat, heart rate, respiration and movement.
More on this subject on: http://www.innerscoperesearch.com/news/Wired%202.3.10.pdf
Axway announced the creation of a strategic global initiative to address identity security and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) requirements of governments and enterprises. This initiative has been created in response to the building momentum for identity management initiatives throughout the world. Through this initiative, Axway will partner with complementary solutions providers including Thales/nCipher, Entrust and Quantum Secure to address increasing global data security and access control requirements. The companies will integrate and deliver components that include hardware security modules (HSMs), certificate authority, authentication, validation, device and credential management, physical and logical access integration and security consulting.
Macao construction workers, building a new casino, use hand geometry readers to enter the site.
If access control systems are to control where people, not credentials, can and cannot go, then only a biometric device can truly provide this capability. That’s why more and more biometrics readers are showing up in access control systems. How do you determine the right biometric technology for you?
Before getting specific, let’s discuss two important topics relating to biometrics that are some-what intertwined: a one-to-many match vs. a one-to-one match and privacy issues. An important distinction must be made between “identification” — a one-to-many match, and “verification” — a one-to-one match. A system designed to “identify” a person compares a biometric presented by a person against all biometric samples stored in the database. The one-to-many system identifies the individual if the presented biometric matches one of the many samples on file. This type of system is used by the police to identify criminals.
Identity protection is one of the most pressing topics within our society. Over the course of the last few years, we have seen numerous stories reported where information systems have been compromised and data has been lost potentially compromising the identity of millions. While we could debate the level of security required to properly protect any information sys-tem, I believe there is a more fundamental approach to addressing this critical issue; Identity self-defence. In the months following the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington D.C., it was determined the issue of identity verification needed to be addressed. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD12) established the requirement to verify the identity of all federal employees and issue them a secure identity credential. This has resulted in the issuance of millions of Personal Identity Verification (PIV) credentials.
Research the HSDP12 implementation guide on: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/fy2005/m05-24.pdf
To minimize errors in biometric identification, the UID Authority of India, which is in the process of creating the world’s largest biometric database, has decided to use as many as three distinct identification features while allotting a unique identity number to every resident of the country. The UIDAI has decided to use iris scans, face scans and all 10 fingerprints together to ensure that system errors in identifying a resident was brought down to absolute minimum in Indian conditions. The decision was taken after a sub-group under the Biometric Commit-tee, which was set up last September, analysed data quality of over 250,000 fingerprints collected from 25,000 people from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa by different agencies using different devices and operational processes.
The resistance to Nandan Nilekani’s ID project is bound to occur at the lower levels of government, where politics is geared on leaking benefits to those for whom they are not meant.
Mapping the identities of a billion-plus persons in a single nation is a big task by any definition. On that count alone, the challenges the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) faces are unique. If and when UIDAI manages to fulfil its mandate, it will be a marvel to technology and ingenuity.
First and foremost are the technological challenges. The sheer scale of the project is huge. Consider some basic facts. Storing 10 fingerprints requires around 5 megabytes (Mb) of space. Storing that information for a billion-plus persons will require 5 billion Mb of memory space. While that may no longer be an unimaginable number, given our IT prowess, maintaining and running such a database has its own challenges. Then, there is the question of using the system. It has been estimated that at its peak, the UIDAI system will require comparing one million identity verification requests against a database of, say, 600 million identities. That will require a brute and gargantuan computing capability.
Westfield, NJ - The 3rd International Conference on Ethics and Policy of Biometrics and International Data Sharing held in Hong Kong on January 4-5, 2010, attracted an audience of policy makers, industrial players, and others in examining the key issues facing nations, com-mercial organizations, and citizens as biometric systems become commonplace and the movement of data across borders becomes more difficult to manage and control.
The next major workshops sponsored by the RISE consortium will be held in Brussels during 2010 on the subject of "Global mobility of people and data: ethics, policy and security" and will be held in two separate sessions on March 25-26 2010 and September 23-24, 2010. These workshops will provide input for a multi-stakeholder conference to be held in Brussels in December 2010.
For more information on future events, as well as documents and presentations from RISE events, visit www.riseproject.eu.
The Protection of
Personal Information
Bill is only expected to
be implemented in
September 2010, said
justice minister Jeff
Radebe.
While the use of biometric technology in the workplace is on the rise, the absence of privacy laws means employers run the risk of violating employees' privacy, says law firm Bowman and Gilfillan.
While the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Bill has not been signed into law, the use of biometric systems has risen in both the private and public sectors. Despite the lack of laws governing personal information, the SAPS have already mandated the roll-out of finger-print ID switches, which will impact on access to personal information. Recruitment companies are also adopting biometric systems and many private firms are increasingly using the technology as a security and access control measure. Senior associate at Bowman and Gilfillan Lusanda Raphulu says that, since laws are not in place, employers will have to be guided by the provisions in the POPI Bill when dealing with employees' personal information.
In August 2009, Cabinet approved the POPI Bill to go before Parliament. The draft law has been nine years in the making and will have a profound impact on business. The SA Law Commission has been drafting the Bill since 2000 and issued the first discussion paper in 2003. Justice and constitutional development minister Jeff Radebe previously said the implementation phase is set to begin on 10 September 2010.
The POPI bill (2009) can be found on:
http://www.dmasa.org/files/B%209%20-%202009%20%28protection%20of%20personal%20information%29.pdf
Tokyo, Jan 20, 2010 -- NEC Corporation, a global leader in networking, communications and information technology, announced today that its face recognition technologies ranked number one in the Still-Face Dataset of the Multiple Biometric Grand Challenge (MBGC, *1) carried out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), commissioned by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. NEC's face recognition technology has solidified an industry-leading position by attaining this first place ranking among all major vendors. The facial images evaluated by the Still-Face Dataset were taken by high resolution digital cameras under a variety of challenging conditions, including compressed images used for IC passports, and images taken under poor indoor lighting or direct sunlight. These situations were designed based on anticipated real-world scenarios, and test results have demonstrated high quality performance. The preliminary results of the challenge can be found at: http://face.nist.gov/mbgc/2009/FACE_V2_FINAL.pdf.
Identification protection firms drew attention to themselves last week, as multi-factor authenti-cation company PhoneFactor launched a “triple authentication” product that uses the sound of a consumer’s voice for phone verification; and MasterCard announced a deal with Arcot that expands its Chip Authentication Program and provides users with an app that can run on mobile phones.
PhoneFactor is making biometric verification for phone-based authentication available to banks, government agencies, healthcare firms and other businesses. Users execute a transaction online, then are called by the institution if that transaction is considered high risk based on the institution’s policies— similar to many dual authentication techniques. Only in this case, the voice also serves as a third way to identify the consumer. “With two factor, we refer to what you have and what you know,” says Steve Dispensa, CTO of Phone-Factor. “With biometrics, it’s also what you are. In this case it’s your voice.”
Washington: In the aftermath of the botched Christmas day al Qaeda attempt to blow up an American plane, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is introducing several anti-terror tools into its system to prevent re-occurrence of such terror strike, a top official of the agency has told US lawmakers.
"To meet our national security mission, we have expanded our counter terrorism operations and honed our intelligence capabilities," FBI director Robert Mueller said in his testimony before the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee. Learning lessons from the December 25 experience, the FBI is also making a number of improvements to its information technology systems.
To strengthen the IT programmes that allow to communicate and share among all its partners, the FBI is consolidating its Unclassified Network with Law Enforcement Online, or LEO, which is the unclassified secure network they use to share information with registered law enforcement partners.
Just when you thought your BlackBerry could not get any more secure, it would appear that it may, soon enough. According to a patent that we've been given, which was filed on February 26, 2009 and updated on January 12, 2010, it clearly defines the implementation of finger print scanning technology.
The devices used in the figure drawings may seem a little archaic, but we do recall hearing about Research In Motion working on this for many years. Could we see finger print scanning technology in a future BlackBerry device? The chances are very likely, especially given the re-issuing of the patent and new details pertaining to the way RIM plans on implementing it onto mobile devices.
Every morning when Rick Long enters his office at the Enersys Energy Products facility in Warrensburg, Mo., he is reminded of how much of an improvement the new Panasonic Iris Recognition access control system is over the old card system.
There are no lines, no fumbling with cards and no individuals entering on the heels of another’s card swipe. He also knows the building and its occupants are much safer and more secure. As Network Systems Manager for Enersys Energy Products, Long was tasked with researching options to replace the company’s card-based access control system and determined that biometrics was the way to go.
Network Systems Manager Rick Long oversaw the deployment of a biometric access control system.
Working with its system integrator, Electronic Supply Co. Inc., Enersys evaluated several forms of biometric security products, including fingerprint readers and iris recognition systems. Long ultimately selected the Panasonic solution for its high rate of accuracy and because it is a standalone system that does not require a secondary form of identification such as a PIN or badge in addition to the biometric identification.
With iris recognition technology, a template or “map” of each enrolled individual’s iris pattern is stored on a database. To gain access, enrolled individuals simply look into the iris reader’s mirrors and the system compares his/her iris pattern images with iris templates. A match verifies the identity and access permission is given. Two Panasonic BM-ET200A Iris Recognition Readers are installed at the main employee entrances. “Coming from a badge system, we see the Iris Recognition reader as a great improvement to building security,” Long says.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Recognizing faces is an important social skill, but not all of us are equally good at it. Some people are unable to recognize even their closest friends (a condi-tion called prosopagnosia), while others have a near-photographic memory for large numbers of faces. Now a twin study by collaborators at MIT and in Beijing shows that face recognition is heritable, and that it is inherited separately from general intelligence or IQ. This finding plays into a long-standing debate on the nature of mind and intelligence. The prevailing gen-eralist theory, upon which the concept of IQ is based, holds that if people are smart in one area they tend to be smart in other areas, so if you are good in math you are also more likely to be good at literature and history. IQ is strongly influenced by heredity, suggesting the exis-tence of "generalist genes" for cognition.
The old passport was replaced by a new biometric passport in Croatia on Monday 18, 2010. The new passports comply with EU security standards utilizing standardized biometrics such as facial and fingerprint recognition. Personal identification numbers are included in the new passport as well. Croats will pay 390 kunas (53 Euros) or, on an expedited basis, 630 kunas (86 Euros) for the new passport.
The passport, valid from five to ten years, may be obtained at any police station. The old passport will be valid until expiry. Croatia is the third country in Europe to introduce such a passport with France and Germany being the first two countries.
The contentious Irish public services identity card will be equipped to carry biological data such as eye scans and fingerprints when it is unveiled later this year. So far there were "no current plans to carry DNA or any form of biometric data on the card". However, the card, as proposed, can include biometric data.
The government says that about three million people over the age of 16 will carry the card. In addition, thousands may have to present themselves at welfare offices to sign up for it when it is launched. Existing data held by the Government -- such as photographs, signatures and PPS numbers will be used to create the cards.
L-1 Identity Solutions announced that the "combination of accuracy, speed, and template compactness" of L-1's Daugman-based iris algorithm was unsurpassed in a NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) IREX I (Iris Exchange) supplemental report published this month.
The NIST IREX I supplemental report adds to the October 2009 release of initial IREX results on the performance of iris recognition algorithms. The report notes that the accuracy of L-1's iris technology was markedly higher than previous results and improvements came without sacrificing speed. actually, when averaged over all tested databases and measured at the most demanding operating point published by NIST (a false match rate of 1 in 1,000,000), the Daugman-based L-1 algorithm produced the best accuracy of all 10 iris vendor participants.
For all the IREX reports go to:
http://iris.nist.gov/irex/
Approximately 20 schools in Singapore have installed fingerprint readers linked to an electronic attendance system. The automated attendance marking has saved as much as 90 per cent of the time taken at one secondary school, which has 1500 pupils. Students of Fung Kai Innovative School get to daily greet face scanners, which examine an image of the student's face - relaying it back to the school's database for confirmation. At the beginning of the day, teachers can access this information in real-time via their laptops. Roll call has now become an automated process at schools in Hong Kong, Japan, India as well, with the use of smart cards.
Business travellers are urged to make use of Stansted Airport's new facial recognition security gates, which use cutting-edge document scanning from 3M.
Passengers with new biometric passports traveling to the UK via Stansted can use what 3M calls the "queue-busting Autogates," which can scan their face and check their passport photo in seconds. The Autogates installed at the airport use the most recent 3M RTE8000 Full Page Scanner to validate British or European ePassports with an electronic chip and are helping the UK Border Agency process passengers more efficiently. A live image of the passenger standing at the gate is captured and biometric technology then compares this with the image stored on the chip embedded within the ePassport by measuring specific facial points regardless of changes due to weight gain or loss, for example. If there is a match and they clear security, the automatic gates allow the traveler across the border.
Voice Commerce, a UK-based biometric payment verification vendor, has recruited RBS WorldPay executive Tim Reynolds as chief technology officer as it looks to capitalize on its recently achieved payment institution status. The move sees Reynolds rejoin WorldPay founder Nick Ogden, with whom he worked at the firm from 1998 to 2002 before its sale to RBS. After selling WorldPay, Ogden set up Voice Commerce, which offers a voice-verified authentication system for mobile and Internet payments, in 2007.
The Voice Commerce business has also recently received authorization from the FSA to establish as a Payment Institution under the European Payment Services Directive (PSD).
While most visitors leave the U.S. by the time their visas expire, about 40 percent, possibly more, overstay their visas. The problem with these "overstays" is twofold. First, overstays enable the illegal immigration problem by using the visa process to break the law to remain in the U.S. Second, a small percentage represent a very real national security risk to the United States. In fact, at least six of the 9/11 hijackers were visa overstays. Independent researcher Diem Nguyen and DHS Policy Analyst Jena Baker McNeill reviewed DHS's pilot program to test the feasibility of two types of biometric exit tracking systems. The pilot demonstrated that the cost compared to the added security from a biometric exit system, which measures fingerprint data, as opposed to a biographic system, which compares a visitor's personal information provided at entry with the information provided at exit, does not support the need for a biometric approach to exit. Enforcing the law and ensuring that foreign visitors leave the country as scheduled while continuing to make the U.S. a welcome place for foreign travelers is an important balance to maintain.
Bank of America intends to stop its practice of requiring fingerprints from noncustomers when cashing checks in New Hampshire. Since late 2008, Bank of America branches in New Hampshire have been requiring noncustomers to provide a fingerprint as identification even when cashing checks drawn on its accounts.
It is the only bank in the state using the so-called "Thumbprint Signature" program, but the program is not uncommon in another places. HB Bill 299 would add that single line to the state law that dictates what is acceptable required identification when presenting a "negotiable instrument" for payment. Fingerprints would no longer be acceptable if the bill were to become law. The Senate has yet to take up the measure, but the bill's goals already have been met. BOA New Hampshire President John Weeks told a House committee last week that the fingerprinting would stop Feb. 8.
The federal government is planning to expand nationally an immigration records sharing program used in the D.C., and Fairfax County and Prince William County in Virginia. Under the program, identified as Secure Communities, local jails check arrestees' fingerprints against biometrics-based immigration records held by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as criminal records held by the FBI. The government plans to introduce the system in "literally every single city and county in the United States," said John Morton, assistant secretary for ICE. The agency expects Secure Communities to be expanded nationwide by 2013, according to ICE.
Biometric ID cards have lately received heat for whether they really the paramount security answer to identity theft. The biometric ID card is compared to standard credit cards in terms of vulnerability and risk to data breaching. The biometrics are electronically read and converted to a sequence of ones and zeros and sent to an authenticator to be compared with the sequence on file in the database. The dispute remains on how a series of numbers on a credit card, which has been stolen many times, is all that dissimilar from a series of numbers making up a digital fingerprint. Debaters are taking it a step further to say that while credit card companies have the ability to issue someone a new card number, an individual cannot exactly get new fingerprints if their information is stolen.
Winter Park, FL has selected DigitalPersona, Inc., to help address the two-factor authentication component of Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) mandates. Located in Central Florida, The City of Winter Park employs approximately 550 people who serve more than 28,000 residents. Winter Park chose DigitalPersona® Pro and DigitalPersona® Privacy Manager Pro to help secure access to networks and applications used by employees at city hall; central facilities including vehicle maintenance and the department of motor vehicles (DMV), electric division, and water plants; as well as emergency vehicles such as police cars and fire trucks. DigitalPersona's software tightly integrates into the City's existing systems, including Active Directory Services, Naviline and "green screen" AS/400 applications. Additionally, DigitalPersona Privacy Manager Pro enables sensitive information to be protected through digital signing and encryption of email and documents.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is increasing a high-tech program aimed at identifying "dangerous criminal aliens" following arrests made by local law enforcement. The so-called Secure Communities Initiative enables ICE to determine whether a person arrested by a participating state or local law enforcement agency is a dangerous criminal alien and "take the appropriate action to remove the individual from the community," according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Law enforcement agencies in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties in California began participating in the program in December. They are able to take part since they use electronic booking machines that gather biometric information, such as fingerprints, that can be easily forwarded to both the Department of Justice and ICE.
Hull Trinity House School, in Yorkshire, UK, is using a biometric system, which takes details of children's fingerprints to pay for their lunch by touching a screen in lieu of cash. The process drew strong criticism from Hull council leader Carl Minns, who is concerned the system could expose pupils to hackers and criminals.
He said: "I'm not going to deny that it is a very efficient way of paying for meals and there are administrative benefits to the school. However, no system, not the best in the world, gives 100 per cent security&If biometric used by passport agencies can be compromised, schools have no chance," he said. However, the school's headteacher, Andy Twaits, defended the move. "We need to point out that this system does not involve the storage of fingerprints. The biometric system we have installed simply scans the 10 points of a student's finger and converts these points into a numeric reference. That reference is stored.
Fulcrum Biometrics, a distributor of biometric identification technologies and provider to the U.S. Government, announced that it is now an approved reseller of UPEK biometric fingerprint readers and modules, including the new EikonTouch USB fingerprint-reader product line. EikonTouch fingerprint readers utilize one-touch placement sensors to deliver a simple, user-friendly experience. The new EikonTouch 700 provides FIPS 201 certified image quality for use in government applications and multi-user solutions that require user-friendly biometric performance. The EikonTouch 300 with SteelCoat protective coating is designed for use in rugged environments.
The Biometric Business Case from (AvidBiometrics.com), may not fly free, but it offers something most other luggage does not, biometric security. The business case, according to the company, utilizes the same technology trusted to secure high-level state secrets, a biometric security scanner. A scanner on top of the case reads an individual's fingerprint, compares it to its internal database, and provides entrée only when it identifies a perfect match, providing exceptional level of security when traveling with sensitive business documents or valuables. Its memory stores up to eight fingerprints thereby allowing associates or family with approved security clearance to access the contents.
This may not be the ultimate matchmaker. The electrode-equipped Galvanic Skin Response Bouquet doesn't provide the couple much question about who is wearing their hearts on their sleeve: a blue LED glows when they're calm but a white one turns on when they become anxious. However, there is more. The bride and the groom implemented a variety of biofeedback gear to data log their big day. The bouquet is attached to two electrodes, one worn on the Bride's wedding finger, via a Velcro strap, and the other in a wristband strapped to the groom. The information on their nerves, as well as their heartbeats, is recorded throughout the wedding on a 1GB SD card in the base of the bouquet.
Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc., announced the company will display the MedServ Patient Kiosk, featuring the Fujitsu PalmSecure" palm vein biometric authentication technology, at the 13th Annual Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee Kickoff Technology Policy Exhibition, on January 26th. Building on the accomplishment of a nine-county pilot program used by the Springfield (Ill.) Clinic in Illinois, the MedServ kiosks are at present in use at a number of major medical groups, including the George Washington University Medical Center, which has deployed more than 20 units. The patient kiosks use Fujitsu PalmSecure palm vein biometric authentication technology to verify patient identity, speed up check-ins, update patient records, make co-payments, and improve patient satisfaction in an easy-to-use, private manner. Exhibition guests will be able to use the MedServ kiosk to experience the technology firsthand.
Watch the video:
Thieves are using stolen social security numbers to receive medical care. As Susan Koeppen reports, medical ID theft can ruin credit and raise insurance rates.
Croatia's biometric passports comply with European Union security standards. The standardized biometrics used for that type of identification system are facial and fingerprint recognition and personal identification numbers. Old passports will be replaced by new biometric passports in Croatia. Croats will pay 390 kunas (about $75) or, on an expedited basis, 630 kunas (about $122) for the new passports. The passports, valid from five to ten years, may be obtained at any police station. The old passports will be valid until they expire.
STAR Technologies LLC, a DSCI Company, announced the release of the STARFace" Software Development Kit (SDK) that facilitates building custom biometrics solutions employing face recognition. According to the company, "The unique STARFace algorithms provide superior performance in non-cooperative and uncontrolled environments especially at large stand-off distances." This makes STARFace particularly suited for applications such as proactive surveillance, perimeter security, border control, physical access control, and security at public spaces such as airports. The unique technology is extensible for detection, tracking and recognition of any object or target of interest in an image or video stream.
NEC Corporation announced today that its face recognition technologies ranked number one in the Still-Face Dataset of the Multiple Biometric Grand Challenge (MBGC, *1) carried out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), commissioned by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The facial images evaluated by the Still-Face Dataset were snapped by high-resolution digital cameras under a diversity of demanding conditions, including compressed images used for IC passports, and images taken under poor indoor lighting or direct sunlight. These situations were designed based on projected real-world scenarios, and test results have demonstrated high quality performance.
Look at the presentation on:
http://face.nist.gov/mbgc/2009/FACE_V2_FINAL.pdf
PhoneFactor, a multi-factor mobile authentication company, introduced a biometric verification system for its phone-based authentication platform. The scheme uses biometric validation of a user's voiceprint to provide three-factor authentication. The PhoneFactor biometric system uses something the user has — a telephone, something they know — a password, and something they are — their voice. All this says the firm makes authentication more dependable. It also make a case that voice-based identification is more feasible for numerous organizations than the present de facto standard for biometrics, fingerprint recognition, because it doesn't require expensive reader hardware to be deployed, The PhoneFactor biometric authentication system works by calling users when they log in.
They answer the call and speak a passphrase to complete the login. The system analyzes key characteristics from the user's voice, such as pitch and rhythm.
IriTech Inc., a supplier of iris-based biometric identification technology, products and services, has unwrapped a new product in its IriCAMM family of iris recognition cameras. Constructed around an ARM processor, the new cameras execute on-board processing that reduces the workload for a host PC. This increases the number and types of acceptable host systems, enabling a wide variety of existing infrastructure to become iris-biometric enabled. Two important functions embedded within the new IriCAMM cameras are Aristech's automated quality-based image acquisition and IriTechs matching. The cameras capture iris images and present standards-compliant formatting. Matching can be performed on-board or via the host, depending on operational requirements.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has decided to make iris, face, and ten fingerprints details required. The decision was taken after a committee constituted by UIDAI in suggested parameters for biometric cards. the Committee has recommended the standards for iris image, face, and fingerprint (including the minutiae formats).
Cross Match Technologies, In. introduced a handheld multimodal identification and enrollment platform, SEEK® (Secure Electronic Enrollment Kit). SEEK is a comprehensive identification and enrollment platform designed for field use by law enforcement, first responders and the U.S. government for critical border protection and military applications. The durable, man-portable platform combines quick dual iris scanning technology and forensic-quality fingerprint capture and. According to the company, SEEK is the first device to be FBI certified in the Mobile ID Appendix F SAP 45 category supporting rapid image capture.
An alternative for verified, digital signatures was announced as the result of a partnership formed between IDology, Inc. and ARX, Inc. The partnership pairs two solutions, ARX's CoSign and IDology's ExpectID® IQ, to give businesses the proper controls over the ID proofing process behind verified, digital signatures. The combination of these products creates an new authentication for online transactions or document. By verifying the identity of a signer before attaching a forgery-immune digital signature, companies can be confident that important contracts, disclosures and other documents are being signed by the real person represented in the signature.
India's Demographic Data Standards and Verification Procedure (DDSVP) committee in its report to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI ensured demographic data is captured in a standardized manner so that the identity information works across all systems. "The date/place of birth/ residence and other attributes should not be embedded in the UID number. When state/ district IDs are embedded, the number faces the risk of becoming invalid and misleading the authenticator when people move place to place. It can also lead to profiling or targeting based on region, state or a district from where the person hails. There can be centralized database management systems which can index the records for rapid search and access without having to section data by location or date of birth," the committee said in its report.
Corrections and law enforcement now have the ability to precisely search tattoo image databases to identify suspects, criminals and victims thanks to MorphoTrak's (Safran Group) acquisition of a unique tattoo matching technology developed by Michigan State University (MSU). According to a 2006 Pew Research Center survey, over 36 percent of individuals between the ages of 18-40 have at least one tattoo. This percentage is much higher among criminals and gang members. as a result, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have been collecting images of tattoos for many years.
Although a tattoo only cannot identify a person, this alternative trait provides precious information that can help thin the field and identify gang members. This content-based image retrieval and matching technology uses features such as color, shape, and texture present in tattoo images in its place of labels or keywords, to compute the similarity between images.
Biometrics - Trends & Opportunities Worldwide
- Market: Information Technology
- Published Date: 01/11/2009
- Report Title: Biometrics - Trends & Opportunities Worldwide
- Table of Contents: View Table of Contents
- Report Type: Market Report
- Country: Global
- Number of Pages: 800
- £ 1,777,00
Mounting security anxiety ranging from identity theft, corporate security, to even national security represents factors that are significant to the biometrics market. a few countries have already rolled out biometric systems at airports and other ports of entry to check flow of illegal immigrants into their respective territories. On the technological front, non-contact systems could surface as the response to drive out inhibitions exhibited by users. Development of industry-wide standards has been initiated by some industry groups, which would lead to lower costs and allow easier adoption of present and emerging technologies. Government initiatives could emerge as the key to biometrics growth.
A self-check digital security system called UNI-PASS launched at Ben Gurion Airport. Developed by Israel's Airport Authority, The security system utilizes fingerprint and facial imaging samples to create a biometric signature that is then stored on a smart card for passengers traveling abroad.
This passenger screening in which passengers simply swipe their smart card at each security checkpoint, is said to speed up the security process as whole. In addition, the IAA said the system creates an identical screening process for every flyer. UNI-PASS replaces the standard question-answer method currently practiced at airports, an IAA representative tells the Jerusalem Post. Currently the pilot UNI-PASS is being tested on El Al Frequent Flyers Club members.
M2SYS Technology announced that Shelby Systems, a provider of financial and membership software tools for ministries and other faith-based organizations, has selected M2SYS fingerprint software and fingerprint readers for distribution to its customers. M2SYS will provide Shelby Systems with Bio-Plugin" a fingerprint software solution that allows developers to integrate and deploy a turnkey biometrics system. Because of its unique design, Bio-Plugin eliminates continuing maintenance problems headaches and permits integrators like Shelby Systems to utilize biometric technology.
Chinavision's new facial recognition system can operate as both a time and attendance tracker as well as a physical access control device. The system, which can authenticate up to 500 people based off their pre-loaded facial images, takes pictures of individuals via two embedded night-vision cameras enabling it to work in a variety of different lighting.
The Biometrics Automated Toolset System, aka BATS, is a database a system using fingerprints and retina scans to helps soldiers counter insurgency. The system takes finger prints and retina scans and stores them with information like names, pictures and background information to form an individual profile. The profile provides information about an individual's past records, if the person has been previously detained, where they've worked or whether or not they are wanted for illegal activity.
Watch the video on training for BATS:
http://www.dvidshub.net/?script=video/video_show.php&id=60086
A number of health care organizations have up until now not taken major action to fulfill the original HIPAA privacy and security rules, which were never enthusiastically enforced. Now those rules have been given teeth by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and biometrics may help those organizations fulfill the requirements. Many hospitals, clinics and other provider organizations are investing in a variety of user authentication technologies to help protect clinical data.
These include: " Biometric systems, such as iris, palm vein pattern or fingerprint detectors; " Hardware tokens, small devices, often in the form of a key fob, that generate random passwords that then must be typed; " Proximity badges containing chips that, when placed next to a reader, automatically confirm the user's ID; " Phone-based authentication, which uses a clinician's telephone, cell phone, pager or PDA to help verify their identity; and " Adaptive authentication, which uses specialized software to assess a user's risk potential and pose a series of questions based on personal information they have provided.
In many cases, providers are pairing two-factor authentication with single sign-on systems, which enable physicians, nurses and others to access all suitable systems once they validate themselves.
Ford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are launching a six-month project to study driver stress; and how technology can reduce tension while driving. Ford said the project seek ways to reduce stress-inducing driving situations, monitor a driver's reaction to the situations using biometrics and evaluate methods to incorporate new stress-reducing features into the next generation of Ford products. Ford and MIT officials say they are studying driver workload to identify new opportunities to use vehicle technologies to lower stress and consequently improve safety. In fact, the officials say the researchers are focusing on how the car can potentially enhance overall human wellness.
A white paper describing the conceptual framework for a vehicle-based safety/wellness platform and results of studies on detection systems was released today by the MIT AgeLab http://web.mit.edu/agelab/MIT_AgeLab_wellness_platform.pdf
(Jan. 7) -- In the headlong rush to "fix" security after the Underwear Bomber's unsuccessful Christmas Day attack, there's far too little discussion about what worked and what didn't, and what will and will not make us safer in the future.
The security checkpoints worked. Because we screen for obvious bombs, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab -- or, more precisely, whoever built the bomb -- had to construct a far less reliable bomb than he would have otherwise. Instead of using a timer or a plunger or a reliable detonation mechanism, as would any commercial user of PETN, he had to resort to an ad hoc and much more inefficient homebrew mechanism: one involving a syringe and 20 minutes in the lavatory and we don't know exactly what else. And it didn't work.
Yes, the Amsterdam screeners allowed Abdulmutallab onto the plane with PETN sewn into his underwear, but that's not a failure either. There is no security checkpoint, run by any government anywhere in the world, designed to catch this. It isn't a new threat; it's more than a decade old. Nor is it unexpected; anyone who says otherwise simply isn't paying attention. But PETN is hard to explode, as we saw on Christmas Day.
Additionally, the passengers on the airplane worked. For years I've said that exactly two things have made us safer since 9/11: reinforcing the cockpit door and convincing passengers that they need to fight back. It was the second of these that, on Christmas Day, quickly subdued Abdulmutallab after he set his pants on fire.
World-leading eBook Reader Manufacturer Debuts Wide Range of eBook Readers and Electromagnetic Touch Tablet Devices at CES.
BEIJING and LAS VEGAS, - Hanvon (CES Booth #12240/TechZone) today unveiled an array of new products for the U.S. market including more than 10 eBook readers and electromagnetic touch tablet devices. A world leader in handwriting recognition technology, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and Biometric Recognition related products, Hanvon is a leading eBook reader manufacturer in the world, both under its own brand and as an OEM.
Hanvon's 25 year history in the handwriting technology and electromagnetic technology space has allowed them to develop a wide range of software and hardware solutions for partners and consumers worldwide.
Hanvon's professional graphic tablets and tablet PCs also feature Hanvon's unique electromagnetic touch tablet technology for accurate writing and easy-to-use on-screen drawing via the wireless pen. The technology enables the tablets to recognize highly detailed information such as pen the inclination and pressure to render drawings and writing just as clear as a pen would on paper.
The Lockheed Martin-led Next Generation Identification (NGI) team has successfully delivered the first Advanced Technology Workstations (ATWs) as part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) new state-of-the-art biometrics system. The NGI workstations replace aging Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) Service Provider Workstations, bringing improved capabilities for the FBI's service providers and analysts. "The current IAFIS receives an average of 160,000 fingerprint transactions per day, and on several occasions it has processed more than 200,000 transactions in a 24-hour period," said FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Deputy Assistant Director Jerome M. Pender. "These ATWs will greatly improve the FBI's ability to assess fingerprint matches."
The thief smashed a window on a Chevy Silverado on Bogard Street, slipping away before anyone was the wiser. He got away with a $50 GPS unit, but left something behind as well: his DNA. Charleston police found blood on the pickup and on a nearby paper towel. They shipped off samples to Marshall University for testing. On Tuesday, that genetic evidence led to the arrest of a 58-year-old man in connection with the Aug. 29 theft, police public information officer Charles Francis said. Vernon Anthony Green of Charleston also is implicated in a July auto break-in on Ashe Street, thanks to blood found in the vehicle and tested at Marshall, authorities said.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., -- SecuGen, the world's leading optical fingerprint device vendor, is pleased to announce that its Hamster Plus USB Fingerprint Reader has been selected by Schleuniger Automation for use with its CrimpCenter product line. A leading manufacturer of machines for wire processing, Schleuniger's CrimpCenter products are fully automatic crimp machines that combine high processing speed, precision and user friendliness. Now, Crimp-Center operators can use the Hamster Plus for safe and easy fingerprint login instead of user name and password. By using the Hamster Plus, problems associated with lost or stolen passwords are eliminated, and the user experience is improved. The rugged design of the Hamster Plus is a perfect fit for the industrial settings where CrimpCenter products are used.
KATHMANDU, -- Nepali government is preparing to issue a special digital identity card with all information about a person to replace the traditional identity cards including citizenship certificate, voter's card, driving license, passport and ATM cards, local media reported on Monday. According to myrepublica.com, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers (OPMCM) is working on the technical aspects of the card to be named "Biometric Smart Card". The card will be recognized as the national identity card.
Taking a lesson from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) that identified over
22,800 bogus employees in November 2009 after using a biometric attendance system, the Moradabad Municipal Corporation (MMC) had recently adopted the same. Though there were no bogus employees there, but attendance of employees has dramatically improved.
Encouraged by the response, the Uttar Pradesh government has now directed 12 other municipal corporations in the state — Meerut, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Agra, Aligarh, Kanpur, Jhansi, Allahabad, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Saharanpur that have over 56,000 employees — to adopt the technology.
British scientists have claimed to have developed software that enables keyboard to identify the user and his state of mind, a discovery that may make passwords and other security systems things of past. The software, developed by Mike Dowman and colleagues at the University of Abertay in the UK, use 36 characters of login details in 42,840 attempts. The software was able to detect 97.2 per cent of the users correctly.
JERUSALEM, Israel - As international airports around the world beef up security in the wake
of the failed Northwest Airlines bombing, Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport is introducing a biometric system to make security checks easier. It's called Unipass - a revolutionary airport security system officials say is the first of its kind in the world. "It's a biometric system that allows us to do a better security check that enables security checkers to use computerized tools, to remember the passenger using a biometric fingerprint…and to process the traveler in a faster and more efficient way," airport security official Zohar Gefen explained.
Watch the video on:
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2010/January/Israeli-Airport-Unveils-Revolutionary-Security-System/
LONDON - New regulations that took effect Wednesday require skilled foreign workers who extend their stay in Britain to obtain identity cards containing biometric data, including finger prints and photographs. The UK Border Agency rules are part of the extended rollout of a 2008 program that will require all foreign workers who plan to stay in Britain six months or longer to obtain an ID card by April 2011. The rules apply only to workers from outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland.
Organizations of Any Size Can Quickly Deploy This Identity Solution Delivered as a Cloud-Based Hosted Service BIO-key International, Inc., a leader in finger-based biometric identification solutions, today announced the launch of TruDonor ID, a fully hosted identity solution tailored to address the needs of the blood collection industry. With TruDonor ID, blood centers of any size now have a fast, convenient and accurate method to positively identify donors. Following on earlier successes in the blood donor identification market, BIO-key's introduction of this secure SaaS (Software as a Service) donor ID solution provides an affordable, fully supported, web based solution that staff can access from anywhere and at anytime.
New Delhi, As part its effort to prevent train mishaps in adverse weather conditions, Railways is planning an advanced 'biometric vigilance' system onboard engines to alert the locomotive drivers. The system will read the attention span of the motormen, record the same in the onboard system and warn the driver before applying automatic brakes, said a top railway official today. The warning system would be on the lines of other technologies like the 'vigilance control device' and 'train protection warning system', which has been implemented on a small scale in the Delhi-Agra section. These technologies have already been put in places in the Mumbai and Chennai suburban section, Member (Electrical) Railway Board Sudesh Kumar said.
Skilled migrant workers must now apply for ID cards if they want to extend their visas, following changes to the immigration system this week. To apply for the ID cards, the Tier 2 migrant workers will have to register their biometrics before the UK Border Agency (UKBA) decides whether to grant them another visa. If their visa application is successful, they will then be given an identity card. The ID cards will confirm a worker's nationality, identity and whether they have the right to work or study in the UK under the points-based immigration system.
The Tripura State Cooperative Bank (TSCB), an institution in the North East Indian state of Tripura, has employed a program that enables more than 2,000 workers of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to utilize biometric cards in lieu of standard bank cards to access their accounts via ATMs, according to a New Kerala article. The program enacted in Tripura is similar to other successful programs that have been implemented in the Indian states Mizoram, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh.
To keep a check on teachers not taking classes, the state education department has decided to install biometric machines in schools to record their attendance and of other staff. To start with the system will be introduced as a pilot project in 100 government schools across the state, mainly upper primary and secondary schools. There are 18,290 schools in the state of which 5,000 fall under these two categories.
PISCATAWAY, N.J., -- IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, today announced that enrollment for the next testing phase of its Certified Biometrics Professional (TM) (CBP) program is now open. Testing windows for 2010 are scheduled for April 24 to May 31 and November 20 to December 31, with corresponding registration periods open from January 11 to May 26 and from August 9 to December 28, respectively. IEEE and some of the world's leading biometrics experts developed the new program to help meet training, hiring and evaluation needs of professionals and organizations throughout the biometrics industry. The IEEE CBP program focuses on the relevant knowledge and skills necessary to apply biometrics to real-world challenges and applications.
Professionals who want to register for the exam and organizations that are interested in registering multiple employees should visit www.IEEEBiometricsCertification.org.
The first step in the process is to read the IEEE CBP Candidate Bulletin. The bulletin includes detailed information about program policies and procedures. It is important that you are familiar with program processes before you register so that you know what to expect and what is expected of you.
MEXICO CITY -- Smartmatic, a leading supplier of security and election solutions, along with partner Cross Match Technologies Inc. were selected by the Secretaría de Gobernación de México (Secretariat of Governance, SEGOB) to supply new technologies to improve and safeguard the national registry. The SEGOB purchased 2000 PARkits units that will be used for the registration of fingerprints, iris, facial features and signatures of more than 100 million
Mexican citizens. The SEGOB purchased the equipment for 23 million dollars.
Alhaji Mustapha Carayol head of the Gambia electoral body, the Independent Electoral Comission, (IEC) announced a budget of one hundred and fifty two million dalasis ($ 5.671 million US dollars) for the deployment of a Biometric Voter Registration System. The move from the traditional system which used Polaroid Cameras, counterfoil books and voting cards contained in cold plastic laminates to a modern biometric solution was prompted by the need for a free, fair, and transparent presidential election in 2011. CODE Inc a Canadian company and ZETES PASS a Belgian company are currently the final companies bidding for the Biometric Voter Registration System contract.
You expect a smartphone to make phone calls, act as a portable calendar, run applications, and check email where ever you might be. The LG eXpo running Windows Mobile 6.5 can accomplish all of these tasks, but what sets it out from the crowd of smartphones is that the phone has an integrated fingerprint scanner.
Supplied by AuthenTec, the integrated “smart sensor” represents a bold new push of biometric security into the consumer smartphone market. As technologies such as AuthenTec’s AES1711 fingerprint scanner are integrated into different consumer devices it is only a matter of time before biometric security will become a household term.
NEW DELHI, India (Jan. 16, 2010) -- The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will require details of the face, all ten fingerprints, and both iris images for issuing unique ID numbers to residents of India. The decision, which will affect the 1.2 billion people inhabiting India, was made by the UIDAI based on the practices followed by international users and international standards. The monumental undertaking will also include citizens that are considered “ghosts” or persons without any form of documentation to prove their existence.
Download the Biometrics Design Standards
For UID Applications (57 pages) on: http://uidai.gov.in/documents/Biometrics_Standards_Committee%20report.pdf
A UN watchdog has called for a new international agreement on privacy following a review of the expanding global array of surveillance measures and databases advanced by governments in the cause of counter-terrorism. The special rapporteur on human rights, Martin Scheinin, said the UN should create a "a global declaration on data protection and data privacy" in response. His report, delivered to the UN's Human Rights Council, describes the expansion of watchlists, border checks, financial data sharing, interception of communications, biometrics and ID registers in recent years. "States no longer limit exceptional surveillance schemes to combating terrorism and instead make these surveillance powers available for all purposes," he added.
"Most worrying, however, is that these technologies and policies are being exported to other countries and often lose even the most basic protections in the process."
Download the report on:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/terrorism/rapporteur/docs/A_HRC_13_37_AEV.pdf
Integrated Biometrics, a developer of fingerprint-based biometric authentication systems, has announced the successful testing and approval of their TRU650 fingerprint solution by the U.S. Transportation and Security Administration to be placed on the TSA Biometrics Qualified Product List (QPL) for Access Control.
Uganda's Credit Reference Bureau has hit the critical 100,000 borrowers mark and indications are the figure will keep rising as it becomes an integral part of the country's banking system. Compuscan Information Technologies, the firm that offers the service, is trying to get banks to properly identify their customers using biometrics for final use by the credit bureau.
"The fingerprints that are scanned at the branch are translated into a unique number, printed on a financial card, and this number is then used within the credit bureau to link loan records together," said Compuscan managing director Michael Malan.
DigitalPersona announced that Bentley University has deployed the company's software on faculty and student laptops and PCs. The DigitalPersona software is an identity protection solution that allows users to sidestep the manual input of passwords across all Web sites and network applications by leveraging the users fingerprint for authentication.
A Japanese company, Futen, has come out with a USB disk that comes with data encryption called Lockface. There's nothing new or novel about a pre-encrypted USB disk. What's new and novel is this device's use of your computer's webcam: Lockface uses it for running its face recognition software, used instead of a password to access the USB drive.
In practice, the face image of a person can be gleaned from a passport document by capturing a digital image of the photograph page via a digital camera or a scanner. Then these photos can be compared against live face photos of the same person acquired using a high resolution digital camera.
Cross Match Technologies, a global provider of biometric identity solutions, announced that IT/USERS magazine, one of Latin America's leading technology publications has selected the facial recognition software "Lookout" as winner of the Top IT 2009 Award and the SEEK as the winner of the Editor's Choice Award for 2009.
ATMCASH has announced the launch of its new online and over-the-phone money-transfer service. ATMCASH enables users to send money online or over the phone to more than 150 countries and more than 1,500,000 million ATMs worldwide. ATMCASH uses secure encryption and claims to be the only company in the money-transfer industry that uses state-of-the-art voice-verification technology.
International mobile money transfer outfit VoiceCash Group has started offering banking services after being granted a European license. The VoiceCash service, which is offered as a white-label system to mobile operators, banks and others, currently lets users transfer funds in real-time via their handsets using SMS and voice biometrics callback functionality.
Security measures such as one-time passwords and phone-based user authentication, considered among the most robust forms of security, are no longer enough to protect online banking transactions against fraud, a new report from research firm Gartner warns. "Trojan-based, man-in-the-browser attacks are circumventing strong two-factor authentication, enabled by one-time password tokens," Litan wrote in her report. "Other strong authentication methods, such as those using chip cards and biometric technology that rely on browser communications, can be similarly defeated," she said.
BIO-key International, a leader in finger-based biometric identification solutions, announced that SC Magazine, one of the world's most respected security publications, named BIO-key International the 2009 Innovator of the Year in the Access Control sub-category Biometrics.
Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., today announced that a new $328 million Biometrics Technology Center is slated for construction on the campus of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division in Clarksburg, WV.
ImageWare Systems, a leading developer of identity management solutions, announced that it has been awarded two additional patents, numbers 7,596,246 and 7,606,396, by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), for its scalable, multimodal, biometric fusion and analysis technologies. These patents describe a system and method for fusing the matching results of multiple biometrics to improve the performance and accuracy over the use of a single biometric for identification and authentication.
India is mulling to introduce tighter and stricter rules for all foreigners traveling to this country in the wake of recent revelations about the arrested Pakistani-origin U.S. citizen David Coleman Headley's undetected visit with fake travel documents. "The plan aims to track immigration visas and foreigners' registration. About 169 Indian missions, 77 immigration offices and the Foreigners Regional Registration Office will directly report to the Central Foreigners Bureau as part of the plan. At airports, travel documents will be authenticated using state-of-the-art scanners and biometrics along with instant online registration of foreigners in a bid to identify suspicious travelers," sources said.
PITTSBURGH -- During the holiday season, many people will be shopping online or travelling through airports and train stations to see loved ones. But these simple activities also carry new and evolving risks from threats to your identity, finances and personal safety.
Channel 4 Action News' Sally Wiggin found that at Carnegie Mellon University, there are new ways being developed to protect people from digital and other crimes. The goal of researchers in CMU's computer engineering and the biometrics lab is to make the world a safer place. For example, computer users type in their password dozens of times a day, making passwords and attractive target for hackers. Criminals can make use of something as simple as a spelling error in a program. "For example, you ask the user for a password in the program and it doesn't check the password correctly, maybe that allows a backdoor for an attacker," said Dr. David Brumley. Brumley's job is to find these mistakes, and create safer software, perhaps by creating a computer that can recognize your fingertips as you type your password. In CMU's biometrics lab, researchers are working on using not just fingerprints, but human faces and even the iris of an eye as an additional safeguards. The technology may seem futuristic, but it could be available next year.
Watch the video on:
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/video/21966673/index.html
The Israeli Knesset has voted in favour of a bill for a compulsory biometric database of all citizens. The Biometrics Database Law passed the Knesset 40 votes in favour to 11 against.
A big row over privacy forced the bill back to the drawing board. This led to the idea of a twoyear trial rather than a full-blown introduction. Three months before the end of that period ministers will decide to adopt or ditch the technology. For the first two years the scheme is voluntary. After that all citizens wanting an identification document will have their fingerprints taken along with a picture of their face. Electronic ID cards will contain a chip carrying two fingerprints and a digital picture.
A Michigan man who was aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 says he witnessed Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab trying to board the plane in Amsterdam without a passport. Haskell said he and his wife were sitting on the ground near their boarding gate in Amsterdam, which is when they saw Kurt and Lori Haskell are attorneys with Haskell Law Firm in Taylor. Their expertise includes bankruptcy, family law and estate planning. While Mutallab was poorly dressed, his friend was dressed in an expensive suit, Haskell said. He says the suited man asked ticket agents whether Mutallab could board without a passport. “The guy said, 'He's from Sudan and we do this all the time.'”
Mutallab approach the gate with an unidentified man.
Watch the video of this testimony on CNN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAtK7FFDukQ&feature=player_embedded
The only Dutch news site that picked up this very suspicious news was geenstijl.nl. No other official news station in Holland has broadcasted this news. That makes it even more suspicious.
http://www.geenstijl.nl/mt/archieven/2009/12/terreurnigeriaan_vloog_zonder.html
Only 3 days after the bombing incident the Dutch Minister of Interior already made clear that the bodyscanners on Schiphol airport in Amsterdam could be operational in a few day’s. The scanners were there for 2 years now, but EU privacy regulations prohibited the use of the scanners. With new detection software it is now possible to operate the scanners without human eyes to search for items not allowed to board a plane. Schiphol is one of the few airports outside the USA with these scanners on the fast lane.
There were privacy discussions on the use of these scanners for years and suddenly within 3 day’s every argument has seized to exist.
With the destruction of the underpants of the Nigerian, the privacy debate seems to be destructed too. A Nigerian without a passport and nobody seems to know the details…
Why is this mysterious sharp dressed man not on the official news? Why is the FBI telling different stories every day? Why is the second possible suspect in Detroit non existent in the first version and is now openly admitted? Who has what to hide?
Tory MP Ben Wallace, who worked on the scanners at defence research organisation QinetiQ before entering Parliament in 2005, said the £100,000 ‘millimetre wave’ machines would not have stopped syringe bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from trying to mount his attack on Christmas Day.
The Prime Minister vowed to use technology, and additional scans at airports, to fight the threat from Al Qaeda.
But Mr Wallace warned: ‘I must advise the Prime Minister – and the British public – that the scanners are not a “silver bullet”. You would be mistaken to think that they would counter the new threat. ‘The millimetre wave technology is harmless, quick and can be deployed overtly or covertly. But it cannot detect chemicals or light plastics’.‘They have their uses. They give a sharper image of objects – especially metallic – than the “metal arch” scanners now in use’. 'And as they scan the whole body, they would speed up security checks as there would be less need for the “pat-down” search’.
‘They are also able to scan crowds at a distance. But they cannot detect everything.’ He said that the only type of scanner that might be able to pick up concealed explosives were X-ray machines – but they pose health risks and are too slow to operate.
ELKINS -- On Jan. 4, 2010 nurses at DMH in Elkins, WV, will need more than just their hands to "hand out" medicine. They will need to use their fingerprints to activate the new Acudose Pharmacy dispensing units.
The hospital unveiled its new multi-million dollar equipment to the public on Thursday. "The automated cabinet system provides secure storage and efficient dispensing of medications on the floor. Medications will now be available 24 hours a day in a decentralized location." said DMH Pharmacy Director Jason Bosley. According to Bosley, Nurses will log into a computer by scanning in their fingerprint. They will then be able to bring up a patients chart and the medicine needed. The drawer will automatically open, exposing several pill storage area. "They will all be locked except for the one needed by the patient." said Bosley.
LONDON, -- The biometrics market has gained steady momentum in the EMEA region
(Europe, Middle East and Africa) in recent years. The various government projects newly issued are expected to counterbalance the negative impact that the current economic recession is having on the commercial and financial sectors. Infrastructure security developments like e-Passports, the national ID programme, as well as seaports, and airports will be driving the market. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, EMEA Biometrics Market, finds that the market earned euro 216.1 million in 2008 and is anticipated to reach euro 1,058.0 million by 2015, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.5 per cent from 2008 to 2015.
ARMONK, N.Y. and FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif -- IBM and Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc. today announced a new security solution that integrates palm vein biometric technology from Fujitsu with IBM's leading enterprise single sign-on solution.
The new offering aims to help companies bypass the hassles of managing multiple passwords for access to critical business information by enabling employees to scan their palms to verify their identities. By integrating the palm vein technology with IBM's single sign-on software, employees can securely access applications, files and websites with a single scan of their palm – eliminating the need to remember multiple passwords and the threats posed by those lost or stolen.
CRANBURY, N.J., - Iris ID Systems Inc. (IRIS ID), a new company focused on iris identity authentication technologies, has been formed from the spin -off of the LG Iris Technology Division from LG Electronics USA.
LG Iris has been active in the development of iris recognition since 1997, and the IrisAccess platform has become the most widely deployed iris recognition platform in the world.
Prometric, a United States- based standardized test management company, has announced that the online Common Admission Test (CAT), often used as for admissions purposes for the Indian Institutes of Management, has received a number of security upgrades to help ensure the taker is who he says he is, according to a Central Chronicle article. Among the security upgrades, Prometric officials cite the collection of biometric data from test takers is the most important.
The German Interior Ministry confirmed on Monday that new identification cards containing radio-frequency (RFID) chips will be introduced starting November 1, 2010 - but some data protection experts are critical of the decision. “It’s smaller than the old one, but can do a lot more,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said in a statement.
FAIRFAX, Va., -- ManTech International Corporation announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Sensor Technologies Inc. (STI) for $242 million in cash. STI is a leading provider of mission-critical systems engineering and Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) services and solutions to the Department of Defense.
STI's largest customer is the U.S Army through several contracts, including its prime position on the S3 Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract, on which it has received more than $2.5 billion in task orders to date. The transaction is expected to be accretive to ManTech's earnings per share in 2010.
Headquartered in Red Bank, NJ and founded in 1991, STI is a privately-held company with specialized services supporting program management offices across the U.S. Army in the areas of biometrics, human terrain systems, communications, and ISR. STI generates solid operating margins and expects to produce approximately $340 million in revenue in 2009 and $450 million in revenue in 2010.
Gaithersburg, Md., -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) today announced the successful
achievement of ISO 27001 certification, an internationally recognized standard against which organizations certify their Information Security Management Systems. This encompasses frameworks to consistently design, implement, manage, maintain and enforce information security processes and controls, to protect confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.
Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Services is one of 100 U.S. companies and the only major systems integrator to attain the ISO 27001 certification. More than 5,500 customer contracts, 13 Lockheed Martin Cyber Security Alliance partners and over 16,500 suppliers rely on resilient and trusted systems to meet their missions and achieve their business objectives. The certification helps affirm the strength of Lockheed Martin's security practices which provide a consistent, reliable and secure operating environment to support its customers, partners and business.
Bangalore: Pilot project to be introduced in the Central Range of Bangalore covering 96 ration shops, five LPG distributors; When a cylinder is door-delivered, the identity of the individual will be verified on a biometric reader. With a view to check diversion of subsidised domestic LPG cylinders into the commercial market, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the State Government are planning to bring LPG distribution under the proposed biometric public distribution system. As a first step, the Ministry and the Food and Civil Supplies Department will undertake a pilot project in the Central Range of Bangalore City covering 96 public distribution (ration) shops and five LPG distributors, said sources in the department. While the Ministry is implementing smart card system in the rest of the country for the same project, the measure taken by the Karnataka Government to introduce biometric system is a step ahead, said sources in the public sector oil companies. The State Government need not spend any money on smart cards and the present laminated ration cards will continue to stay, said the source.
The country’s second-largest public sector lender, Punjab National Bank (PNB), has bet big on rural customers in the Indo-Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Keeping in sync with its target, the bank unveiled its plans to open 100,000 biometric Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in rural areas by the year 2013 for providing easy access to the illiterate and semi-literate customers. “We will be targeting the countryside customer who is not yet able to gain benefit from the financial and banking services available in the country. We have offered to open zero balance and no-frills account for the convenience of such economically weak customers,” PNB Chairman and Managing Director, K R Kamath told Business Standard. He was on an official visit to Kanpur to meet large and mid-sized corporate willing to bank with PNB.
The end of one year often brings predictions about the next. Unisys has released its forecast, saying that 2010 will be the year of a biometrics boom, while organizations will have to go more on the offensive when it comes to protecting their data. Patricia Titus is CISO of Unisys Federal Systems and explains why. "What we're starting to see is is a trend toward organizations wanting to use that device that is always on, always on [a person] to be able to communicate and send important information. In some cases, they're being used for transactions. It's a unique ability. It's very efficient. . . . Unfortunately, we're also starting to see an increase in malware and spyware."
Ghana in compliance with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICA) would introduce the use of readable passports with biometric data by April 2010. This means that passport applicants would have to present themselves personally at the passport application centres for their biometric data to be captured. Applicants would also be made to take fresh photographs with their fingerprints at the application centres to eliminate impersonation and other related malpractices that had bedevilled the sector over the years.
The FBI and Department of Defense are undergoing massive security-system makeovers that will make more extensive use of DNA, facial recognition, iris scans and palm over the traditional fingerprints for security investigations. In the emerging world of advanced security systems at the FBI and Department of Defense, DNA, facial recognition, iris scans and palm prints will play a larger role in investigations than the traditional fingerprint. Both agencies have embarked on biometrics-system makeovers that may eventually include mass-scale DNA biometrics storage for investigative purposes.
Under what’s called the Next-Generation Identification (NGI) program, the FBI is looking toward replacing its current Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) for a totally revamped biometrics system that over the years will not only be a repository for individuals’ fingerprints, but also store additional biometrics expected to include iris scans, 2D-to-3D facial imaging, palm prints, voice and DNA.
More on FBI’s NGI project on:
http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/ngi.htm
A consortium comprising Axtel and the Mexican subsidiary of U.S. information technology giant Unisys won a contract to create biometric identity cards for Mexico's 107 million people, the country's government said. The bid from telecom company Axtel, S.A.B. de C.V. and Unisys de Mexico SA de CV was 664.5 million ($51 million), the Mexican interior ministry said in a communiqué. At midyear the Mexican government announced the creation of a population register with citizen ID cards that would include biometric data including fingerprints, iris scans and blood type.
New Delhi: After the hullabaloo created by the Delhi University teachers about the biometric attendance system, the teachers at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools may soon join the league. The MCD is also planning to introduce the same in its teaching department in order to keep a check on its staff. The civic body has already successfully implemented the system in all its other departments and plans the same for the educational purpose.
BELGRADE, Serbia, -- Serbs Saturday were celebrating the first day of being able to travel throughout most of the European Union without visas, observers said. Serbian officials marked the occasion by paying for European trips for 50 citizens aboard a plane that left Belgrade at midnight Saturday, just as the visa restrictions were expiring, Novinite reported. The news service said the 50 were selected through the "Europe for Everyone" project, chosen because they all showed "exceptional leadership skills and hard work in helping their communities." Under the new EU rules, citizens of Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro can travel visa-free to all countries that have signed the Schengen Agreement, which includes most of the EU.
Reporting from Manchester, England - Angela Epstein is proud to be a card-carrying Brit. "I'm really proud to have one," said Epstein, 42, a lifelong resident of this northern city. "It says I'm a -British citizen. . . . Anything that has that on it is a source of pride to me." But what gives her pride gives others pause. For sceptics, the ID cards represent one more intrusion on their privacy, yet another government attempt to keep tabs on a citizenry that's already among the most monitored on Earth, thanks to the countless cameras mounted in public places.
