Here you can find the Biometric News of Q2 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
MAINGEAR, which offers custom desktops, notebooks, workstations and media centers, is now adding a 17-inch high performance notebook aimed at gamers. The eX-L 17 comes with built-in biometrics security via fingerprint reader for security, touch sensitive hotkeys for executing customizable macros and applications, and five different MAINGEAR's M.A.R.C. laser engraving to choose from
With USB flash drive memory capacities now reaching 64GB and higher, user's are now utilizing their USB flash drives as full external backup drives, making it even more important for users to secure the large amounts of personal data they are storing on their USB flash drives," according to Peter Garrett, Executive VP of Ennova Direct. "To that end, we incorporated a biometric fingerprint scanner function into the design of our new Patented Retractable USB flash drive, while keeping with the popular theme of our signature retractable USB connector. We paid special attention to the design of the retractable USB connector, adding an integrated cover that when closed protects the USB connector and OLED screen-biometric fingerprint scanner at the same time."via press release
Fingerprint scanning gates were used by tour group, the Fanatics, to control entry and exit (but apparently not Australia's exit from World Cup competition) to the Durban Cricket Ground, which has been converted into a "tent city" for approximately 1200 Socceroos,
Australian soccer fans, during the World Cup in South Africa. South Africa is generally perceived as a dangerous country, which was one of the factors that led the Fanatics site manager Phil VB to opt for biometric entrance gates. Six fingerprint scanners were rented from a local supplier for the duration of the World Cup.
When the soccer tent city residents arrived, their fingerprints and photographs were added to the system, which already contained their passport details and corresponding local address.
Watch the Video here
AuthenWare unveiled the updated edition of their flagship second-factor security software. AuthenWare 2.0 identifies and authenticates valid users by measuring the distinct rhythm and cadence of an individual's personal typing pattern in combination with user-specific behavioral and environmental characteristics. The update version includes a Keystroke Biometric Engine -- each time a user signs in, their login characteristics are compared to the AuthenWare Singularity Pattern, and, if they are deemed mathematically similar, the authorized user is granted access. An imposter who has obtained username, password, or other authentication information, however, will be consistently denied access, as their pattern will not resemble that of the valid user. "When introducing AuthenWare 2.0, our team set out with a single goal: to improve the way users are authenticated, ensuring imposters masquerading as the valid user are unable to access private or corporate information. Our technology not only automatically detects and prevents fraudulent authentication attempts, but it renders stolen credentials useless," said Felix Racca, founder and CTO of AuthenWare.
To download the brochure go to here.
The biometrics market in Asia is set to grow, especially driven by technological advancements, increased awareness and lowered costs.. Navin Rajendra, electronics and security industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan, said fingerprint scanning accounted for 73 percent of biometrics revenue in the Asia-Pacific market last year with the rest of the biometrics market went primarily to palm vein scanning, facial recognition, iris scanning, and voice recognition, at 14 percent, 6 percent, 4 percent and 2 percent, respectively. This emerging section of the pie is expected to grow, thanks to technological advances resulting in smaller form factors, lowered costs and integration with one another, said Rajendra. This integration can be seen in use cases such as immigration checkpoints where an individual may get both his fingerprints and facial features scanned.
This ensures a more secure check with two layers of security, while keeping costs down by employing two comparatively affordable technologies, explained the analyst. He noted that while iris recognition is more accurate compared with fingerprinting or face scanning, the former comes at a greater deployment cost.
West Corporation has selected the Anakam Identity Suite to provide third-factor authentication (TFA) for their thousands of virtual agents. Using Anakam.TFA capabilities, West at Home will be able to select from the scalable list of authentication mechanisms offered on the Anakam platform, including voice biometrics, to confirm the identity of their home-based agents. Anakam's solutions will enhance West at Home's two-factor authentication with an even more rigorous yet flexible platform that includes the choice of a third-factor voice biometric authentication. Initial deployments of the product set will focus on providing strong authentication of the virtual private networks (VPN) between the home-based agents and the West at Home platform. The deployment will expand to customer and client-facing solutions and will focus on maintaining a trusted relationship between West, their clients, and the customers that contact their clients.
The Anakam Identity Suite delivers NIST Level 3 authentication with an out-of-band, expiring one-time passcode via voice biometric, phone or email. It offers strong authentication and the associated identity management tools in a format scalable for millions of remote users.
Orlando International is the most recent airport to declare preparations to resume lines for registered travelers, selecting Alclear as its preferred vendor to initiate talk. Registered-traveler lines provide subscribers front-of-the-line privileges at security checkpoints for about $180 a year. In a meeting recently, Orlando officials ranked three vendors in its order of preference: Alclear's Clear, Henry Inc.'s JetLanes, and Cogent Systems' iQueue. According to USA Today, Orlando was the first airport to have a registered traveler program, which began in mid-2005. Called Clear, it was operated by Verified Identity Pass, which became insolvent last year. The company closed its lines at 18 airports in June 2009, including Orlando. Alclear bought Verified Identity's customer list in a bankruptcy-court bidding and plans to resuscitate the Clear brand, beginning this Autumn in Denver. IQueue has a contract to start its lines at Indianapolis later this year. Both Alclear and iQueue will collect biometrical information -- iris scans and fingerprints -- from customers to verify their identity.
Orlando International Airport
Leading IT companies such as NEC, TCS, Accenture, Cogent, L-1 Identity Solutions are among nine vendors who submitted the techno-commercial bids for biometric solution tender under the UID (Unique Identification is the government of India Project). Market analysts estimate the size of the contract to be well over Rs 100 crore.
Under the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) project, the identification numbers will be assigned based on the unique biometrics of an individual. Accordingly, iris-related and fingerprint biometrics of each resident is proposed to be captured for the purpose of identification and verification. The UIDAI project is being seen as an effective platform for financial inclusion and targeted subsidy payments.
The drive towards a paperless and secure working environment has pushed the need for a digital signature system well into the forefront. In addition, there is a growing need to protect businesses against fraudulent activities, misappropriation, and embezzlements. The need for advanced identity management solutions at competitive prices is present in a numerous applications and vertical markets. One of the more noticeable needs is for is for sophisticated, yet economical and effective authorization and verification measures for personal, business, data and transaction protection. Rapid advancements in technology and digitization of systems and mechanisms have played a major role in the advancement and propagation of dynamic signature verification concept. These and other market data and trends are presented in "Dynamic Signature Verification: A Global Update of Market Trends & Opportunities." Proliferative growth of Information Technology has paved the way for greater usage, implementation, and acceptance of digital signature verification among various segments of the economy.
The brochure of this report can be found here.
Morpho (Safran group) has signed a contract with the Malaysian National Registration Department to supply its brand-new MorphoCivi identity management system. Designed to ensure the secure issuance of multi-application ID cards, this biometric system will replace the government's current system, already supplied by the company in 1997. The MorphoCivis software-based solution used to register citizens (photo, fingerprints and personal data), and reliably authenticate citizens' identities when they access the various online services offered by the government (e-government). Incorporating the latest biometric algorithms developed by Morpho.
This new MorphoCivis version will improve the speed and accuracy of the current system, while also increasing the capacity of its database (up to 30 million records).
India's National Population Register (NPR) will start collecting biometric data of the country's entire adult population between December 2010 and January 2011. NPR will be the biggest biometric database -- including face, fingerprint and iris recognition of the over 1 billion Indian population -- that has ever been made. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was established by the government to implement the scheme and assign unique numbers to all citizens. "We have an agreement with the Registrar General of India that the NPR exercise under the 2011 census would collect biometrics data as well. At present we are in the first phase of NPR which gets the basic information of an individual. In the second phase we will collect the biometrics data. This will start sometime around December 2010 and January 2011," said R S Sharma, director general UIDAI.
The implementation of Comarch's biometric mechanisms by Poland's Bank Pekao SA has been a success according to the financial institution. Now, users of the bank's transactional Internet platform can log into the system and authorize tasks using their fingerprints. The project uses Comarch's new SmartCard Bio, which is fitted with biometric applets, card and fingerprint readers integrated in one small device. The use of fingerprints guards against access to the private key, which is stored on the cryptographic card (equivalent of the card PIN). The fingerprint secures access to the whole content of the cryptographic card independently from the number of keys stored on the card. The user has three options to access the private key: fingerprint ID, user PIN and a combination of the two. Any option, from those listed above, can be chosen using the Internet banking system.
In Malaysia, the government is mulling the use of biometrics to tackle the problem of illegal immigrants. Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop said the proposal is currently being considered by a Cabinet committee."The committee is considering a biometric approach to control and handle illegal immigrants," said Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop. The deputy minister told the Dewan estimates there are 1.9 million illegal immigrants in Malaysia.
International Biometric Group (IBG) announced that it is on the receiving end of two research awards by the Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) for their Public Security Technical Program.
The research awards stipulate that IBG work within a consortium that also includes other Canadian government entities as well as select experts from academia and the biometrics industry to look at different biometric technologies that can be utilized for national security in the country. The first research award deals with evaluation of the links between security levels and system performance in biometric systems designed to shelter electronic information for Canada. The second deals with safeguarding databases and tasks. the group will evaluate topics such as countermeasures, privacy, revocable biometrics, data sharing, covert use and multi-use biometrics.
The Contactless Payments Terminal by Simage Technologies offers multi-functionality multi-biometrics support for the financial services, public sector, transport and mobile communications markets. It also provides a printer and touchpad in highly compact and ergonomic design. The terminal supports ISO 14443 Type A/B standards and interacts with any NFC device operating under the ISO 21481 standard. The terminal uses the proven Android" operating system. The small size of the terminal allows great mobility and ease of deployment. It can be connected to the host system via Ethernet, RS232, GPRS, Wi-Fi etc, thereby providing unparalleled flexibility to the service providers. Security is a prime consideration in the terminal, the combination of multiple biometric authentication and security keys provides very high security on the user transactions. To cater to the different market segments and provide additional flexibility, it is possible to customize the terminal as per service providers requirements of color, branding and functionality.
Sensor networks and smart sensors are being used widely in industries, including automotive, medical, industrial, entertainment, security, and defence due to increased usage of process controls and sensing elements in different sectors. Use of smart sensors in counter-terrorism applications including cargo tracking, biometrics among others is also increasing. Smart systems are being readily accepted by the auto industry as automakers explore ways to save lives, deflect safety concerns and preempt costly litigation. Smart systems can sense an impending crash, its nature, the presence of occupants, their position, and determine the type of airbags to be fired and the force and speed of their deployment. These and other market data and trends are presented in "Smart Sensors: An International Market Report."
The brochure of this report can be found here.
NVIDIA announced that its third annual Emerging Companies Summit (ECS 2010), which will take place on Monday, Sept. 20 to Thursday, Sept. 23 at the San Jose (CA) Convention Center, will showcase the world's most inventive start-up companies using graphics processing units (GPUs) for breakthrough solutions.
In addition to start-up presentations, ECS 2010 will feature a series of panel discussions including a session on "Computer Vision on GPUs," covering facial, gesture, human motion and biometrics recognition; augmented reality; and robotic computing.
M2SYS Technology announced a strategic alliance with Fujitsu Frontech North America (FFNA) that will result in the widespread growth and adoption of PC-based palm vein biometric recognition systems. Under the partnership, M2SYS has added support for the Fujitsu PalmSecure" biometric authentication system to its Bio-Plugin" biometrics platform. Bio-Plugin" enables software companies to rapidly integrate and deploy an enterprise-ready biometric recognition system without the development and ongoing support challenges that are associated with low-level biometric SDKs (software development kits). Software companies that want to adopt the highly secure, reliable, and user-friendly Fujitsu palm vein biometric authentication system can now do so within hours, accelerating time-to-market and reducing software engineering and maintenance costs.
DigitalPersona, Inc., announced that Prime Communications (Prime), a national wireless retailer, has deployed U.are.U® fingerprint authentication to significantly reduce payroll fraud. Prime uses U.are.U in conjunction with RQ4 retail management software from iQmetrix. The combined solution provides more accurate accounting of employee time and attendance at Prime's 235 retail locations, reducing labor costs and improving store operations. Prime Communications employs more than 900 people in 12 states. As the company rolled out the RQ4 solution from iQmetrix, Prime sought to reduce payroll fraud by deploying a biometric fingerprint solution for employee log-in and time clock punch-in.
Prime required a solution that was highly durable given the rough environment of retail stores. "The combined DigitalPersona and iQmetrix solution enables us to drive down our labor costs by reducing buddy-punching," said Brennan Salassi, IT Manager of Prime Communications.
"The U.are.U solution has proven very rugged and reliable. The devices are quick to recognize fingerprint scans, and we have a near zero failure rate for the devices."`
Add the entire state of Virginia and Hamilton County in Tennessee to the growing list of Secure Communities -- the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (IC)'s new biometric information sharing program that helps federal immigration officials identify aliens.
Both lawfully and unlawfully present in the United States, who are booked into local law enforcement's custody for a crime. Some 336 jurisdictions in 22 states are now part of the Secure Communities program. ICE expects to make it available in jurisdictions nationwide by 2013. Formerly, during the booking process, arrestees' fingerprints were checked for criminal history information only against the biometric database maintained by the FBI.
With the implementation of Secure Communities, this fingerprint information is now automatically and simultaneously checked against both the FBI criminal history records and the biometrics-based immigration records maintained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
For more about Hamiltion County, Tenn. go to this website.
Fopr more information on Secure Communities visit the ICE website.
"We should not have to dramatically change the way we do business," cyber chief Howard Schmidt said.
The White House on Friday will release the second draft of a plan for managing identities in cyberspace, President Obama's cyber chief said during a conference in Washington. The latest version of the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace will build on existing efforts to ensure people, organizations and computers are who they claim to be on the Internet, according to Howard Schmidt, White House cyber coordinator. Those include the George W. Bush administration's Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, which established a common identification standard for federal employees and contractors to access government buildings and computers, and a requirement to add authentication tools to federal websites to prevent hackers from hijacking Internet traffic and redirecting it to bogus sites.
(June 26) – The father of a 6-year-old Ohio girl who turned up on the U.S. government's terror watch list says the worst thing his daughter has ever done is probably been mean to her sister.
But Santhosh Thomas, a doctor from Westlake, Ohio, says he's sure that's not enough to land his 6-year-old Alyssa on the no-fly list of suspected terrorists. "She may have threatened her sister, but I don't think that constitutes Homeland Security triggers," he told CNN.
An airline ticket agent informed the family of their predicament when they embarked on recent trip from Cleveland to Minneapolis. "They said, 'Well, she's on the list.' We're like, okay, what's the story? What do we have to do to get off the list? This isn't exactly the list we want to be on," Thomas said. The Thomases were allowed to fly that day, but authorities told them to contact the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to clear up the matter. Now they've received a letter from the government addressed to 6-year-old Alyssa, telling her that nothing in her file will be changed.
Watch the Video here:
Counter-insurgency warfare is by its very nature an intensive boots-on-the-ground endeavor, but that hasn’t stopped U.S. forces in Afghanistan from leveraging technology in the fight against the Taliban. Troops on patrol, meanwhile, employ high-tech identification devices to help ferret out terrorist suspects.
“The greatest advantage the insurgent has is that he doesn’t wear a uniform and identify himself as a combatant,” said a senior Marine staff officer with Task Force Leatherneck in Helmand Province. “What this system does is provide an opportunity to identify them through the exploitation of biometric material.”
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.
“If there is a match, just as in any criminal database, it would identify the person as a person of interest and whether or not he should be detained immediately,” said the officer who requested anonymity.
Comment: How accurate these matches are seems to be of less importance. People are likely to be detained and ‘questioned’ or worse based on dirty, partial fingerprints or palmprints found on weapons and explosives
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.
A U.S. soldier with the 2nd Platoon from Alpha Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, takes a finger print of an Afghan man during a house-to-house search operation in the village of Semkar, Kunar Province, eastern Afghanistan February 12, 2009. No Afghan is free of warrantless searches in their own country by occupation forces. (REUTERS/Oleg Popov) February 13, 2009
An Afghan refugee family who fled war in neighbouring Afghanistan go through an iris scan for identification before going back to their homeland, at UNHCR repatriation center in Peshawar, Pakstan on Monday, March 22, 2010. The U.S. and UN is slowly building an biometric database of all Iraqis and Afghans. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad) March 23, 2010
For more photographs and impressions visit this website:
It was a business model that was working (except on its bottomline) at airports including San Francisco International Airport until last June, when the market leader, Clear, shut its doors because of accumulating debt. The company was soon forced to declare bankruptcy. However, the company has opened again under new ownership, with plans to offer travelers the option of cutting to the front of security lines for a high price.
In addition, competitor Flo Corp. has teamed up with Cogent Systems to bring back the registered traveler program. Travelers pay between $149 and $179 to enroll in the program, which relies on biometrics ( a fingerprint or an eye scan ), to positively identify them as priority passengers as they go through security lines. Money and weak enrollment was a huge hurdle for the fledgling business before it shut down at airports across the nation. However this time around, CEOs pledge that with more investors, more capital, and better enrollment technologies available, the registered-traveler concept will be far more successful.
Incumbent President Hamid Karzai is seen here after casting his vote in Kabul. As with all who voted, his index finger was marked with indelible ink. The measure is intended to prevent people from voting twice. Karzai asked fellow Afghans to do the same.
The Taliban already warned people who were planning to vote to chop their fingers, or worse. To get rid of the ink, one can clean the finger with bleach, as shown on the unofficial website of Karzai himself.
A farmer from Afghanistan has had his nose and both ears cut off in a barbaric attack by Taliban militants as punishment for casting his vote in the country’s recent elections.
Speaking to reporters in a Kabul hospital this morning, 40-year-old Lal Mohammad said he was on his way to the polls last week when the Taliban found his voter identification card. He said they mutilated him and beat him unconscious.
The man was one of millions of people who ignored Taliban threats against voters and set out to cast his ballot, but says he now regrets his defiance.
Making the most of next generation biometrics security products technology the BioCert series of fingerprint biometric door locks is designed for home and small business use.
The Fingerprint Biometric Security Products Door Lock runs exclusively on battery power. Powered by four AA batteries, it can be operated for up to a year without changing the batteries. Fingerprint enrollment is said to be speedy and straightforward. Up to 30 users can be enrolled directly on the BioCert Guardian Fingerprint Biometric Door Lock at the door. More on these products here.
A burqa clad Afghan woman has her picture taken as she gets registered for parliamentary elections at a voter registration centre in Herat, Afghanistan on 17 June 2010. The picture is finally printed on the voter registration cards, to be used on voting day. Afghanistan's next parliamentary elections are due on 18 September. EPA/Jalil Rezayee
A new addition to Report and Markets' offerings is "Biometrics: Theory, Methods, and Applications" from John Wiley and Sons. The report provides in-depth information of advanced biometrics. This book provides a exposition of the current enhancements and emerging theories, techniques and applications of biometric systems for multiple types of infrastructures including recognition based on 3D hand geometry and fingerprints, facial aging. The book also delves into feature selection modeling for face recognition, statistical and geometric models for video-enabled face authentication, 3D face and near infrared recognition, ECG-based biometrics and iris recognition, online signature-enabled authentication, identification based on gait, information theory techniques for biometrics, biologically motivated techniques and biometric encryption, biometrics based on event-related potentials and electroencephalography, and theory, techniques and applications of biometrics are other topics discussed in the book. You can order this book here:
Last month, a gunman opened fire on an insurance building in the ancient Thai city of Ayutthaya, piercing the glass windows of the People’s Alliance for Democracy headquarters with 11 millimeter caliber bullets.
A few weeks earlier, bombs made from powerful plastic explosives were detonated near transmission towers in the same city in an unsuccessful effort by terrorists to darken the manufacturing district. The violent episodes hardly registered in the United States. Few Americans have heard of Ayutthaya, after all, or know of a reason to pay attention to it.
But there is a reason, one directly connected to America’s security. The key electronic components for millions of American e-Passports, the crown jewel of a new U.S. border security system, have been put together inside a little-known factory in Ayutthaya for the past four years.
Thai workers there assemble inlays that embed wireless transmitters and sophisticated computer chips that store biometric and other personal information used by customs officials and border guards to verify the identities of those who enter the United States.
One police department is identifying suspects on the go with the snap of an iPhone camera. Using an app called MORIS (Mobile Offender Recognition and Identification System), the police department in Brockton, Mass., is matching photos of suspects with a database in development by statewide sheriff's departments. Sean Mullin, president and CEO of BI2 Technologies of Plymouth who developed the app, explained that the app allows officers to identify suspects through facial recognition, iris biometrics and fingerprints - all on one device.
During the testing phase, police have access to the facial recognition software but the system will later include both iris and fingerprint recognition. Brockton is using a federal grant to pay for the experimental program.
MORIS isn't cheap. Each iPhone loaded up with the app costs $3,000. These are not regular, off-the-shelf iPhones but augmented devices with super-sized batteries as well as some extra hardware.
Voice Commerce unveiled what it claims is the industry's first voice biometrics-driven e-commerce platform. Known as On4, the cloud-based service allows retailers to instantly set up and run their online business, processing transactions using voice biometrics to authenticate/authorize their online and mobile-based electronic payments. According to Voice Commerce, a systematic process allows retailers to quickly set up and build a fully functioning store that will process Level 1 PCI compliant payments through Voice Commerce's voice transact payment network. As well as accepting Visa, MasterCard and American Express payments, the firm claims that retailers can also automatically deploy the VoicePay biometric payment system to process secure mobile payments. VoicePay is a voice biometrics service that is billed as allowing consumers to set up their own voice biometric as an authenticator for use over the phone or mobile phone.
Incredibly as e-reading devices and the software that operates them progressively become more and more competitive, researchers are creating applications that could take reading to a completely new level. Consider tools such as Text 2.0 a reading tool that personalizes the user's experience by tracking eye movements. Text 2.0 employs infrared light and a camera to track eye movement across a screen, and it uses this information to deduce a user's objective throughout the course of reading. For example, taking more time to read certain words, phrases, or names could activate the emergence of sound effects, footnotes, translations, biographies, definitions, or animations. If the reader begins skimming the text, the tracker will begin fading out words it deems less important to the text. If the reader glances away, a bookmark automatically appears, pointing to where the user stopped reading. Pretty cool, huh?
Watch the amazing Text 2.0 Video on YouTube:
U.S. Soldiers using devices to gather biometric information on Afghan nationals to help discern the good guys from the bad.
Watch the video here:
The Unique Identification Authority of India project in India is not without its dissenters. This writer says, "In the absence of hard numbers, it is anybody's guess as to what is the real intent of the UIDAI project. Is the project really meant to help the poor? Or is it just a corporate ruse to link people, track them and do targeted marketing, with the poor being used as a fig leaf to justify the huge spend on the project?" UIDAI chair Nandan Nilekani has been very concerned about privacy implications of the National Unique Identification (UID) project. Repeatedly, he has emphasized that the project could lead to privacy violations points out this writer. For instance, he said in March of this year, "We are also conscious of the privacy issue. In fact the UID database cannot be read by anybody. The only thing you can use it for is authentication. We are making all efforts technically and legally to see privacy is protected&at the same time we need a larger debate of privacy and what laws we need in the country. Today we don't have any privacy laws."
When the Army’s biometrics program started in 2000, its focus was determining how to use biometrics to secure access to military networks, both on the battlefield and on the home front. This focus began to change in 2003, when DOD saw that biometrics could be used to prevent the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan from hiding behind a web of multiple identities. It also then became a DOD-wide effort. By 2006, this capability was firmly in place, and DOD saw biometrics as an operational tool. It was also playing a key role in enabling intelligence operations. Today, DOD is using biometrics to verify the identities of known individuals on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan to enable operations to find and capture improvised explosive device (IED) makers and insurgents and to protect the identities of DOD and U.S. government (USG) personnel. Biometrics is being used to ensure that only the right individuals have access to U.S. facilities and networks and to assist in safeguarding the identities of those same individuals. This is the basis of Identify, Enable, Protect: three synergistic but distinct applications of biometrics being used to defeat our enemies and protect our allies, forces, and homeland.
Biometrics databases across the USG should have the ability to interoperate, but only databases with interrelated mission sets will interoperate (share directly) on a routine basis. Understanding that the DOD biometrics mission supports and enables aspects of FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) missions, the BTF also developed a concept for interoperability between a triad of USG biometrics databases (DOD, DOJ, and DHS).
Download this 50 page rich illustrated document here.
CSIdentity Corp. Chairman and CEO Bill Morrow was named Ernst & Young's entrepreneur of the year for Central Texas. Austin-based CSIdentity develops and sells technology for identity theft protection and fraud detection. The company provides voice biometrics, cyber/Internet identity theft monitoring, identity verification, and data breach mitigation.
The company expanded to Europe for the first time earlier this year. Morrow was selected by an independent judging panel.
Voice recognition is considered the most preferred form of biometric identification among consumers because it is non-contact, non-intrusive, and easy to use. With every type of biometric applications on the rise, voice-based authentication is one approach that seems to engender less resistance among users than other biometric forms of security. According to a Unisys survey, the biometric measures ranked by consumer preference are: voice recognition (32 percent), fingerprints (27 percent), facial scan (20 percent), hand geometry (12 percent), and iris scan (10 percent). Voice recognition technology is achievable after making a digital model of an individual's voice that serves as a stored profile or voiceprint. Words and phrases are broken down into various kinds of frequency patterns that, taken together, describe someone's distinctive means of vocalization. However, today, voice verification is not usually considered for site access because there are so many other ways to control a space and some of the other biometric methods, such as fingerprinting, are faster. Additionally voice recognition for access systems is not terribly reliable.
Fingerprints are the key for accessing critical papers, reading materials and, yes, most likely lunch with this Fingerprint Briefcase. Yes, it is elegant, stylish, and high-tech with biometric fingerprint security functionality, which keeps contents safe. Slide the latch sideways to expose the fingerprint panel. Lightly press a finger against it, and the latches open to give you access to your stock certificates, Swiss Bank statements, blueprints for world domination and that elusive peanut-butter sandwich.
With the business world gone digital and important documents now stored on USB flash drives the market for fingerprint-access briefcases may seem limited but oh so cool at lunchtime.
Black Diamond Advanced Technology has designed and delivered to Northrop Grumman a tough, identity-management system for multi-modal biometrics collection in the field. Called the BioTRAC.
The advanced multi-biometric, mobile handheld computer features IriTech's IriCAMM embedded-processor dual-iris camera system, which captures dual-iris images in less than 5 seconds. BioTRAC incorporates a number of biometric acquisition devices for total identity enrollment in less than two minutes, including four high-resolution fingerprint sensors; a multi-function camera with one- and two-dimensional barcode reading; and dual-iris capture cameras.
The struggle to handle multiple online passwords may force IT pros to reconsider a biometric solution suggests Mary E. Shacklett, president of Transworld Data, in an article. In a 2007 research study by Microsoft Corp., 500,000 Web users disclosed that the average user had 6.5 Web passwords in addition to 25 accounts that required passwords. The same user typed an average of eight passwords per day. Cal State Fullerton professor Paul Foote thinks so: There are three ways to protect any physical or system access -- what you know, passwords, PINs and codes; what you have, smart cards, RFID, token or keys; and who you are, biometrics. One reason biometrics is not used more widely has been storage demands, but with "fingerprint images being distilled via programmatic algorithms into arithmetic files that are then further compressed before they are stored, the storage problem has virtually been eliminated." A second reason has been the cost of an add-on biometrics reader, which is around $40 per unit and can quickly become an issue when you are talking about a deployment to thousands of workstations.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the Philippines will request a law requiring registration with biometrics data to purify the voter list in time for the next elections. Comelec representative James Arthur B. Jimenez said only half of the 50.8 million voters have biometrics data -- signature, photograph and fingerprint. "It's [biometrics data] important because it's [the] most efficient way of ensuring that the list of voters is maintained as clean as it can be," said Jimenez. He added that based on their proposal, those without biometrics data cannot vote. Those without biometrics data are allowed to update their records under Republic Act 8189, which set a continuing system of registration of voters. Comelec has deferred the use of biometrics data to confirm voter position for the 2013 midterm elections due to lack of time for implementation.
Digital signature provider SIGNiX claims it is changing the e-signature market by providing a solution that offers its customers the security of non-repudiation. Based on public key cryptography, which allows you to know if a document has been modified post signature, the company's SIGNOLOGY solutions were specifically developed for web-based transactions and electronic document automation to help facilitate paperless workflow. To better combat fraud, SIGNiX announced that it has integrated IDology, Inc.'s ExpectID identity verification solutions to reduce risks associated with identity theft. Before establishing their digital signature, signers are presented with a set of dynamically generated multiple-choice questions that only the actual, real person will know how to answer. These questions are integrated into SIGNOLOGY's process and take just a few minutes to complete. After IDology verifies the signer's identity, SIGNiX electronically seals the document with a PKI digital signature.
Formerly, local police in Broward County (FL) would have criminals who shouldn't be in the U.S. at the Broward Sheriff's Office jail, in custody But by the time the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would find out, the criminals would have served their local jail time and been released. Now ICE tied into exactly what happens at the Broward county jail because anyone booked into the Broward (FL) county jail goes through a fingerprinting photo process.
"We fingerprint them and then use biometrics to identify them and the information is shared with ICE," said Captain Louis Fontanazza from the Broward Sheriff's Office. The secure communities program has seized 40 illegals in Broward and more than 1,100 around the state. In addition to Broward, the program is also running in Miami Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe Counties.
AuthenWare Corporation, a provider of keystroke biometrics software solutions, announced it will make a presenation at the upcoming Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit 2010. Tom Helou, AuthenWare's President and COO, will present a solution-provider session entitled "Strengthening Access Management with AuthenWares Advanced Keystroke Dynamics Software Solution." Helou's discussion focuses on the need for strong security, the pros and cons of second-factor authentication, and guidance for why many existing approaches are impractical.
The event will be held June 21-23 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, in National Harbor, MD. The theme of this year's program is creating, implementing, and managing a proactive and comprehensive IT strategy for information security, risk management, compliance, and business continuity management.
Read the keystroke whitepaper on:
http://www.authenware.com/whitepaper.php
Three more Utah counties -- Washington, Sevier, and Beaver -- have been officially included in the Secure Communities Program, an initiative headed by the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to accurately identify and prioritize removable aliens in local custody. Secure Communities relies on law enforcement partners sharing biometric (fingerprint) information. Using biometric information-sharing technology allows ICE to better identify aliens at the time they are fingerprinted and booked on criminal charges. This includes aliens who are in lawful status and those who are present without lawful authority. Once identified through fingerprint matching, ICE will respond with a priority placed on aliens convicted of the most serious offenses first.
Since its inception in Utah, Secure Communities is credited with detecting more than 44 aliens in local custody who had been charged with or convicted of crimes. Of those, 12 were foreign nationals whose criminal records included convictions for the most serious types of crimes, Level 1 offenses. Seventeen of those arrested have already been removed from the country. The three Utah counties join the six statewide that were announced as Secure Communities participants in late March.
UK Home Secretary Theresa May has said the government is planning to begin issuing new biometric passports next Fall. She said it is looking at providing better physical security and stronger electronic security for a new design of passport to be made available. This follows the new government's decision to drop plans for fingerprint passports. Speaking in a House of Commons debate on legislation to abolish aspects of the previous government's National Identity Scheme, May said: "We are halting work on fingerprint passports -- the so-called second-generation biometric passports -- because we believe, in common with the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, that we can maintain the integrity of our passports by other security measures."
A Manchester UK primary school is testing out a scheme, where children as young as four years old scan their fingerprints as ID for checking books in and out of the school's library.
To check out a book, students swipe a barcode placed inside the book at a computer station, which then asks for them to press their thumb on a fingerprint scanner. Books are checked back into the library the same way: no library card or identification required. School officials say the fingerprints are converted to and saved as digital electronic codes that are recognized by the computer, so that no actual fingerprint images are kept on file or shared. Naturally parents and privacy groups have a enormous difficulty with children's biometric data being cataloged.
The Italian unified passport, the next generation passports will contain their owner's digital facial image and signature, as well as two fingerprints stored on a microchip. The new documents will have a 10-year validity period. The Italian Ministry of the Interior informed that the offices in charge of releasing the documents should start issuing them in their new format at the end of June 2010, when the experimental period ends. Phase I - concluded in 2006 - marked the inclusion in the new passports of a first biometric identifier; the holder's facial image in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) format. The digital signature of the owner will be inserted on the second page of the 48 pages long document. Passports for minor children of 14 years-old and below will contain the data of their parents. Only the police stations and headquarters are entitled to collect fingerprints. In cases where the collection of fingerprints is not possible due to time constraints, citizens can ask for the delivery of a temporary passport - valid for 12 months and costing €5.20 - they can use as a travel document.
The financial sector has been rising as a potential adopter in the global biometric market according to a report, "Global Biometric Forecast to 2012. " With the help of biometrics, this sector is aiming to offer customers a simple and more expedient authentication alternative to cards and PINs for transactions like ATM withdrawals.
With the financial sector looking upon biometrics as a way to curb fraud, the global biometrics market is set to witness a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 18 percent through 2012. North America and Europe dominated the global biometric market in 2009. This region will account for combined share of 62 percent in coming years.
By 2012, on the back of several initiatives and biometric programs, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa will emerge as growing regions for the biometrics market. The report provides in-depth information on various biometric technologies including hand, facial, iris, voice and Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems recognition.
Fujitsu's PalmSecure palm-vein authentication device from biometrics developer captured the 2010 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation. Much of what Fujitsu officials believe contributed to the award is that the PalmSecure bridges the gap between price and security level that previously had been very common in the biometrics marketplace with the technology touting false acceptance rates of .00008 percent and having models available for under $200.
In addition to its technological capabilities and relatively low pricing, Fujitsu further ballyhoos the technology itself as holding many benefits for end-users befitting of an award-winner. Such as due to the scanner recording what is essentially a photograph of a user's vein pattern before converting the image into a biometric template, the sensor doesn't require contact with the hand to authenticate. This means that sensors do not see their error rates go up over time due to oils or dirt getting on the sensor as well as making the authentication process a more sanitary one for systems serving multiple users.
Frost & Sullivan's Electronics & Security Practice in Asia Pacific will host an analyst briefing via webinar on the Asia Pacific Contactless Biometrics Market on June 25, 2010 at 11:00 Singapore time. According to Frost & Sullivan, the Asia Pacific region has witnessed a number of projects from the government as well as from the private sector employing biometrics. This has been in response to the need of more efficient and accurate modes of user/citizen verification. This briefing will look at the various dynamics that has been helping the contactless biometrics market in particular and the challenges faced by the same. Highlights of the briefing include analyses of distribution analysis, key factors affecting the growth of the market and the 2010 outlook for contactless biometrics in the Asia Pacific market.
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced it has awarded $50,000 to the University of Kent, United Kingdom (UK), to help sustain its Biometric Grand Challenge competition, which highlights innovative academic work in the Biometrics field. The competition, designed to foster bold and innovative biometric ideas, seeks to unearth potentially significant biometric conceptions in from up-and-coming UK researchers. For the competition, students submit research papers describing their work in biometrics and its potential impact and benefits to the industry. An expert panel of judges will review and select papers for presentation during a workshop at the University's Canterbury campus on July 15 where winners will be announced.
India's largest life insurance company, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to become a registrar for delivery of the unique 12-digit identity number to the people of India. With this, UIDAI will have access to the database of 200 million policyholders of LIC. LIC will use its IT infrastructure and add the biometric details. "LIC anyways has details like name, gender and sex of policy-holders. It just has to add the biometric details. We are still discussing with UIDAI whether to work with them on biometrics or we provide the systems," said T S Vijayan, chair, LIC.
The trial run of the Smart Card, based on the public distribution system for Chandigarh, India, was introduced at two fair price shops. The scheme aims at streamlining the functioning of the Food and Supplies Department to ensure improvised service delivery by replacing the existing paper-based ration cards with smart cards. The system envisions setting up of point of sale (POS) terminals at all the fair price shops (FPS) and kerosene depots in the city. It will have the biometric data of the family members of the cardholder. The smart card of the FPS owner and kerosene depot owner would carry the details of the beneficiaries attached with the depot. The beneficiary would be able to know the ration allocation made so far and the balance in his account. The biometrics of three members of the family above the age of 12 years will also be stored in the smart card of the beneficiaries.
Working with the Cherokee Sheriff's Office in Georgia, NEC Corporation of America (NEC), a provider and integrator of advanced communications and technology solutions, announced that they have successfully deployed NEC's Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) Integra-ID solution to solve crimes faster and help get criminals off the street. NEC Integra-ID's vertical ridge patterning (VRP) feature automatically extracts the key elements of the fingerprint to search, cutting down the time to identification from 20 to 30 minutes to 30 seconds. In the first 45 days of implementing NEC's Integra-ID, the Cherokee Sheriff's Office was able to identify four suspects for burglary cases without any prior matches.
Leave it to the Italians to use biometrics in a very practical way -- albeit, at a hefty price. Saeco's Italian Xelsis Digital ID coffee machine allows individuals to program their favorite beverage into its on-board controller and tie it to their fingerprint. The Xelsis Digital ID coffee machine can record the fingerprints of up to six individuals, before storing their unique coffee preferences into an internal database to be accessed via the their biometric identification. Each individual need only swipe their fingertip across the in-built reader to get their favorite coffee just the way they like it -- no other interaction is required. Saeco is aiming the Xelsis firmly at the luxury end of the market that is willing to drop $2,500 for a custom cup of coffee at the swipe of a finger.
BIOWRAP offers two-factor authentication (username/password and fingerprint recognition), and it has an extensive verification process. BIOWRAP also offers one central management infrastructure for the biometric identity, as opposed to having a cluster of separate biometric identities. BIOWRAP makes sure that one's identity is secure. Before you can get an identity, you need to meet with a notary-like individual called a registar, who meets with you in person, and serves as eyewitness to your biometric scanning. The username and password are encrypted and the password isn't stored anywhere. Learn more on this product range on:
http://nationtechnologies.com/products
And watch the video :
Ada and Canyon, home to more than a third of Idaho's population, will be the first counties in the state to begin using fingerprint information to help identify aliens convicted of a crime when they are booked on criminal charges. The new technology will enable ICE to better identify both legal and illegal aliens at the time they are fingerprinted and booked. Once identified through fingerprint matching, the federal agency will respond with a priority placed on aliens convicted of the most serious offenses first.
Fingerprint biometric security products door lock runs exclusively on battery power. Powered by four AA batteries, it can be operated for up to a year without changing the batteries. Fngerprint enrollment is quick and easy. Up to 30 users can be enrolled directly on the BioCert Guardian Fingerprint Biometric Door Lock at the door. The iGuard Security System is a field-proven Biometrics (Fingerprint Verification), and/or Contact-less Mifare Smart Card Access Control & Time Attendance Network Appliance for business. It utilizes fingerprint authentication.
The registered traveler program lives for another day and maybe more. Alclear LLC is buying the assets of the Clear program and intends to re-launch at airports in September, company officials say. Verified Identity Pass had deployed its Clear program at 20 airports around the country when it was shut down in June 2009 with virtually no notice. There were two other vendors also operating registered traveler programs that ceased operations shortly thereafter. The idea of using biometrics and smart cards for secure, expedited access through airport security came about after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Consumers are interested in using biometrics at airports, according to the Unisys Security Index. Some 57 percent of travelers would be willing to submit biometric data for enhanced security and convenience. The program will continue to use a smart card along with fingerprint as the primary biometric and iris as a backup.
Biometrics and Security has developed a high-end vein scanning identification system. The Hand Vascular Pattern Identification system (VP-II) developed by Biometrics and Security. originates from a conventional vein pattern recognition system.
The system verifies or recognizes human users by using a sophisticated high-tech recognition algorithm based on hand vascular patterns extracted by an infrared optical sensor system. the sensor requires no physical contact, which means there are no residual biometric patterns that could be copied, thus preventing potential fraudulent use which can flaw other biometrics systems such as fingerprinting.
The Unique Identification (UID) project in India continues to make news and it will do so for some time. Here is a close look at the mass undertaking that is expected to touch every adult citizen. It is a capacious database and the sheer magnitude of this task requires robust security with no room for vulnerabilities. With the first set of UIDs slated to be issued between August 2010 and February 2011, UIDAI seems to be speeding up the process of rollouts. The success of UID implementation is based largely on its capability to identify and do away with duplicate identities during the enrollment process itself. The primary method for detecting duplicates will be through the comparison of the biometric feature. Face, fingerprint and iris recognition are commonly used in various types of ID cards and public acceptance for such biometric identifiers is widespread.
Biometric Intelligence & Identification Technologies announced it has a contract with the Massachusetts Sheriffs' Association (MSA) for providing facial recognition systems to each county's sheriff's department as well as a number of individual police departments in the state. The system, BI2, will be providing technology created by Animetrics, a New Hampshire-based facial recognition technology developer. BI2 is planning on making its multi-modal suite, called Mobile Offender Recognition and Identification System (MORIS), available to the departments as well. MORIS is designed for use on the Apple iPhone and utilizes iris recognition, facial recognition and fingerprint biometrics for authentication of an individual’s identity.
CIO of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKAA), Raymond Chu, said his organization has moved from simply using fingerprints for identifying staff to facial recognition devices. "Many technologies can deliver services, but when you look at biometrics it does give us some form of true identities. We've been using facial recognition and fingerprints to identify people but when you look at biometrics, it is less intrusive and people feel a bit more comfortable with it,"
Chu said. The HKAA is now using VXML-compliant palm and facial biometrics from Salmat at construction sites to identify security guards and "cleansing" workers after testing the software.
Facial recognition biometrics are increasingly being used by law enforcement agencies for lead generation -- and the iFace system is about to be launched in Victoria, Australia for that reason. Although facial recognition tools have improved considerably in recent years, there was still the chance of the technology failing to recognize a face, or recognizing the wrong face he said. "If you are misidentified something very bad can happen to you. With facial recognition one in 1000 is inaccurate. According to Richard Vorder Bruegge, a senior photographic technologist with the FBI, who delivered one of the keynote addresses at the conference which was held in Sydney last week; "We can use biometrics to develop leads, but forensics are what we need to take to court."
Kent Security Services, offering home and office guard services, guard technology, investigations and electronic security in Florida, New York and Dallas, announced that it is the first company in the United States to offer the complete SafeRise® system, a cutting-edge security system technology for single-family homes, high-rise, office, multifamily and multi-tenant buildings. SafeRise utilizes second-generation voice, facial and behavioral biometrics to authenticate a user's identity and determine whether the individual is cleared for access to the home, office or area protected by the system.
A Washington State man is among a small number of people - estimated to be fewer than 300 worldwide - who have radio frequency identification (RFID) chips implanted in their bodies. He signs on to his computer with a flick of the wrist. Inside the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, a microchip the size of a grain of rice verifies his identity through an electronic reader and unlocks the PC.
The IT expert can unlock his car or start his motorcycle the same way. However, the ''killer app'' comes into play when he returns from work, perhaps with groceries in each hand and the chip unlocks the door.
He believes ultimately biometrics - voice patterns, iris scans, even the way people walk - will prove superior for verifying identity.
India's Passport Seva project will make more efficient the procedure of distributing tamperproof e-passports. India is in the process of switching over to ePassports. These biometric e-passports would have a chip that contains the images of both the irises, photograph, fingerprint, and personal information about the holder. The Passport Seva project, part of the government's National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), entails the digitization of passport services and aims to deliver ePassports within three days after police verification has been completed.
Australian federal government employees could be set to receive new flexible benefits if a new national security system is successfully introduced. Some of the biometric modes being considered for inclusion in the potential program include iris recognition, facial recognition, and fingerprints.
The system could save millions of dollars by enabling workers to move between different federal agencies. This would also enable workers to be more flexible about where they work from. PM&C Secretary Terry Moran recently announced at the Biometrics Institute’s 11th Australian conference a national push for more movement of employees between departments to better equip the government to respond to the needs of the citizens.
There are new ways to determine individual signatures. For example, when the Minnesota Department of Justice began its e-charging program, the goals were to streamline workflows and to reduce the amount of paperwork between law enforcement agents in the field and the court system.
"Biometrics seemed a logical direction to pursue," said Justice Department's project manager, Tom Miller. "We had mounting paperwork on criminal charges, and many areas where data entry was being duplicated. Most of the paperwork required signatures and was just being transferred from department to department to get signoffs. It occurred to us that an alternate unique signoff method, like a biometric fingerprint, could electronically suffice for a signature and dramatically optimize our workflows while reducing our pain points."
Stores have a new weapon in trying to properly ID customers. A new line of products designed to verify patron age is now available at AvidBiometrics.com. The company added several new age verification scanners to its inventory of products designed for businesses to help their operations more effectively.
"The honest truth is that businesses who fail to properly ID patrons can be subject to city fines, penalties, and revoked licenses if they are found guilty of serving to an underage," said Sales Manager John Stetson. "With our new line of Age Verification products, businesses can take preventative measures to accurately document their patrons age and identity."
Biometrics can identify an employee's health risks and can also help measure program success and employer cost savings. Biometric screening (of an employee's blood pressure, body mass index, cholesterol levels and/or blood sugar) aims at learning who has or may develop chronic diseases that affect health care costs. "You get a good baseline on employees' health and then re-measure, usually each year," explains LuAnn Heinen, who works on patient safety and workplace well-being for the National Business Group on Health in Washington, D.C.
A Miami-based company created the first free full network for First Responders sponsored by private sector advertisers. HS Network is expected to reach three million First Responders by 2011. Private vendors to the Homeland Security industry from makers of sophisticated platforms like robots and detection equipment or biometrics to manufacturers of simple high tech barrier devices will use the network not only to advertise their products but to provide instantly updateable product training which cannot be posted on conventional web sites. HS Network will produce the content utilizing advanced learning techniques and technologies. It is expected that First Responders in the field will be able to download instructions on any product to their handhelds, PDAs and cell phones.
The global biometrics market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 22% between 2009 and 2014 in value terms. Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Biometric Market Outlook 2010-2014" report to their offering. The global biometrics market is witnessing an exponential growth over the past few years on the back of increasing number of security threats from various sources. With each passing day, biometrics market is becoming more affluent as more and more countries and corporate houses are accepting the technology as a breakthrough in the industry of security products. Moreover, the declining cost of the biometric equipments is also playing an important role in the growth/adoption of the biometric technology across the globe.
Not everyone thinks the Unique Identification plan in India is a good idea. Activist Gopal Krishna makes a case that the project is a gross violation of fundamental human rights and points out that a similar project/law in Britain is going to be repealed. The very first bill that is to be presented by the UK's new coalition government in the British Parliament is to repeal its Identity Cards Act 2006 even as Government of India has chosen to give approval to Unique Identification Number project that threatens citizens' privacy.
"If one takes cognizance of the claim that the 'UID system is a civilian application of biometrics' and compares it with current practices, one finds that such a claim is quite misplaced.," he says.
Sagem Sécurité (Safran group), announced today that its fingerprint-based personal authentication technology was ranked #1 in the Proprietary Fingerprint Testing (PFT)* competition organized by the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), the global benchmark for the measurement of biometric algorithms. Sagem Sécurité has more than 35 years of experience in automated fingerprint recognition technologies. Through its participation in NIST tests, Sagem Sécurité plays a major role in the development of biometric technologies.
Finger vein recognition is a recent biometric advance which allows for the identification of individuals by detecting the unique vein patterns on the finger. It is a highly efficient and reliable method, requiring only a single chip design, which in turn results in relatively small and inexpensive units. It also boasts impressively low False Rejection and False Acceptance rates. Its reliability derives largely from the unchanging nature of the vein pattern, which alters only in size over time, and so makes the technology virtually impossible to outsmart. The identification verification process itself is swift, and requires no contact. A light transmission technique is employed which detects and captures the unique vein pattern on an individual's finger.
Identity cards scheme will be axed 'within 100 days'
Legislation to axe the scheme will be the first put before parliament by the new government - with a target of it becoming law by August. The 15,000 people who voluntarily paid £30 for a card since the 2009 roll out in Manchester will not get a refund. Ms. May said ID card holders would at least have a "souvenir" of the scheme. The Labor scheme was aimed at tackling fraud, illegal immigration and identity theft - but it was criticized for being too expensive and an infringement of civil liberties. The cards were designed to hold personal biometric data on an encrypted chip, including name, a photograph and fingerprints. The supporting National Identity Register was designed to hold up to 50 pieces of information.
BIO-key International announced that enterprise software developer Evidian has integrated BIO-key's biometric software into their Enterprise Single Sign-on (SSO) solution and that the resulting solution has been deployed to two major pharmaceutical companies with a collective 15,000 users. The SSO solution now enables users to log-in to the system once with a swipe of the finger and immediately gain access to any of their protected files and or applications without the need for additional passwords or tokens.
Accu-Time Systems announced the integration of a new Lumidigm Mercury Multispectral fingerprint reader into its Maximus workforce management terminal. The Mercury reader uses Lumidigm's patented multispectral imaging technology to provide biometric performance regardless of environment or the user's skin condition. Multiple wavelengths of light are used to not only capture surface information, but also capture data from one's "internal" fingerprint. According to Larry Dawson, Accu-Time Systems' vice president of marketing, "The new multispectral reader allows our customers to have a biometric option in environments where using biometrics was not previously feasible. This fingerprint technology is completely different from existing conventional fingerprint readers. It virtually eliminates enrollment and false read issues. This leads to less management oversight, lower training costs, higher user satisfaction, and greater return on investment."
In early May, Imation launched its Defender series of USB flash drives aimed at the consumer portable storage and data backup market. The drives have a range of features, including hardware-based 256-bit AES data encryption, and have (or are in the process of receiving) varying levels of FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standardization) 140-2 Level 3 validation. The Defender F200 is a biometric flash drive with a built-in fingerprint scanner and the ability to create multiple disk partitions.
See the fact sheet of the F200.
Seoul National University Hospital in Korea found there were many cases where some employees who have terminated their employment did not properly return the RFID cards to the HR management office, and those unreturned cards were often misused by others. As a result, out of about 2,000 people working in the CRI building, the management office was not able to track almost 5-600 people.
To protect their intellectual properties, people and expensive medical equipment, they decided they were in critical need for a security upgrade to a biometrics system, which effectively eliminates the possibility of fraudulent access using others' credentials, as it requires biometric features of the entrant only specific to that individual. IDTECK designed the solution using 43 FINGER006 fingerprint readers with 11 iTDC access control panels. The FINGER006 is IDTECK's fingerprint-recognition proximity card reader with a keypad.
How frustrated are consumers with their passwords? Validity tried to find out. Viewers can watch their first episode of "Scanning the Street" on YouTube. This is the launch of Validity's campaign to inform and educate notebook PC users on how they can make their passwords safer, but still easy to access with just one swipe of their finger. No more remembering complicated passwords.
The South Australian Government is mulling the deployment of biometric identification across its Department for Correctional Services (DCS) run prisons. A biometric verification system will initially be implemented in Australia at Adelaide Remand Centre, and pending a successful trial, be rolled out to two additional sites. According to DCS documents, the system will be based on either hand scanning, dual iris scan, or facial recognition technology, and be capable of taking a reading in under one second with a less than .01 per cent error rate. The systems will provide a method of registering and verifying all persons -- staff, visitors and inmates - entering and leaving the facilities, and assist in the management of persons moving in and around the facilities.
Turkey begins issuing biometric passports, also known as e-passports, as of June 1. Turkish citizens who are willing to get new biometric passports, prepared in international standards, began receiving appointment from the Security Department on May 23. A biometric passport, also known as an e-passport or ePassport, is a combined paper and electronic passport that uses biometrics to authenticate the identity of travelers. It uses contactless smart card technology, including a microprocessor chip (computer chip) and antenna (for both power to the chip and communication) embedded in the front or back cover, or center page, of the passport. The chip inside the passport contains information about the holder's face such as the distances between eyes, nose, mouth and ears. These details are taken from the passport photograph that you supply. They can then be used to identify the passport-holder. The chip also holds the information that is printed on the personal details page of your passports.
"The wasteful, bureaucratic and intrusive ID card scheme represents everything that has been wrong with government in recent years," said Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
The UK's home secretary said that a very unpopular national identity card program for U.K. citizens will be stopped within 100 days -- however numerous foreign nationals will still need one of the cards hauling biometric data. Members of the country's new coalition government pledged during the national election to scrap the unpopular $7.3 billion plan, which Britain's previous administration said would help combat terrorism and identity fraud. The ID cards were designed to lug biographical details and biometric information, including a facial image and fingerprints. Information was stored on a national identity database that apparently will also be taken apart.
Face recognition time attendance system's captured time related data now can simplify the HRMS management process. Face Recognition Solution is now offering the biometric product to the clients at an affordable rate.
This time face-recognition time-attendance system is hitting the landmark and assisting the organizations to handle the most crucial information. "We were pretty sure that the timing data if measured accurately then, it could be used effectively in the payroll process.
So we thought to give it a try and unbelievably all the salary related issues can now be eliminated and the payroll can be generated without any manual effort, which somehow was a bigger concern earlier. So we thought to offer the same to our clients now so that, they can also simplify their business activities and save the time." as explained by the product manager of Face Recognition Solution.
Humanitics, one of India's leading HRMS Solution Company for Government organizations signed anagreement with Coimbatore based leading Biometrics Access and Physical Security Solution Company called Inttelix Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Under this agreement, Inttelix will manufacture various biometrics solution for Humanitics for various application such as employees attendance management, access control systems, face recognition systems, visitor management systems etc.
Inttelix Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a leader in Facial Biometric Security Solutions, specializes in biometric engineering.
Unique Identification Authority of India chairman Nandan Nilekani spoke about the launch of Aadhaar the new brand identity for the UID project. Regarding taking a child’s biometrics:
A child’s fingerprint do not develop till the age of 15. How are you tackling this problem?
"There are many reasons for taking the iris test. One reason is, we can start biometrics at a younger age. We will be posting a document on our website shortly, which will explain the iris rationale. The identity number will help get a child admission in school. Other biometrics will be added once the child attains the age of 15."
Regulators and financial institutions in Asia are still working to ensure two-factor authentication (2FA) is implemented well, and are unlikely to adopt an additional authentication layer for banking customers yet. According to a spokesperson from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), biometrics are "not a panacea with omnipotent effectiveness" even though they can prove to be convenient and effective security tools for some systems.
Particularly with large-scale deployments, she noted, it is important to first understand where biometrics do and where they do not work. "Biometrics are hard to forge but they are not secrets. When used intelligently with other authentication factors they would enhance the security of financial services systems either as two-factor or three-factor authentication solutions," she explained.
The North American biometrics market is likely to experience a steady growth rate, with national ID projects, e-Passports, and other security projects spearheading market growth. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, North American Biometrics Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $364.4 million in 2009 and estimates this to reach $1,588.6 million in 2016. Trends indicate that the industry has evolved a great deal over the past 5 years due to the increased accuracy rates and performance levels of the technology. Biometric standards, cost versus performance benchmarks, and interoperability issues have enabled high uptake in civil and commercial applications even as fraudulent activities and identity thefts continue to cost institutions significant revenue losses.
Information technology (IT) services majors Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro Technologies and Tech Mahindra and global players like IBM and Japan-based NEC are among the 10 shortlisted companies for the Nandan Nilekani-headed Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) biometrics project. "This is the second stage of shortlisting. These firms are now qualified for a request for proposal (RFP). In the next five-six weeks, the final bidder will be announced," said a source close to the development. The size of the contract could not be confirmed. Biometrics will be the second IT contract from UIDAI. The first was for application development services, won by Bangalore-based IT services provider MindTree. The first UID contract to become a consulting partner for UIDAI, was signed by consultancy firm Ernst & Young.
Congress's inability to pass comprehensive immigration reform has fueled the frustration that led to Arizona's strict new law against illegal immigration, says Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. "The notion that we are going to capture and deport 10 million people is not realistic," she said. "To say that, that has to happen before we get immigration reform is to say you don't want immigration reform really&Look, they need to pay a fine, they need to register, they need to provide biometrics so we know more about their identities. That's a security issue from my standpoint. And then we need to move forward as a country."
Another statement of Janet Napoltano on the Arizona bill can be seen here:
Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) has announced that nearly a dozen and a half states are now filing versions of Arizona’s S.B. 1070 law, designed to help local police enforce America’s existing immigration laws. Various polls have indicated that close to 75 percent of the U.S. population supports Arizona’s move and wants their own states to do the same. “Our national network of activists has been working overtime trying to help the state of Arizona and the brave Arizonans who have passed this bill,” said William Gheen, president of the activist group. “Arizona no longer stands alone, and we have now documented state lawmakers filing, or announcing they will file, versions of the Arizonan bill in 17 states. We will not stop until all states are protected from invasion as required by the U.S. Constitution.”
ALIPAC has documented that the following 17 states are taking a page out of Arizona’s book in response to citizen pressure: Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Utah
His organization had lobbied state lawmakers and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer urging the passing of S.B. 1070 that finally happened in April. However, some conservatives are concerned that the law may give police too much power that will result in a restrictive effect on the law-abiding citizenry.
The 2010 Edition of CITeR IMPACT highlights 9 research threads within the over 80 research projects cooperatively funded by affiliates of the Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR) as part of the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) Program. These 9 research threads are composed of one or more projects and are highlighted here for their exceptional impact achieved over time.
In each case, the work has opened up new areas of inquiry, enabled new fundamental understanding, and/or achieved exceptional transition through impact on systems. The outcomes achieved by these projects are emblematic of the impact that CITeR’s cooperative operation as an IUCRC seeks to achieve.
FedExField in Andover, Md. plays host to the Washington Redskins, college football games, soccer and a variety of other events through the course of a typical year. Because of the huge influx of seasonal, contract and temporary employees, stadium operators wanted a better way to identify staff and control their access to the facility. During the off season when no event is planned there are around 50 employees in the stadium during the day, but during an event this number skyrockets to as many as 10,000 employees, says Chris Bloyer, vice president of operations for FedExField. In the past employees would walk through a checkpoint but with thousands of other employees entering the stadium it was possible that individuals could sneak in without a badge or use the badge of another employee, Bloyer says. Executives needed to ensure that only authorized employees were granted access to the facility.
Bowie, MD – The latest volume in NBSP’s Biometric Technology Application Manual is now available at no charge on the company’s website,
BTAM Vol. III explores individual case studies via personal interviews with the key people involved the evaluation, implementation, operational and business issues that had to be resolved to achieve operational goals. Interviews discuss Union Pacific Railway’s irisbased time and attendance system; Canadian Air Transport Security Administration’s multimodal physical access control system, Hong Kong’s automated passenger and vehicle clearance systems, Bay Care Health System’s vascular patient identification system, Pearson VUE’s vascular identification system to ensure test integrity, Technology Credit Union’s multifactor account access system, Parkview Adventist Medical Center’s fingerprint medical records system, and Wood County School District’s fingerprint benefits eligibility system.
Download the 169 page manual on:
http://www.nationalbiometric.org/BTAM/btamvol3.pdf
Published by the National Biometric Security Project (NBSP), the Biometric Technology Application Manual (BTAM) is a comprehensive reference manual on biometric technology applications. This reference book, in three volumes, has been compiled for biometric technology users and for those who are evaluating biometrics as an enabling technology within an integrated system or program for security and identification management.
The BTAM is intended to be a rational and practical tool for those who specify, buy, integrate, operate, and manage biometric technology-based systems. The experienced biometric practitioner will see much that is familiar in the BTAM. The publication is not a revelation of new content. Rather, it is designed to inform the rapidly growing community of new users, designers, and integrators, and assist them in their search for practical application solutions. Hopefully, it will prove to be the standard desktop reference on the subject of biometrics for all levels of interest and experience.
The Summer 2008 Vol1 is an excellent 403 page primer on Biometrics.
http://www.nationalbiometric.org/BTAM/btamvol1update.pdf
The Winter 2008 Vol2 manual is all about Biometric Applications with a number of Case Studies. This 175 page manual can be downloaded on:
http://www.nationalbiometric.org/BTAM/btamvol2.pdf
Forensics experts cannot always retrieve fingerprints from objects, but a conformal coating process developed by Penn State professors can reveal hard-to-develop fingerprints on nonporous surfaces without altering the chemistry of the print.
"The body chemistry of the person who left the fingerprint can tell us some things," said Shaler. "If the suspect is older or younger or a lactating mother, for example."
The researchers used a form of physical vapor deposition -- a method that uses a vacuum and allows vaporized materials to condense on a surface creating a thin film. Normally, the deposition process requires exceptionally clean surfaces because any speck of dust or grease on the coated surface shows up as a deformity. However, with fingerprints, the point is to have the surface material's ridges and valleys -- topography -- show up on the new surface so analysts can read them using an optical device without the necessity of chemical development or microscopy.
With the amount of time, effort and money spent on biometric screening it is good to see some payoff. Backed by interagency cooperation the U.S. Coast Guard helped deter migrants from risking a perilous two-day sea crossing from the Dominican coast to Puerto Rico. A mixture of tougher policies, new biometric technology and new interagency cooperation have helped slice the number of migrants from the Dominican Republic interdicted by the Coast Guard in the Mona Passage from 5,014 in 2004 to 727 in 2009. Now in the Mona Passage, shipboard fingerprint scanners linked via satellite to homeland security databases permit officers to identify repeat offenders and others wanted for more serious crimes and respond accordingly.
DigitalPersona, Inc., a global provider of authentication and endpoint protection solutions and ScriptRx, a leading provider of touchscreen Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and Discharge Systems for Emergency Rooms and Urgent Care Centers, today announced the integration of U.are.U® fingerprint biometrics from DigitalPersona into the ScriptRx System. Designed for these busy clinical facilities, the biometric kiosk solutions provide physicians with an intuitive, easy-to-use interface to simplify common tasks.
The resulting system allows for secure charting of medical records, accurate issuance of discharge instructions, authenticated prescription writing, an archived medication reconciliation record and more.
Australian government agency, Crimtrac, has proposed tying fingerprints to passports and drivers licenses in an effort to reduce false identification for background checks. The plan, under high-level government talks, would reduce the time spent by law enforcement and customs agencies on sifting through possible identification matches. Crimtrac manager of background checking, Roberta Kennett, said tying records to fingerprints has limitations in the scope of data collection, insofar as those fingerprints listed on the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) are not necessarily tied to crimes. The NAFIS central database contains some 4.4 million records, which are accessible through 40 workstations across the country for fingerprint uploads, and matching.
RCG Holdings, a company based in Hong Kong that sells employee attendance solutions, recently announcing it has added a number of new clients including Oman's Diwan of Royal Court and Air Arabia in Sharjah. Demand for technology that uses biometrics is rising, said Danny Chew, who heads RCG's Dubai office. Two years ago, the company had about 50 clients in the region. Today, there are nearly 300.
"In the Gulf region especially, a lot of employees don't come in on time," Chew said. The company's best-selling product for the region is the I-9, which has a Wi-Fi enabled touch-screen that can process 3,000 fingerprints a second.
A look at market opportunities of Biometric Payments. In Colombia biometrics in payments are used to reduce cash in the coffee beans business where many farmers don't know how to write their PIN-code so instead of a code they use their fingerprints. In South Africa, biometrics seems are more common. Another developing country where they are testing on biometric payments in Nepal, the argument that pushed the project was the illiterate population as well. In India, there is also biometric payments business, where the focus is again micro payments, where all fingerprints are stored locally and authentication happens offline.
PingTone, a leader of hosted VoIP services to government offices and businesses announced expansion of its current data center space at Equinix's International Business Exchange data center in Ashburn, VA.
PingTone chose Equinix's industry-leading data center services as it provides for best-of-breed physical security and power usage. PingTone's data center space is configured with robust cable distribution systems and dual AC and DC power distribution raceways, which can utilize Equinix's expansive diesel generators as back-up to dual power grid capabilities. The IBX data center is also equipped with security cameras and biometric hand geometry readers among other security features.
A look at how recent trends point to biometrics as having a major impact on the have a major impact in the healthcare industry. Types of biometrics technologies examined include vein patterns, iris scans, and fingerprints. The primary application for biometrics in a healthcare environment is patient identification particularly in administration areas to register a patient.
After an initial scan, the identifying characteristics in the scan links to the patient's record. In every subsequent visit, the patient will no longer have to go through the lengthy registration process (i.e. filling out paper work, submitting an insurance card, etc.).
Instead, all of this data automatically populates forms based on the stored information linked to the biometric scan. This automated process can help make administrative staff more productive and improve the patient experience. Biometric technology can also help to safeguard against fraud.
Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), experts in informatics and computational performance will work with Cambridge Intelligent Systems (CIS), in Raleigh (N.C.) aim to improve biometric systems used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to track and identify suspected terrorists as they enter and leave the U.S. Land-based border crossings are among the most difficult environments for biometric identification systems. Ideally,
DHS wants the ability to identify people crossing the borders in cars and on foot without having to stop every individual or car. "To do that, you need a robust, multi-modal, video-based biometric system," explained Charles Schmitt, director of RENCI's informatics division and principal investigator for the project. "It has to be video-based because it has to be opportunistic; you never know when you'll get a good look at someone's face or iris."
NEC announced that it has established a "NEC Biometrics Excellence Center" in Bangalore, India. The center has been established by NEC with an aim to accelerate the expansion of its global multimodal identification solutions and integrated security solutions business. The company offers expertise in biometrics matching technologies. Multimodal identification solutions include face, fingerprint, iris and others. The company seeks to boost the business of its fingerprint identification and face recognition solutions through the formation of several excellence centers across the globe.
It is worth mentioning again the availability of a voice biometric study. Commercial deployments of voice biometrics have been lacking according because of the technology's instability. An Ovum study, "The Future of Voice Biometrics in the Enterprise Market," outlines some of the issues facing the technology, offers an overview of its capabilities and benefits, and lists recommendations for both vendors and enterprises.
This report examines demand for voice biometrics given the gradual recovery of the market, the end of the major upheaval in financial services sectors (one of the major prospects for voice biometrics), and the recent partnerships between providers of contact center infrastructure and providers of voice biometrics technologies and solutions.
While a national ID card continues to be debated in the States, India continues to initiate it wide-sweeping system. The Government in India has approved the collection of an individual's biometric attributes, including iris scans, as part of the unique identity (UID) program, also known as Aadhaar. It will be the first time that such scans will be collected on a national basis and used for the government's ambitious plan to provide an ID to residents of India. Apart from a photograph, the ID will also contain the person's fingerprints. The cabinet committee on Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has given an "in-principle" approval to the template that will be used to collect biometric and demographic information.
The Himachal Pradesh, a state in Northern India, has inked a memorandum of understanding with Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for issuing identity numeric code to all residents. The Universal Identification (UID) identifies individual uniqueness on the basis of their demographic information and biometrics and will help in establishing their identity to public or private agencies offering different services across the country. The government agencies would be the registrars for enrolling the residents who would be issued a micro ATM like card containing 16-digit numeric code. The UID number would be operative by sensing iris through camera or fingerprints of the person and would be legally valid.
The American Safety Council announced an alliance with the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), a member of The Texas A&M University System that services the public and private sectors with more than 6,000 annual classes. Based in Orlando, Florida the American Safety Council offers alternative delivery method courses to over 500,000 individual users annually. ASC "Firsts" include the first approval of online driver license exam administration, the first approved use of voice and keystroke biometrics in a driver improvement program, and the first approval of online OSHA 510 and 511 standards courses in 2008. ASC and its affiliated organizations offer online workplace and traffic safety training, governmental services and professional continuing education programs, in association with state and federal regulatory agencies and court systems.
CK Clinical, a leading specialist pharmaceutical recruitment consultancy in the UK, has expanded their biometrics recruitment team by adding another specialist pharmaceutical recruitment consultant to their team. CK Clinical works with leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and clinical research companies. CK Clinical says they "help recruit staff quickly, efficiently and cost effectively." We demonstrate complete transparency throughout our specialist pharmaceutical recruitment process and how our rates are calculated so that you can be sure that you are getting a high quality service at a fair price.
Another reminder that the Biometrics Institute has launched its Annual Industry Survey, asking members and key stakeholders to provide input on the current status and future developments of the biometrics industry in Australia and New Zealand.
The Industry Survey attempts to capture different trends along with the various important developments in the biometrics industry that have taken place in the last year. The results of the Industry Survey will also provide some guidance regarding projections and expectations for the performance of the industry in the coming year.
The survey can be accessed at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BIsurvey2010
Ezra Klein of The Washington Post looks at the The Democrats' immigration-reform proposal as way toward establishing a biometric national ID card. "It's handed out by the Social Security Administration and employers are required to check it when hiring new employees. Essentially, if you want to participate in the American economy, you need this card. Within five (5) years of the date of enactment, the fraud-proof social security card will serve as the sole acceptable document to be produced by an employee to an employer for employment verification purposes," the bill says. "This requirement will exist even if the employer does not yet possess the capability to electronically verify the employee by scanning the card through a card reader." That is why some think the biometric ID card a game changer for immigration politics.
Work on India's Unique Identification Project is gaining momentum. Here is a summary of the action. Overall, the project is expected to give the much-needed fillip to the domestic IT and BPO market.
The UIDAI hopes to give out the first set of numbers by February 2011, and cover 600 million residents in 4.5 years. The engines of the unique identification project, which have been revving up for the last few months, seem all set to move full throttle ahead.
The UID project has visibly shifted into higher gear in the past few weeks. Not only is it sporting a brand new logo -- Aadhaar -- but also shaking up the local IT market, thanks to a slew of contracts pertaining to consulting, application development & maintenance, contact centre services, biometric solutions and training services.
SportsMEDIA Technology Corporation announced that VERSUS will use SportsMEDIA's technology to deliver a first ever interactive analysis of the qualifying races from its new IZOD Pit Performance Center on top of a hauler in pit row.
SportsMEDIA's GOTO Board, a custom built 55-inch outdoor interactive touch screen, will guide and interactively share with the television audience key information including on-track weather conditions, pole qualifying results, racing statistics, racing technology, the qualifying racers, images from pit row, the start grid and biometrics.
Telestream is offering a new solution that includes digital media distribution technology from Yangaroo to automate the way advertising spots move within a TV station.
The solution pairs Telestream's TrafficManager and FlipFactory automation engine with Yangaroo's Digital Media Distribution System (DMDS) to provide a file-based workflow from the provider of TV advertising through to the stations' on-air systems. Yangaroo's DMDS is a Web-based delivery system that facilitates secure digital file distribution by incorporating biometrics, high-value encryption and watermarking.
The EBF is delighted to announce the launch of the annual EBF European Biometrics Research Award 2010, now in its fifth year. PhD students in biometrics are invited to apply for the award. The deadline for submission of papers is 20 August 2010.
This prestigious and established award is made annually to an individual who has been judged by a panel of internationally respected experts to be making a significant contribution to the field of biometrics research in Europe. The winner of the EBF European Biometric Research Award 2010 will receive a commemorative medal and a €2,000 honorarium.
Applicants will be invited to submit biometric research papers by a deadline of Friday, 20 August 2010 where they will be examined by a jury. A shortlist will be drawn up and candidates will be asked to present their papers at the Final of the Competition. The Final will take place during the EBF Research Seminar in Brussels in autumn 2010.
AuthenTec, a leading provider of security, identity management and touch control solutions, announced that it has won its first cell phone design for the African and Middle East markets with the AuthenTec ATW310 (formerly Atrua) fingerprint sensor. The Matrix M5 leverages the fingerprint security and personalization features of the ATW310 sensor, allowing users to unlock the phone with the simple swipe of a finger as well as launch phone shortcuts with the unique characteristics of different fingers.
The Matrix M5 is a low-cost, quad band, metallic 'candy bar' cell phone available in three different colors, black, coffee and sliver. The M5 offers security and convenience features through the use of the AuthenTec fingerprint sensor, which allows users with one swipe to unlock their phone, contact list and SMS messages as well as quick launch convenience features. Different enrolled fingers can launch up to five different shortcuts with a simple swipe of the fingerprint sensor.
Google executives are wrestling over whether to launch controversial facial recognition technology after a barrage of criticism over its privacy policies. Eric Schmidt, chief executive, said a series of public disputes over privacy issues had caused the management team to review its procedures and the launch of new technologies. According to Google executives, facial recognition is one of the key topics of internal debate.
Facial recognition has the potential to be the next privacy flashpoint. Google already uses the technology in its Picasa photo sharing service. This lets users tag some of the people in their photos and then searches through other albums to suggest other pictures in which the same faces appear.
However, Google has held back on launching the technology more broadly. It was not included, for example, in the Google Goggles product, launched last year. This allows people to search for something on the internet by taking a picture of it on a mobile phone.
Privacy campaigners have raised fears that adding facial recognition to Goggles would allow users to track strangers through a photograph, making it into an ideal tool for stalkers and identity fraudsters.
Chalk up another school's use to modern technology. As Avon Lake (Ohio) moves from a PIN system in its cafeteria to a system that utilizes a fingerprint scanner, some parents have expressed concern over privacy issues, including who has access to their children's prints. The school district however, has said the biometric system will speed up checkout and give students more time in the lunchroom. They also noted that the system, currently utilized in several different Cleveland-area school districts, isn't actually using a "fingerprint" but an image derived from the fingerprint. The system scans the finger and biometric equipment takes nine points and assimilates it into a graph. That is linked to student's s ID and stays on the school's server. It is not on the Internet. Essentially, the fingerprint itself is not stored and cannot be reproduced, according to the school.
CardLab (Denmark) announced today that their Powered Biometric ID Card exceeds the technical challenges and demands in the new proposed U.S. National Immigration ID Card. The self-powered CardLab Biometric ID Card is designed to contain all functionalities "on-board", from encrypted personal data, finger print recognition scanner, to communication via patented Dynamic Magnetic Stripe, EMV chip and RFID. The "all on board" card ensures that no further investments in external card readers are required, and the true ISO 7810 credit card format paves the way for an instant mass deployment while keeping cost per user low.
The new UK government plans to ban the controversial practice in schools of taking children's fingerprints without their permission. The decision is likely to mean a change in the law. According to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), as it stands the Data Protection Act allows schools to take pupil fingerprints without permission, prompting outrage from parents' groups. In response, in 2007 the ICO issued non-binding guidance to schools suggesting that they ought to seek permission. In a brief document explaining the broad terms of their coalition yesterday, the Conservative and Liberal Democrats committed to "outlawing the finger-printing of children at school without parental permission."
More on this topic on:
http://www.leavethemkidsalone.com/external/latest.htm
In Ghana, a Member of Parliament, Nana Akomea, urged the Electoral Commission to team up with the government to implement biometric voting by 2012. According to him, going biometric would improve the conduct of elections in the country. The proposed voting system employs biometrics in order to avoid multiple voting and enhances the accuracy and speed of the voting process. It uses thumb impressions for voter identification. Akomea thinks, "we have come to the stage where we must take a giant step of going biometric."
The Stow (Ohio) Fire Department recently deployed MyChoice, a Web-based subscription service from My LifePlan that uses fingerprint biometrics to access patient records. Responders are using BIO-key International's biometric solution to scan program enrollee's fingerprints in order to gain instant access to health records on scene. Enrollees subscribe to the company's MyChoice program for a monthly fee. Their fingerprints are recorded and their medical records are aggregated into a centralized database. Responders then can access aggregated records using a software-based, encrypted biometric identification solution.
Zvetco Biometrics, a developer of biometric authentication solutions, announced the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene chose them for a project that will enable the agency to authenticate users biometrically issuing electronic death certificates. For its part, Zvetco has deployed fingerprint readers from its Verifi line of fingerprint readers to the department's offices. The process of creating the electronic death certificates occurs will use the new fingerprint readers.
A Polish bank has become the first in Europe to offer the use of biometrics instead of PINs at cash machines. Customers of BPS in Warsaw have the option of placing their fingerprints on readers, instead of inputting a four-digit code, to authorize withdrawals or other transactions, following the introduction of the new technology. The system is based on the recognition of the pattern of veins in an enrolled customer's finger, a form of biometric technology developed by Hitachi. The technology is already widely used in Japan, but new to Europe.
Biometric imaging, holograms and computer chips feature in driver licenses that will be rolled out in Queensland, Australia late this year. The smartcards will be trialed in August by staff at the Department of Transport and Main Roads, before being introduced in the city of Toowoomba. Produced by plastic card manufacturer Placard, the cards integrate facial recognition technology from Unisys and Dutch digital security company Gemalto's electronic driving license solution, Sealys. Each card stores a 16-point digital image of the licensee's face on an embedded computer chip that also stores other personal information and a PIN.
Turkish citizens who are willing to get new biometric passports, prepared in international standards, will start getting appointments from the Police Department later this month. To prevent any problems, new passports will be posted to citizens. Turkey's consulates will give passports to citizens living abroad. A biometric passport, also known as an e-passport or ePassport, is a combined paper and electronic passport that uses biometrics to authenticate the identity of travelers.
It uses contactless smart card technology, including a microprocessor chip (computer chip) and antenna (for both power to the chip and communication) embedded in the front or back cover, or center page, of the passport. The chip inside the passport contains information about the holder's face such as the distances between eyes, nose, mouth and ears.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is testing the collection of biometrics from non-U.S. citizens leaving the United States at two airports this summer.
Adding biometrics to the current paper based system of recording departures has been a long-term objective of DHS because it will give the United States a faster, more accurate way to determine whether non-U.S. citizens have departed or remained in the country illegally.
DHS's US-VISIT program began collecting biometrics-digital fingerprints and a photograph-from non-U.S. citizens applying for visas and arriving at U.S. ports of entry in 2004. US-VISIT has been simultaneously working to create an automated biometric exit capability. These tests are a key step forward on this front. US-VISIT launched tests at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. In Atlanta, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers collected biometrics from travelers at TSA checkpoints.
Sandata, LLC, a leading nationwide provider of information technology solutions to the home healthcare industry, announced the launch of the Telephonic Home Health Service Delivery Monitoring and Verification (DMV) pilot project in Miami-Dade County. This project will allow the Florida Medicaid program to verify that home health services were actually delivered to the Medicaid recipient. The Agency has contracted with Sandata to implement a pilot project to telephonically verify the delivery of home health visits by employees of home health agencies in Miami-Dade County who participate in the Florida Medicaid program.
It is technology that is revolutionizing law enforcement -- from tracking criminals to finding missing children and adults. With the help of a grant from the National Sheriff's Association, the Douglas County Sheriff's Department in Nebraska is now putting iris biometric technology to use.
Sheriff Tim Dunning explained, "We simply take a photo of the human eye, specifically the iris. The camera takes a high resolution digital photograph of both eyes at the same time." The iris, he said, is the most identifiable visible part of the human body, taking only seconds to make a positive match.
Up until now, commercial deployments of voice biometrics has been lacking according to Ovum's report: "The Future of Voice Biometrics in the Enterprise Market." In the past says the report, this was because of the technology's instability. However, despite marked improvements and the ability to create robust solutions, voice biometrics still has not enjoyed the extensive propagation purveyors of the technology anticipate. The Ovum study outlines some of the issues facing the technology, providing an overview of its capabilities and benefits, and listing recommendations for both vendors and enterprises. This report examines demand for voice biometrics given the gradual recovery of the market, the end of the major upheaval in financial services sectors (one of the major prospects for voice biometrics), and the recent partnerships between providers of contact center infrastructure and providers of voice biometrics technologies and solutions. A single user pdf, delivered via email, will cost $ 395
Future signatures may not be a cursive autograph. For many years the desirable identification that immigration authorities issued to legal permanent residents has been at times pink, beige, blue, white -- anything but green. Now not only is the card actually be green but incorporate some high-tech protection. The new card issued by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services incorporates holographic images, laser engraved fingerprints and radio frequency identification chips -- to create the RFI tag signature for every card. This will allow Customs and Border Protection officers at ports of entry to read the card from a distance, immigration officials said. "Among the benefits of the redesign: Secure optical media will store biometrics for rapid and reliable identification of the card holder," the agency's statement said.
NEC Corporation, a technology development company, announced the creation of the NEC Biometrics Excellence Center, a core engineering competency center, in Bangalore, India. The intention of the new center is to help drive the expansion of NEC's multi-modal Identity management solutions --that utilize multiple biometric identification technologies, including iris, fingerprint, face and others -- biometric solutions and security solutions business. the center's creation of is called a first step towards NEC's recently set goal of growing their public safety business. Additionally, similar centers in five other regions are planned.
As India embarks towards undertaking one of the largest citizen mapping and identification initiatives in the world, the issue of using the right blend of technologies will hold the key to its success. Application of biometric solutions makes immense sense in a country like India struggling with the problem of maintaining homeland security. For decades, many highly secure environments have used biometric technology for entry access at airports, borders etc. There have been various challenges in identity management like ID duplication. Such unproven identities are high in numbers, especially in case of the poor populous and they are the ones that are downtrodden in the society. Inability to prove identity is one of the biggest barriers preventing the poor from accessing benefits and subsidies designed specifically for them.
The Biometrics Institute, a not-for-profit run for and by the biometrics industry, unveiled its Annual Industry Survey as it seeks input on current business and future plans from key players in the biometrics industry in Australia and New Zealand. The not-for-profit hopes responses will help them document trends in the industry as well as aid them in projecting how the biometrics market will do in the future. Some of the specific subjects the survey questions deal with include where the major projects are located, what are the most significant developments already completed and being planned as well as expected roadblocks for the market.
EmailMoreCGI Group (GIB), the biggest information-technology outsourcing operator in Canada, agreed to purchase Stanley (SXE) for $1.07 billion. Stanley is a rival info- tech provider to U.S. defense, intelligence, and civilian agencies. Increasingly, the new weapons in the war against terrorism are sophisticated IT systems. As a result, the federal government is likely to continue to spend in this area.
One of the beneficiaries of this spending is Stanley. Over the years, the company has won key government contracts for services in cyber-security, biometrics and intelligence support.
MaxID Corp, announced the MaxIDentity Suite, a suite of software applications to verify identity and government-issued credentials including smart cards such as PIV, PIV-I, CAC, TWIC and driver's license's and passports. The introduction of the MaxIDentity Suite is a meaningful milestone in the company's development. Having delivered award-winning handheld multi-modal devices for years, the move to address the burgeoning identity software market and deliver a full application solution will help accelerate the rate of adoption of handheld biometrics overall.
TIE Technologies, Inc. announced TIE TeleMetric Inc.'s BIO Metrics and Intelligent Video research and development project focused on positive identification technologies. The U.S. Department of Defense Enterprise Strategic Plan charts a focus on programs that develop "measurable physical and behavioral characteristics that enable the establishment and verification of an individual's identity." As of last month, the U.S. Government has formed a national security agency called the Biometrics Identity Management Agency (BIMA), which leads the Department of Defense's activities to prioritize, integrate and synchronize biometrics technologies and capabilities and to manage the Department of Defense's authoritative biometrics database to support the national security strategy.
Multispectral imaging looks at and beyond the skin surface to the subsurface foundation of the fingerprint ridges.
Different wavelengths of visible light interact with the skin in different ways, enabling significantly enhanced data capture. The fingerprint pattern on the surface echoes the subsurface structures from which they arose during development. Multispectral imaging exploits the dependent relationship between surface and subsurface fingerprint patterns; subsurface data collected by multispectral imaging technology supports and augments surface data to create the highest-quality fingerprint image available.
Download the Lumidigm Whitepaper on this subject on:
http://www.lumidigm.com/multispectral-imaging/
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, non-contact 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. These and other market data and trends are presented in "Biometrics: Trends & Opportunities Worldwide" by BizAcumen, Inc. Our reports are designed to be most comprehensive in geographic coverage and vertical market analyses.
Conventional optical fingerprint sensors are easily circumvented. Based on total internal reflectance (TIR), they capture only the image of the fingerprint ridge surfaces that come into contact with the sensor. These ridges are easy to imitate using common household products and ingredients.
A variety of materials, from the inexpensive to the very sophisticated, can be used to circumvent traditional fingerprint identification systems. Some of these materials are so thin and colorless that they can even be used, undetected, in access control environments that have trained attendants. For example, a gummy bear candy that costs a few cents can make a very accurate fingerprint that will “spoof” a traditional fingerprint imaging device.
A nice whitepaper on spoof detection schemes in Fingerprint, Iris and Face recognition systems provides an overview of methods of attacking biometric systems and presents a fingerprint study.
Download this very interesting whitepaper with a lot of reference material links on:
http://www.lumidigm.com/liveness-detection/
The Lockheed Martin-led Next Generation Identification (NGI) team is beginning to fully develop and deploy a new NGI system capability that transforms how law enforcement officials search an FBI wanted persons database. Development efforts began after a successful Critical Design Review (CDR) for the system's second phase, also known as Increment 2: Repository for Individuals of Special Concern (RISC). The RISC fingerprint database, which is managed by the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division, includes Wanted Persons, Known or Appropriately Suspected Terrorists, Sex Offenders Registry subjects, and other persons of special interest.
This is an Economist Intelligence Unit podcast on biometrics, sponsored by Unisys. The interviewee, Arun Ross, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at West Virginia University. He joined the faculty in 2004, and has quickly risen to a position of national leadership in the field of biometrics. Topics of discussion include how identity verification technology such as fingerprint and iris scans protect a person's identity and physical security, versus what's typically being used today, what are the drawbacks of this technology, and other related topics.
Angus Carnie of 300 Recycling recently noted that he has had a fantastic response from all over the world for his solution to reuse toner powder as forensic fingerprint powder. Printer and photocopier cartridges have been reused or broken down to recover the plastic and metal components; however, the waste toner powder presented a problem due to its complicated composition.
Carnie eventually discovered that it made an excellent core material for print powders.
"Ironically, one of the other big issues was what to do with the different colors of toner, but I found that they were ideal for identifying finger prints on dark surfaces such as car dashboards."
RightSignature, the innovative software-as-a-service (SAAS) for getting documents signed online, today announced a marketing alliance with the American Bar Association, the national voice of the legal profession and the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.
With this alliance, the ABA will introduce the RightSignature electronic signature solution to its 400,000 members through a comprehensive marketing program.
RightSignature will be featured in the ABA TechEZ Technology Marketplace, which provides the resources for legal professionals to make intelligent choices about technology.
The new government's plans to scrap the National Identity Scheme, biometric passports and ContactPoint could be expensive if they involve prematurely cancelling contracts. Vendors including IBM, CSC, Thales and Capgemini hold existing contracts relating to programmes like the National Identity Register (NIR), the next generation of biometric passports and the ContactPoint children's database. All are set to be cancelled by the new coalition government.
Capgemini hosts ContactPoint for the Department for Education (formerly the Department for Children, Families and Schools) under a £40m contract.
A spokesperson for the provider told GC that it "remains unclear" what will happen with the deal, which runs until 2014, as talks with the new government have not yet taken place. "We are open to whatever they want to discuss, whether that means managing a switch-off or not," the spokesperson added.
Precise Biometrics released a new toolkit for integration of standardized fingerprint verification on both PC and Mac. The product has support for international standards for fingerprint templates and builds on the fingerprint extractor in the U.S. interoperability program Ongoing MINEX. The product enables verification of fingerprints in a computer. The technology integrates in different applications for replacing all types of password verification and authentication methods. The release comprises of both a toolkit for easy integration and a runtime license for fingerprint verification.
Home and business owners will be able to bring property security into the future says wholesale biometrics locks supplier, Chinavasion. The China biometric door locks source has released a new line of strong and affordable biometric access door locks, which have name brand performance and wholesale prices. According to Rose Li, PR Manager for, China biometric locks supplier Chinavasion, customers were begging the company to start supplying biometric door locks. "People want affordable, high quality, biometric locks," according to Chinavasion's Rose Li. "Chinavasion has just taken that small step needed to actually provide them" Chinavasion's biometric fingerprint door locks come with features expected from premium fingerprint locks.
Imprivata, Inc.has been awarded the 2010 SC Magazine Europe Award for Best Biometric Solution. Imprivata's trademark OneSign solution was named the inaugural winner in this new category award for its flexible support for a broad range of biometric devices.
OneSign supports multiple strong authentication factors, including finger biometrics, proximity cards, smart cards, many national and government ID cards, One-Time-Password tokens, and can grant access based on an employee's physical location through tracking technology. The appliance-based approach provides built-in support for a wide variety of plug-and-play biometric authentications, including those embedded in Lenovo, Dell, and other laptop PCs, and tablet computers.
IDesia, a provider of state-of-the art BDS" (BioDynamic Signature") biometric authentication technology, announced its newly expanded portfolio of biometrics-based offerings, focused primarily on user identity-aware consumer healthcare, fitness and wellbeing applications. IDesia's BDS technology is based on individually unique information concealed within electrocardiographic (ECG) waveforms. The company's range of biometric solutions merely requires users to touch a contact sensitive surface. Their individually unique heartbeat information is then extracted via proprietary signal processing and patented pattern recognition algorithms for cardiologic waveform matching, to enable fast and reliable user authentication.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad, India, now makes it mandatory for all faculty members working in its 300 affiliated engineering colleges in and around the city to mark their attendance through a biometric machine. This step tries to short-circuit colleges from lying to the university officials about the number of faculty members in their respective colleges. It has been found that about 120 engineering colleges, in and around the city, are understaffed and are lying about their faculty strength to avoid facing action. The biometric attendance system is already used on a trial basis in a couple of colleges.
More debate on the national ID card. U.S. Democrat Senate leaders are proposing a plan that would require all workers in the US to carry a national ID card containing biometric information. The plan, if passed, will require the worker identification cards to be activated and in use within the next six years. The program, entitled "Believe System" is actually an acronym that stands for Biometric Enrollment, Locally store Information, and Electronic Verification of Employment. The cards would contain a microprocessing chip with an digital encryption key that would match work authorization databases. Employers would be able to scan through and determine a cardholder's identity.
Facial biometrics, say experts, have a high failure rate (of 1 in 10 people). Recognizing this danger, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which has been empowered to issue unique numbers to the 1.2 billion residents of the country, has decided not to use the facial scan as a de-duplication device or primary biometric verification method. UIDAI will scan three biometric characteristics of each individual -- face, fingerprints and iris. However, facial scans will come into play only if the other two biometric scans fail to convince authorities about the identity of a person.
Sandata, LLC, a provider of information technology solutions to the home healthcare industry, announced the launch of the Telephonic Home Health Service Delivery Monitoring and Verification (DMV) pilot project in Miami-Dade County. The Agency has contracted with Sandata to implement a pilot project to verify telephonically the delivery of home health visits by employees of home health agencies in Miami-Dade County who participate in the Florida Medicaid program. Sandata will validate home health visits that are provided to Medicaid recipients through interactive voice biometric speaker verification technology to ensure home health aide visits actually occurred in the recipient's residence.
More on this project on: http://www.sandataflorida.com/
India's Census 2010 is not another counting exercise. There is more to it -- the information will lead to a Unique Identification Number. Along with the census questionnaire, enumerators will collect information for the National Population Register (NPR) -- a record of the usual residents of the area. The NPR data will also include the individual’s photo, biometrics and UID number. Along with these, an iris scan will also be done if UIDAI needs it. Data collection is expected to be completed by June 2010. The photo, biometric and iris scan will be done by the local municipal commissioner.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is the first agency in Nebraska to get a federally funded iris biometric grant from the National Sheriffs Association.
According to the Sheriff's Office, the grant will allow investigators to use technology to take a digital photo of the iris in a person's eyes and upload the photo into national databases. The iris is the most distinct biometric feature visible on the human body. Like a fingerprint, it has unique characteristics, but its image is easier to capture than a fingerprint. The technology can be used to identify missing people if the images of their irises are stored in the database.
The Unique Identification Authority of India expects the cost of the eye scan process for issuing unique identification to be 30-50 per cent less than fingerprint matching software, according to a status report on iris scan. The authority said the cost of the scan had been a concern. "However, the current high prices for iris technology are a result of low volume and its use in cost insensitive security applications.
Considering the large demand that will come from India for iris devices and software, the UIDAI expects the prices for devices and software to fall rapidly," the paper said. the paper also said the UID authority had evaluated the available choices among iris technology vendors and concluded that a lock-in could be avoided.
You will find this (16 page) status report on:
http://uid.gov.in/documents/UID_and_iris_paper_final.pdf
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office revealed a pair of interesting patent applications from Apple engineers. One application called "Seamlessly Embedded Heart Rate Monitor," appears related to biometric identification of users.
To determine the user's heart rate, heartbeat, or other cardiac signals, the electronic device can include one or more sensors embedded in the device.
A second patent application, entitled "Multidimensional Widgets," demonstrates Apple's research into offering dashboard widgets with multiple sides, allowing users to rotate them in virtual three dimensions to present different data or functionality and reduce visual clutter.
A new federal law is forcing colleges and universities to implement security measures to make sure students enrolled in online classes are accurately identified. Biometric Signature ID of Lewisville, Texas, has developed a patented software biometric that remotely authenticates the identities of students, enabling them to take computer-based exams at home or in testing centers. There is no required hardware or software to download. The only technical requirements are a mouse and an Internet connection. Using a mouse or stylus, students must draw a series of letters or shapes and click on a sequence of everyday objects to gain access to the exam.
Pakistan Deputy Chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has said that a reliable and secure citizen database could ensure transparency and fairness in the government affairs. In his thesis presented at the ID world conference held in Dubai he said, "The days are over, when e-government was regarded as mere developing Web sites and disparate databases, which are not in harmony with each others," adding that registering citizens and stacking up information of citizens is important but not enough. He said that NADRA is a catalyst in transforming the e-government agenda in Pakistan. It houses the world largest multi-biometrics database and has very effectively used it to bring transparency in government's citizen centric initiatives like, Machine Readable Passport Issuance, Electronic Seafarer Cards Program, E-Arms License Initiative, Motorway Toll Collection, ID Card Verification through SMS, integrated Border Management solutions and Biometrics Access Systems.
Pasadena, CA-based Cogent, a maker of biometrics devices and fingerprint readers, is behind a launch of a new, Registered Traveler program at the Indianapolis International Airport, being launched by a new company iQueue, which is a joint venture of Cogent, ARINC, FLO Corp., and International RAM. The Registered Traveler program is the first since Verified Identity Pass stopped its operations last June.
According to Cogent, iQueue members will use its equipment and services to verify biometric data of travelers, allowing them to speed through airport checkpoints. The Registered Traveler program, best known to local travelers through CLEAR lines at LAX, San Diego, and other airports, has been defunct since Verified Identity Pass shut down last year. COgent said it will cost $149 for an annual membership to iQueue, which will also include preferred parking, airport club access, and discounts to their services. The firm did not say when it plans to roll out service beyond Indiana.
More on IQueue on: http://www.flyiqueue.com/
Consumer ID is the use of biometrics to identify or verify the identity of individuals conducting in-person or remote transactions for goods or services. Right now, the application of biometrics in consumer identification is in its budding period. nevertheless, with the businesses eying to offer more secure solutions to its customers, thereby reducing the chances of frauds, the segment is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around 27 percent during the period spanning from 2010 to 2012, according to our research report "Global Biometric Forecast to 2012."
Technologies, a provider of information technology, security and telecommunications solutions, announced the formation of a wholly-owned subsidiary, TIE TeleMetrics, as part of the company's plan to focus on telecommunications and security services for government and institutional sales. The company sees genuine prospects in areas such as wireless communications, smart systems and biometric identification. Citing Acuity Market Intelligence Group's study, TIE TeleMetrics said the current market for biometrics alone has reached $2.5 billion and is expected to reach $11 billion by 2017, which represents a compound annual growth rate of 19.7 percent.
TSA is moving forward with a plan to inject more competition into the traditional process of gathering biometric and biographic information from airport employees and channeling that data to TSA so it can perform security assessments on those airport workers. For more than eight years, this “aviation channeling” has been performed exclusively by the American Association of Airport Executives, (AAAE) which has established what it calls the Transportation Security Clearinghouse (TSC) to handle those data processing functions.
Louisville, CO - New research from Acuity Market Intelligence indicates that the ePassport market will reach sustainable annual revenues of $7 billion by the end of 2014 with a CAGR of 31.5% from 2009 through 2014. Acuity projects that Europe's market dominance will diminish as overall market share drops from 49% to 20% during this period. At the same time, the Asian market will experience the most significant market share growth increasing from 25% o nearly 46% of annual market revenues with a CAGR of nearly 50%.
Web entrepreneur Enbert Samms launched a new website Coast2CoastBiometrics.com. Here, shoppers can see the selection of security systems that feature the advanced technology of fingerprint-encrypted screenings. Launched in March 2010, the website hosts information and state-of-the-art technology derived from the arena of advanced biometrics. "Our vision and goal is to make biometrics technology accessible and affordable to our entire society."Visit this website on: www.Coast2CoastBiometrics.com
DigitalPersona, Inc., continues to see increasing adoption of single sign-on and strong authentication solutions by credit unions. DATCU Credit Union, Honda Federal Credit Union, Mountain America Credit Union, San Mateo Credit Union and Travis Credit Union have deployed with fingerprint biometrics to increase productivity, provide better service for union members and maintain information security at the highest level. The institutions serve nearly 670,000 customers with more than $5.9 billion in combined assets.
New technology is being used in the Summit (NJ) Public Schools school cafeterias to streamline bookkeeping and to move students more efficiently through the lunch line. Biometric scanning devices, which read pre-scanned algorithms of a student's fingertip, are being used at the elementary schools. This is allows programming of a detailed sequence of actions to perform or accomplish the recognition task for identification of the student. The finger scanner works by initially scanning a child's finger tip to create and store individual templates of unique points that identify each student. This information is then stored in a district server as a set of binary codes. When the child returns to the cafeteria, the device again scans the finger and looks for a match in the database; the identification is made, and the account information is then accessible to the cashier.
Lumidigm, Inc., the multispectral imaging biometrics company, introduced the Mercury Series fingerprint sensors. Mercury sensors join the Lumidigm Venus sensors in a product portfolio that provides multispectral imaging capabilities to fingerprint applications. Multispectral imaging is a biometric technology that the company says "virtually eliminates common real world performance problems experienced with conventional fingerprint sensors." Multispectral imaging allows Lumidigm sensors to capture images quickly, on all people, in all environmental conditions. The Mercury sensors incorporate this technology into a new platform with a new form factor that supports speedy transactions with single-touch performance.
The Center for Constitutional Rights filed suit in New York City seeking records about the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Secure Communities program. "Contrary to its name, this latest ICE program makes the public less safe," said Sunita Patel, a lawyer for the center in New York. "There is no doubt that the program has and will continue to deepen fear and mistrust of the police in our communities." Leticia Zamarripa, spokeswoman for ICE in El Paso, said, new technology makes it possible to check a suspect's fingerprints against the Department of Homeland Security's biometric database. Biometrics can include handprints, fingerprints, DNA information and face recognition.
M2SYS Technology announced an alliance with Fujitsu Frontech North America that aims to grow the adoption of PC-based palm vein biometric recognition systems. Under the partnership, M2SYS has added support for the Fujitsu PalmSecure biometric authentication system to its Bio-Plugin biometrics platform. Bio-Plugin enables software companies to integrate and deploy an enterprise-ready biometric recognition system without the development and ongoing support challenges that are associated with low-level biometric software development kits.
ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) validated face recognition, recommending it as the best biometric method for this type of application. The organization is setting standards for storing and using biometrics with Machine Readable Travel Documents. The introduction of Machine Readable Travel Documents (e-Passports) in over 80 countries around the world and over 250 million e-passports means the technology has arrived. An e-Passport contains an embedded chip with passport holder's biometric data, which allows an automated inspection system to read out the data from the chip and to verify the integrity of the data and the authenticity of the chip.
PerSay, a global research, development and deployment company of Voice Biometric technology announced that it has completed the deployment of its systems in the top three banks in Israel. Bank HaPoalim, Bank Leumi, and Discount Bank have all rolled out secure Voice Biometric applications to the public. Applications include PIN reset and PIN-less access to contact centers at Bank Poalim, self-service eBanking password reset and Real-Time Fraudsters Detection at Bank Leumi, and multi-factor authentication for phone based high-risk transactions at Discount Bank.
While some circles suggest dual authentication for online banking is no longer adequate to prevent theft-or avoid potential legal culpability-firms such as Todos, ClairMail and PhoneFactor are betting institutions are ready to embrace new protections that take advantage of SMS, voice biometrics or secure browsers to authenticate users and transactions further. The additional measures won't come too soon. George Tubin, senior research director, TowerGroup, says voice biometrics for authentication has always been a matter of "when, not if." But he says voice biometrics "still needs work. There are background noise and connection issues. There's also the matter of how well it functions."
Northrop Grumman Corporation has developed BioTRAC, a ruggedized, portable identity management system for secure and efficient multi-modal biometrics collection in the field. BioTRAC is a flexible, scalable and durable platform designed for in-theatre biometric capture, identity management, and mobile mission computing requirements. BioTRAC incorporates several biometric acquisition devices for complete identity enrollment in less than two minutes, including: dual iris capture cameras, four high-resolution fingerprint sensors; and a multi-function camera with one- and two-dimensional barcode reading. The customizable system has applicability for users supporting military operations, as well as homeland security, law enforcement and transportation security missions.
What does India expect to accomplish with its Unique Identification Authority. Head of Unique Identification Authority, Nandan Nilekani spoke about benefits of UID in governance, and how it will help in financial exclusion of the poor. Of the need to collect three different biometrics for every person: "Iris in biometric will increase accuracy and can ensure children above the age of five can also get a unique identification number." He also said that "Only if all the 10 hand fingers, face impression and two iris is taken, the UID would become a unique biometric data." The UID can help in bringing over 60 per cent of Indians, who do not have accounts, into the banking system.
The UIDAI Strategy Overview can be found on:
http://uidai.gov.in/documents/Strategy_Overveiw-001.pdf
Philippine authorities in Hong Kong started issuing electronically enhanced passports, or e-passports, to all applications for new passports or renewal of expired passports. The Philippine Consulate General said "Applicants are now required to personally appear at the Consulate General to have their biometrics (signature, photo, and thumbmarks) taken," the Department of Foreign Affairs said in its website.
Many shop floor and office-based businesses are also beginning to see the positive uses of Biometrics to monitor their employee's time and attendance within the workplace. CaptureIT Time and Attendance from Vizual offers business more than a simple clocking in system. For example, once an employee has clocked in using a Biometric Terminal their attendance data is captured and downloaded to the CaptureIT software. The software then enables Managers to see who has clocked in or is late or absent. This data occurs in real time so if there is a shortage of skills in one department appropriate cover can be arranged.
Frost & Sullivan's new report, "North American Biometrics Market," details technology development, competition and distribution trend analysis for different modes of biometrics such as fingerprint, face recognition, iris recognition, hand geometry, voice verification and signature verification. Each mode has revenue forecasted within the report as well. the report also focuses on challenges the industry such as stigma on fingerprint biometrics.
The report can be ordered here.
IEEE, which bills itself as "the world's largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity," has begun administering testing for its new Certified Biometrics Professional program. A small initial group took the pilot exam in October, and IEEE is currently in the midst of its first regular testing window, which ends May 31. Another window will open November 20, and IEEE hopes to have roughly 400 people certified by the end of 2010. Rick Lazarick, chief scientist at systems integrator CSC Identity Labs, is one of the first to have CBP after his name. "I chose to get in on the front edge of this because I thought it would be a benefit to my company and me personally," he said.
More on this certification can be found on:
http://www.ieeebiometricscertification.org/
Former Arizona governor and current U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano continues to agree with her boss (President Obama) that Arizona's immigrant trespassing bill is "misguided." "We need to know who's in the country. And we need to know, for those who are in the country illegally, there needs to be a period under which they are given the opportunity to register so we get their biometrics, we get their criminal history and we know who they are. They pay a fine. They learn English. They get right with the law," Napolitano recently told ABC News.
Watch the Video on: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/heated-debate-secure-borders-10490656
The RISE Consortium, which is currently conducting a series of meetings, workshops, and conferences around the topics of biometrics, security, and ethics, has increased visibility of this dialogue through the posting of detailed proceedings on its website www.riseproject.eu
The website now includes, for public events held to date, downloadable documents that include agendas, reports of the proceedings, and copies of presentations from the meetings.
Siphoning off food and fuel meant for the poor has made India’s public distribution system (PDS) ineffective. To get over the leakages, Chandigarh has hired the services of information technology (IT) companies. The city has given a contract to a consortium headed by HCL to prepare 250,000 biometric cards, which would ensure grain and kerosene meant for the poor are not pilfered. The first of these cards would be issued in September. The scheme would eventually be extended to the whole of Haryana, that has allocated Rs 137 crore for the entire project. Several IT majors, including TCS and ITC Infotech, are in the running for the project. Haryana has an estimated 5.2 million beneficiary families.
Billionaire Nandan Nilekani, who heads the government agency tasked with giving Indians a unique identity number, said the country will offer $2 to its poorest to compensate them for lost wages while they get iris scans. India’s Finance Commission has granted 30 billion rupees ($676 million) over five years to the Nilekani-headed Unique Identification Authority of India to entice the nation’s poor to sign up for the world’s largest biometric database.
Over the past decade, approaches to securing enterprise information systems have evolved from the secure bastion, through defense in depth, to include today the concepts of continuous monitoring and operations. Through this all, many newer, more powerful technologies have emerged and been integrated into various portions of the enterprise information assurance architecture. One particular aspect of information assurance, the password, which is often seen as one of the greatest vulnerabilities of information systems, still seems to be sticking around in some form or another. Fortunately at the Department of Defense, the Common Access Card (CAC) has alleviated much of the pain of remembering multiple passwords. Unfortunately, the still-required password, as a backup to the CAC, if nothing else, is longer than ever. Combine that with the near infinite number of passwords that almost anyone uses to access anything from on-line banking to e-commerce sites to subscriptions, and the potential for mistakes or intentional bypassing (i.e., writing them down) becomes quite high.
Concerned about the proliferation of face recognition systems in public places, a grad student in New York is developing privacy-enhancing hacks designed to thwart the futuristic surveillance technology. Using off-the-shelf makeup and accessories such as glasses, veils, and artificial hair, Adam Harvey's master's thesis combines hipster fashion aesthetics with hardcore reverse engineering of face detection software. The goal: to give individuals a low-cost and visually stimulating means to prevent their likenesses from being detected and catalogued by face-recognition monitors. "The number of sensors that are going into the public spaces has been increasing," said Harvey, a student in New York University's interactive telecommunications program. "There's a lot of work to be done to catch up to where cameras are going because there have been so many advances in the last few years."
MUMBAI (Reuters) - As India gears up to build the largest biometric database in the world with the aim of providing most of its 1.2 billion citizens a Unique Identification (UID), perhaps the biggest challenge is smudged fingerprints. The UID Authority of India will issue the first UIDs linked to a person's demographic and biometric information between August and February, and issue about 600 million such IDs over the next five years to help verify citizens quickly and cheaply. It will be a boon for companies and government agencies alike. It would give millions of Indians the means to open a bank account, buy a mobile phone, and access welfare services easily, while saving companies and government agencies the expensive and time-consuming process of verifying and establishing identities.
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif.-- Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc., a leading supplier of innovative computer products including peripherals, biometric security solutions and digital media solutions, today announced that the Fujitsu Med-Serv(TM) 50 patient registration kiosk received the Self Service Excellence Award for the Best Healthcare Deployment during the KioskCom Self Service Expo 2010. Developed jointly with Jardogs and AllScripts, the Fujitsu Med-Serv 50 Patient Kiosk is an open hardware platform that simplifies and automates the patient check-in process at hospitals and healthcare clinics. The Fujitsu Med-Serv 50 solution enables patients to quickly and securely update personal information, order prescription refills and pay outstanding balances while also increasing efficiency.
Basking Ridge, N.J., — Although physical security is integral to IT security, it is often an afterthought, which leaves an organization vulnerable to security breaches. Verizon Business is addressing this shortcoming by offering new IT security consulting services that proactively integrate physical security with information security and compliance programs. Verizon Physical Security Services combine a physical security assessment and penetration test, security awareness training, a social engineering experiment, and an evaluation of relevant logical security technologies such as smart cards and biometric scanners to evaluate and strengthen an organization's overall security posture.
SmartMetric, Inc. announced today that the Company will open up its own manufacturing facility to produce its advanced "in card" fingerprint scanning and matching technology. The Company also disclosed that it is in discussions with economic development officials in several alternative locations, all of whom have indicated strong interest in recruiting the Company's operations to their respective communities.
With Biometrics identification expected to be an integral part of unique identification (UID) or Aadhaar, we spoke to John Kendall, National security program director, Unisys, Asia Pacific about the emerging trends in biometric security and the benefits it has to offer. What are the latest innovations in biometric identification systems? There have been a number of innovations in the biometrics identification space, for instance the convergence of identification and surveillance technologies. This allows the identification of individuals from a distance or even without the individual's known participation. This is made possible by the iris recognition system which can scan an iris from approximately 2m away, while the person is walking towards a camera. This also eliminates the need for the person being verified to stand still at an iris reader and look at a camera from only few centimeters away.
User verification systems that use a single biometric indicator often have to contend with noisy sensor data, restricted degrees of freedom, non-universality of the biometric trait and unacceptable error rates. Attempting to improve the performance of individual matchers in such situations may not prove to be effective because of these inherent problems. Multibiometric systems seek to alleviate some of these drawbacks by providing multiple evidences of the same identity. These systems help achieve an increase in performance that may not be possible using a single biometric indicator. Further, multibiometric systems provide antispoofing measures by making it difficult for an intruder to spoof multiple biometric traits simultaneously. However, an effective fusion scheme is necessary to combine the information presented by multiple domain experts. This paper addresses the problem of information fusion in biometric verification systems by combining information at the matching score level.
This report can be purchased on-line for $ 31,50
Frustrations over E-verify worker system have spawned high-tech solutions
Because she was born in Chicago, Karen Peisker never imagined her bosses at United Parcel Service would suddenly question her right to legally work in the country. But last month, an electronic employee verification system flagged the truck driver for possible identity fraud because she had been using her married name, Rivera, on her driver's license since 2007. Though Peisker joined the company in 1985, it put her at risk of being fired until she proved she was who she said she was. "I couldn't believe it," said Peisker, 50, who repeatedly had to show up to work with her birth certificate, marriage license and U.S. passport until the confusion was cleared up.
FAIRFAX, Va. -- IriTech, Inc., a leading provider of iris-based biometric identification technology, products and services announced today significant advancements in both operational speed and accuracy, vastly improving on what was already the #1 iris recognition technology in the NIST IREX report. Matching throughput has been increased up to 160 times faster than what was submitted for the NIST IREX test, easily surpassing the next-best competitors.
This speed increase is accompanied by a 90% FNMR improvement on the open-to-the-public BATH test set. In many biometric identification solutions, when dealing with speed and accuracy, one factor can be improved at the expense of the other. IriTech delivers both advancements at the same time. By jointly improving both performance parameters, IriTech has created a new level of "best value" in iris recognition, ensuring customers achieve the most accurate and efficient solutions possible.
The NIST IREX reports can be found at http://iris.nist.gov/irex.
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Sarnoff Corporation announced today that its Iris on the Move(R) (IOM) biometric identification system has won the Best New Product Award and Best Biometrics and Identity Solution at the Security Industry Association New Product Showcase. Sarnoff's patented IOM biometric identification systems quickly and accurately capture the iris image of subjects in motion at distances of as much as 10 feet, verifying identities at speeds of up to thirty people per minute. Other iris scanning technologies require users to stop or stare directly into a scanner.
For more information, visit Sarnoff at http://www.sarnoff.com/iom.
For a video demo on Sarnoff Iris on the move
http://www.sarnoff.com/demos/iris-on-the-move
A new secure, web-based, subscription medical-information service using fingerprint biometrics to provide first responders and hospital emergency room staff with secure, immediate access to critical information was successfully deployed today by an Ohio-based fire department. Created by health IT company My LifePlan and BIO-Key International, Inc., a developer of advanced identification solutions, the new software MyChoice makes vital medical information available with the simple scan of a fingerprint. Subscribers will be able to maintain all of their medical information and designated emergency contacts, which are now accessible at any time and from any location. Also, access to this information is protected by BIO-key’s fingerprint identification software and My LifePlan’s proprietary methods.
Mexico plans to start enrolling 110 million citizens into its national ID card program this summer. The program will be among the first to capture iris, fingerprint and facial biometrics for identification, says Terry Hartmann, vice president of identity solutions at Unisys. Unisys’ Mexican subsidiary was awarded a contract by the Mexican Ministry of Internal Affairs and National Citizen Registry to create and manage the biometric-based citizen identification solution. The agency will issue another tender for companies to compete for the ID card issuance portion of the project. The country expects to issue cards to citizens over the course of three to four years.
One of India's major problems is a lack of information about Indians. The government isn't sure how many there are, so it can't always plan policies effectively. Some 75 million homeless have no birth certificates, so they can't qualify for aid, register for school, get phone service, or open a bank account. Millions of other Indians have fake IDs to get assistance they're not entitled to. Nandan M. Nilekani thinks he has a solution. The co-founder of IT outsourcer Infosys has been drafted by the government to run a new agency, the Unique Identification Authority. The UIA is an effort to create ID numbers for all Indians, many of whom the state has missed. "If you are going to have all this [economic] growth," says Nilekani, "people who are marginalized should be given a chance." To make the system more secure, he wants to gather fingerprints from every Indian and store the prints on government servers.
Northrop Grumman Corporation has developed BioTRAC, a ruggedized, portable identity management system for secure and efficient multi-modal biometrics collection in the field. BioTRAC is a flexible, scalable and durable platform designed for in-theatre biometric capture, identity management, and mobile mission computing requirements. The customizable system has applicability for users supporting military operations, as well as homeland security, law enforcement and transportation security missions.
Writing in the International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, researchers from the US and Germany point out an inherent flaw in the financial industry adopting biometric logins to boost security in that the
advent of mobile devices, such as netbooks, PDAs, and smart phones might make biometric logins impossible when one is on the move. Biometric logins that use fingerprints, voice recognition, or identify you based on how you type look set to replace conventional passwords for accessing online banking and credit card services, online payment companies and even internet stockbrokers. However, smart phones and other portable devices do not currently have the sophistication to be adapted easily for biometric technology. Moreover, users are likely to be reluctant to carry yet another device and its associated electrical charger along with their smart phone simply to login to their bank account when not at their desktop computer.
The prime agenda of the HIPAA is to protect the privacy of the patient health information and simplify health insurance transactions between different service providers and patients. To accomplish this, it lays special emphasis on conversion of medical records of patient from paper to electronic format. The aim is to digitize the patient health information so that it can be easily managed by different health entities. Any covered healthcare entity, which fails to protect the patient health data as per HIPAA compliance norms will invite strict penalties and criminal convictions. As the health transactions are done on the internet, it is mandatory for health service entities to provide a very secure access system so that genuine users can safely transact while the hostile intruders are kept at bay.
Children's nurseries were early adopters of biometric access control, since the technology allowed staff and parents easy access to the nursery, while preventing unauthorised access. Today, forward thinking children's nurseries are finding a new use for biometrics; the need to ensure the correct mix of staff, with the correct skills are on duty at all times. UK Time Solutions has developed software to ensure nursery managers can check staff levels at a glance, and warn if the right mix is not in place to ensure good carer-to-child ratios. The system can be installed at multi-site operations with data fed back in real time to head office.
Privacy groups and the ACLU oppose a proposal to make biometric Social Security cards mandatory for U.S. citizens. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wrote in a March 19 Washington Post opinion piece that they will propose biometric cards as part of comprehensive immigration reform. Under their proposal, cards would gain a second factor of authentication such as fingerprints but that identifier would not be stored in a government database. Nor would the card contain private information, medical information or tracking devices, they wrote.
Fingerprints can help personalize and secure computers. With Microsoft's Windows 7 there is an increased focus on fingerprint recognition and usability. Precise Biometrics has leveraged this new functionality into a computer logon solution for end-users, demonstrating the simplicity of biometrics. The logon application offers a expedient way of personalizing the access to a computer and files with most swipe sensors on the market, such as laptop-integrated sensors. The readers have to be supported in Windows 7's framework for biometric applications; Windows Biometric Framework (WBF).
New controversial signals were raised regarding schools nationwide, using fingerprint-based technology for student lunches. The issue arose over the last week in the Summit School District in New Jersey, where schools are being set up with biometrics on a building-by-building basis. Parents at Washington Elementary recently received a notice that the school was "implementing a biometric finger scanning identification program in an effort to provide our elementary students with a safe and easy way to identify themselves when entering the school and using the cafeteria." One parent expressed concern that parents were given virtually no notice. Officials say that fingerprint images are not "stored," because the software scans the finger for personal identification but "does not store a copy of the fingerprint."
Remembering multiple passwords is an maddening actuality of today's world. Indigo says its Identityware, used in conjunction with biometric readers, identifies people with a simple fingerprint, providing instant access to multiple applications. According to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Indigo Identityware raised $1.25 million earlier this year. The company is trying to raise more money now.
The TungstenW biometric wallet provides a distinctive means to make sure that your credit cards as well as cash remain in a much more secure environment. People need a computer to hook it up . There it can be programmed with a appropriate fingerprint. From then on, only a swipe of the right finger will enable o access to it. Tthe TungstenW biometric wallet even comes with Bluetooth connectivity.
Biometric technology has advanced to the point where hand-recognition and fingerprint systems are now used in airports, financial institutions, and educational establishments. Now many shop floor and office-based businesses are beginning to see the positive uses of biometrics to monitor their employee's time and attendance within the workplace. CaptureIT Time and Attendance from Vizual offers business offers a little more For example, once an employee has clocked in using a biometric terminal their attendance data is captured and downloaded to the CaptureIT software. The software then enables managers to see who has clocked in or is late or absent, and how that impacts coverage.
A primer for law enforcement on biometrics focuses on the need for every department, to utilized strong user authentication begins to satisfy imminent FBI requirements for access to federal criminal justice data, especially from in-car mobile data system users. Some local agencies are using facial recognition to identify suspects while fingerprints have been used since the early 1900s to positively identify individuals in custody
The Biometrics Institute will be releasing the Biometrics Institute Privacy Awareness Checklist (PAC) to promote good privacy practice. There will be a requirement to indicate to the Biometrics Institute whether the PAC will be reviewed. The Biometrics Institute, representing over 100 organizations, is independent and not-for-profit and has user and vendor members covering a significant span of Australian and New Zealand government agencies, users and vendors. "Our aim is to continue to lift privacy awareness with all our members," Isabelle Moeller, General Manager of the Biometrics Institute states, "It is absolutely critical now that biometrics are a fact of everyday life with passports, call centers, and other day to day uses."
ImageWare Systems, a developer of biometric technology, has announced that they are creating a project called the Open Biometrics Initiative (OBI) intending to push biometric technology development in the open-source software-development environment. The OBI project will take place by ImageWare operating a forum that will be available to anyone in the open source community. The first library that ImageWare will release to the community is OpenEBTS, which is an application programming interface for government management of biometric data.
There is still barely time to submit an application for The Smart Card Alliance nominations for its prestigious "Outstanding Smart Card Achievement" (OSCA) awards,. The 2010 OSCA awards will be presented during the Smart Card Alliance 2010 Annual Conference, May 17-20. Nominations are open in four award categories -- three for organizations and one for an individual. "North America has been leading the smart card industry in recent years, with some of the most exciting new innovations for payments and security being developed, piloted and deployed in this region," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance.
Data Centers Canada (DCC), a data center provider, which operates, develops and manages Canadian real estate for the purpose of providing turn-key data center solutions including collocation and disaster recovery solutions for enterprises, has selected Bio-Metrica's BioFortress for their physical access control solution to protect both their facility and their private collocation cages. BioFortress provides secure and privacy-protected identification of users by their fingerprints, proximity cards and/or PIN codes and passwords.
Builders in Mumbai are trying hard to make Indian homes more tech-savvy. Homes can now be mobile-controlled and doors will open after a fingerprint biometric analysis. Rizvi Builders are offering machines, which scan and store finger print information. Only if the prints match, will the doors of the house open. Lodha Builders, meanwhile, are providing mobile phone controlled houses.
Northrop Grumman Corp. unveiled a biometric real-time, searchable system for law enforcement at a London counter-terrorism exhibit. Northrop Grumman said it would feature its biometric data-capture system that allows mobile scanning of face, fingerprint, and iris images. The system allows law enforcement agents to match biometric capabilities to their security databases in real time.
TimeRack, Inc., the premier provider of the only web-based Proactive time clock solution for small to mid-sized businesses, announced they have entered into a reselling relationship with Schlage Biometrics, a division of Ingersoll Rand. Schlage, which produces biometric hand punch products, and TimeRack, with its time and attendance application that alerts users prior to costly problems, are a natural fit for one another. Together, these two solutions automate the collection of time and attendance data.
PerSay, a global research, development and deployment company of Voice Biometric technology announced that it has completed the deployment of its systems in the top three banks in Israel. Bank HaPoalim, Bank Leumi, and Discount Bank have all rolled out secure Voice Biometric applications to the public. Applications include PIN reset and PIN-less access to contact centers at Bank Poalim, self-service eBanking password reset and Real-Time Fraudsters Detection at Bank Leumi, and multi-factor authentication for phone based high-risk transactions at Discount Bank.
To zero in on national and travel security threats worldwide, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it plans to incorporate its 'Trusted Traveler' program with Germany. Both nations use biometric-based trusted travel programs, which seek to qualify citizens for travel. The U.S. "Trusted Traveler", allows pre-approved persons to special passport processing that reduces their wait times. The system uses kiosks where approved persons are able to provide their passport or resident card to a document reader, then provide digital fingerprints, and then answer customs declarations questions on a touch-screen at the kiosk. Upon completing this automated process, they receive a receipt allowing them to leave the U.S. Customs & Border Patrol inspection area. The program has more than 42,000 members enrolled.
Vein pattern recognition (VPR), is more accurate than many other biometric security methods. Chuck Wilson's latest book - entitled Vein Pattern Recognition: A Privacy-Enhancing Biometric - delves into real world biometrics applications and discusses the emergence of this reliable but underused technology. The author introduces the many applications of VPR technology and its current implementations, which include extensive use in Japan and across Asia in banking and other personal identification applications.
Although not biometric, this bank enhancement could lead the way to something that is biometric. Bank of America's enormous network of ATMs -- more than 18,000 are now enabled with voice technology. The bilingual talking ATMs provide instructions in English or Spanish to the visually impaired. Each ATM (ATM news) has an audio jack that delivers spoken instructions through headsets. The next big wave of innovation may be security-related. There is also some talk of using biometrics as a security tool.
The federal government is funding the move toward electronic data basing of medical information. Concurrently, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is strongly suggesting that states oblige that anyone obtaining a prescription for any medication on the government's list of The Federal government is funding the move toward electronic data basing of medical information. Concurrently, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is strongly suggesting that states oblige that anyone obtaining a prescription for any medication on the government's list of Controlled Substances, register such activity in an electronic prescription drug database. In a just-published proposed rule in the Federal Register, DEA is proposing that a physician wishing to electronically prescribe any controlled substance (e-prescription), something the government does not now permit, may do so using a biometric identifier, such as an iris scan or a fingerprint.
After the first IT tender for application development services, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has put in play the preliminary steps for another contract. The Authority has invited Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for implementing, as part of the first phase, functions related to de-duplication and biometric verification of 20 crore (200 million) records. It is proposed to capture iris-related biometrics and fingerprint of each resident for the purpose of identification and verification.
AuthenWare announced that its AuthenTest product was certified through International Biometric Group's (IBG) standards-compliant Comparative Biometric Testing. IBG evaluated the usability and accuracy of AuthenWare's second-factor authentication solution, observing AuthenTest's ease of enrollment, simplicity of use, and excellent precision. AuthenTest utilizes a combination of biometric security algorithms, known as "keystroke dynamics," as well as a series of other behavioral and environmental heuristics to create a unique personal security pattern for each user of a system or application.
Ceelox, a subsidiary of Nicaragua Rising, has released a new cyber solution to act against E-banking attacks aimed at end user fraud. The two-factor identity authentication utilizing biometrics can be provided through the use of Ceelox ID Online. Ceelox ID Online is a software portal that integrates into a financial institution's systems. It provides an additional layer of security that overlays a financial institution's existing security. With two-factor authentication, financial institutions can enhance the security of online banking, wire transfer and ACH applications
ImageWare Systems, Inc. announced it has created the Open Biometrics Initiative for the advancement of biometrics technologies in the open source community. The Open Biometrics Initiative (OBI) is an open source project and forum managed by ImageWare Systems, but available for inclusion by anyone participating in the open source community.
The first library to be released into the Open Biometrics Initiative is OpenEBTS, an application programming interface for the management of Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS) data. EBTS is an open specification used by government agencies for the management of biometric data.
International Biometric Group has been awarded a task order under the Biometrics Operations and Support Services Restricted (BOSS-R) contract in support of the U.S. Army Biometrics Identity Management Agency (BIMA). BIMA leads Department of Defense activities to prioritize, integrate, and synchronize biometrics technologies and capabilities and to manage the Department of Defense's authoritative biometrics database to support the National Security Strategy.
Sagem Wireless has released the first details of a second NFC device. The Netribe is not a specific phone, it is "an Android platform on which we can implement NFC or any other technology&Netribe is more than an Android open OS tablet phone, it is the foundation of a set of deeply branded connected lifestyle devices and services," says Sagem Wireless.
"By integrating technologies like solar cells, biometrics, atmospheric sensors [and] NFC, combined with brand specific industrial design, user interface and connected services, Netribe is the cornerstone of deep connected mobile brand experience."
Where this will lead biometrically is open to discussion but advances in motor vehicle safety have been recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as ranking among the 20th century's top public health achievements. Nevertheless, a recent study led by researchers in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics (PMB) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) shows that the improvements aren't benefiting all segments of the population equally.
Research and Markets announced the addition of Frost & Sullivan's new report "The Asia Pacific Biometrics Market" to their offering. This Frost & Sullivan research service titled The Asia Pacific Biometrics Market provides an in-depth analysis of market drivers and restraints, industry structure, and competitive environment besides dealing with the challenges and issues faced by market participants. In this research, Frost & Sullivans expert analysts thoroughly examine the markets for integrated smart cards and e-Passports.
The Unisys Security Index states that the preponderance of travelers would be agreeable to tender biometrics data for enhanced security and convenience. When it came to giving up biometrics for quick and convenient air travel 57% of travelers would be up for it, according to the survey. The majority of survey respondents also were in favor of full-body scans, 65%, and providing personal information in advance, 72%, for air travel. Only 7% were not willing to submit any of this information.
ImageWare Systems, Inc. announced today that it has created the Open Biometrics Initiative for the advancement of biometrics technologies in the open source community. The Open Biometrics Initiative (OBI) is an open source project and forum managed by ImageWare Systems, but available for inclusion by anyone participating in the open source community. The first library to be released into the Open Biometrics Initiative is OpenEBTS, an application programming interface for the management of Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS) data. EBTS is an open specification used by government agencies for the management of biometric data. The EBTS standard was created and is managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and has been adopted globally as the way biometric data is managed between software applications. OpenEBTS allows developers to quickly and easily add EBTS
functionality in their applications.
Daon Trusted Identity Services a division of Daon, announced today that it has been awarded a contract by the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) to conduct criminal background checks on DHR licensed childcare and adult care providers, as well as adoptive parents, foster parents and certain DHR employees. Prior to implementing the new system, it was often taking months to process results on criminal history record checks using a manual submission system in place. With the support of the Department of Public Safety, DHR worked with DTIS to implement a system that reduces processing time by utilizing livescan technology to transmit fingerprints electronically. Under the new contract, DTIS will manage the automated electronic criminal history check system, and provide training and support. The result is a more efficient operation and faster background checks.
Biometrics still haven’t made it to the mainstream though the benefits are real and positive, says David Chadwick, Unisys Asia Pacific director of identity and security. Chadwick, who was a speaker at the recent biometrics conference in Wellington, says the New Zealand and Australian governments are not as advanced in some implementations as other parts of the world. Chadwick says biometrics come into play particularly in border/immigration services.
The ten-day electronic voter registration will take place in 18 selected Kenya constituencies and involves the capture of an individual's biometric features such as face recognition and fingerprint. A special camera and thumb print reader will be required to carry out the registration, which will uniquely identify a person and thus eliminate cases of cheating. The registration will cover over 1,400 registration centers and will target an estimated 1.8 million people. The EVR kits will use solar batteries in areas where there is no electricity.
Israel's Synel Industries, a leader in the development and production of workforce management solutions, announced that through its affiliate, Synel UK and France, it has won a tender for computerized biometric attendance for the TEXACO chain of gas stations in The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg. The bid totals about € 150,000. Synel will supply and install 140 biometric fingerprint points, which will be integrated with Synel's Harmony system, which is a software platform designed to interface with a range of workforce modules for organizations.
Regulatory and other challenges unique to the health care sector prompted Parkview Adventist Medical Center, an acute-care hospital in Brunswick, Maine, to re-evaluate its IT investments. Bill McQuaid, Parkview’s CIO and assistant vice president, explains how the institution’s IT team combined all its data into a single Health Care Information System, while deploying a single sign-on solution combined with finger biometrics. These changes reduced IT support costs and resource requirements, while also increasing user productivity.
For years, Parkview Adventist Medical Center had taken a best-of-breed approach with interfaces to health care information systems, deploying a variety of niche solutions for everything from admissions to radiology. Besides making IT management increasingly complex, this approach led to discontent among the medical center’s 350 clinicians, who complained about the need to constantly sign in and out of critical applications.
PerSay, the global leader in the research, development and deployment of Voice Biometric technology and products announced that it has successfully completed the deployment of its systems in the top three banks in Israel. Bank HaPoalim, Bank Leumi, and Discount Bank have all rolled out secure Voice Biometric applications to the public. Applications include PIN reset and PIN-less access to contact centers at Bank Poalim, self-service eBanking password reset and Real-Time Fraudsters Detection at Bank Leumi, and multi-factor authentication for phone based high-risk transactions at Discount Bank.
In an interview broadcasted on national TV, Oren Hertz, Bank HaPoalim's Contact Center Applications manager, stated that Voice Biometrics is indeed going to be the next big thing in contact center technology. "Besides the efficiency we gained by eliminating authentication questions, we have significantly improved our service accessibility and customer experience", he added.
In predicting the security forecast for 2010, there will be a noticeable increase in the utilization of biometrics and cloud computing environments, says Terry Hartmann, vice president of identity solutions at Unisys. Increasing the security of credit card information and mobile transactions will also be a major issue.
Led by the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, more than sixty countries have invested in the electronic passport infrastructure, issuing passports containing a chip to store an individual’s biometric data, typically a photo and a fingerprint. However, Hartmann points out only five countries are actually reading the information from the biometric chip to verify that the person who the passport is issued to actually matches the traveler crossing the border.
Bank of America is touting a new milestone with its massive network of ATMs--more than 18,000 are now enabled with voice technology. Talking ATMs provide instructions in English or Spanish to the visually impaired. Each ATM has an audio jack that delivers spoken instructions through headsets. The announcement brings to a head 10 years of activity. The bank was among the first to commit to talking ATMs. But this has hardly been the only change. Many ATMs are now equipped with deposit imaging technology, allowing people to feed checks and cash directly into an ATM slot. For cash, you can deposit up to 40 bills at a time and receive immediate credit if the transaction is made on a business day by 8 p.m.
From a Danish ex-colleague I received an e-mail that attended me on a report dealing with the consequences of the use of Biometrics on the (Danish) Society. Of course only a view readers will be able to read this report, but the website itself has some nice links to similar reports in the English language.
Here are some reports you can download.
Biometrics at the Frontiers: Assessing the Impact on Society.
http://www.biteproject.org/documents/EU_Biometrics_at_the_Frontiers.pdf
This 166 page study highlights a number of key issues to be taken into account when considering the large-scale implementation of biometric technologies. The overall message is that the introduction of biometrics poses a number of technological challenges, but more than that, it affects ways in which we organise some key aspects of everyday life. These challenges need to be addressed in the near future if Europe is to shape the use of biometric technologies so as to derive maximum benefit from their deployment.
Biometrics “Foundation Documents”
http://www.biometrics.gov/Documents/biofoundationdocs.pdf
This 167 page document comprises of a FAQ section, a glossary and a nice introduction to Biometric authentication methods.
Privacy & Biometrics – Building a Conceptual Foundation
http://www.biometrics.gov/docs/privacy.pdf
Report of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), Committee on Technology, Committee on Homeland and National Security Subcommittee on Biometrics.
The first section of the 58 page report presents a high-level introduction of Biometrics.
The second section of the paper presents a review of privacy, points to multiple definitions of the term privacy.
The third section brings biometrics and privacy together applying the functional architecture of Biometrics.
Biometrics: Enhancing Security or Invading Privacy?
http://www.bioethics.ie/uploads/docs/Final_Biometrics_Doc_HighRes.pdf
Given Ireland’s involvement in and contribution to biometric research, the Irish Council for
Bioethics (the Council) considered it appropriate to examine the ethical, social and legal issues associated with biometric technologies and the collection, use and storage of biometric information. This 192 page opinion document outlines the Council’s views and recommendations on these issues.
In an effort to reduce vandalism, bullying, and other problems at Poway (CA) Skate Park children and adults now enter the park via a biometric thumb scanner. Skaters will be required to sign a liability waiver, provide a thumbprint, and have their photo taken. The photo and thumbprint will be uploaded to a computer. Skaters and visitors will only gain access through the park's turnstile once the device scans their thumbprint.
Ceelox, Inc. announced that its Ceelox ID Server, a network biometric security solution, streamlines the production process, reduces cycle time and improves organizational security with Honeywell POMS and Citrix in a manufacturing environment.
Honeywell POMS is an example of a process control system identified by Ceelox as an “ideal candidate for biometric integration.
” Ceelox biometric software protects the fingerprint template and the credentials as they travel across the network.
Texas Instruments Incorporated introduced the Fingerprint Development Kit, which includes a core board based C5515 digital signal processor (DSP), two widely-used sensor types (swipe and optical), as well as optimized application software to ease product creation and implementation.
For customers new to fingerprint application development, the kit can dramatically reduce the product design cycle by 9 to 12 months. Swipe and optical sensors are included as well. Extension board, measuring 70 x 30 mm, integrates power supply circuitry, LED and sound indicators, and pushbuttons.
Production quality demo and .out file enables users to experience final product performance, and supports recognition of prints in less than 1 second.
Lingotek, a company that supplies collaborative translation technology, announced that DigitalPersona, Inc., has chosen Lingotek software and services to provide the translation of its consumer fingerprint identity protection software and documentation. DigitalPersona has used Lingotek's Web-based Collaborative Translation Platform and services to translate the user interface and documentation of the latest version of its DigitalPersona Personal software into 24 languages.
Regulatory and other challenges unique to the health care sector prompted Parkview Adventist Medical Center, an acute-care hospital in Brunswick, Maine, to re-evaluate its IT investments. the institution's IT team combined all its data into a single Health Care Information System, while deploying a single sign-on solution combined with finger biometrics. These changes reduced IT support costs and resource requirements, while also increasing user productivity.
The possible move toward a biometric national ID card Central continues to draw attention. Here is another viewpoint that looks at the new immigration contains the national ID proposal, which, if instituted, "would undermine personal liberty and expand government surveillance abilities," according to the author. The card would be biometric, i.e., containing identifying characteristics unique to the physiology of the cardholder. "In this case the biometrics would most likely be comprised of either a fingerprint or a scan of the veins on the back of the hand."
Trying to avoid card overload and confusion the Income Tax department's proposal in India to issue biometric PAN cards has been put on hold to avoid duplication with the UID numbers to be issued by the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI). The biometric Permanent Account Number (PAN) card was proposed by the then Finance Minister in 2006 to counter the problem of duplicate PAN cards which were uncovered during I-T searches and raids by police and other enforcement agencies . The proposed biometric PAN cards would have carried the face and fingerprints (two from each hand).
There will be a perceptible increase in the deployment of biometrics and cloud computing environments, says Terry Hartmann, vice president of identity solutions at Unisys. Increasing the security of credit card information and mobile transactions will also be a major issue. Led by the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, more than sixty countries have invested in the electronic passport infrastructure, issuing passports containing a chip to store an individual's biometric data, typically a photo and a fingerprint. However, Hartmann points out only five countries are actually reading the information from the biometric chip to verify that the person who the passport is issued to actually matches the traveler crossing the border.
Migrants in New Zealand are tricking examiners overseeing English language tests. The tests are required to gain residency in New Zealand. However the migrants are using Photoshop to create "morphed" photo IDs that combine their own images with those of professional stand-ins. Officials believe the same technique is probably being used by migrants to avoid medical examinations, and could be used to falsely obtain visas. This adds pressure on the department to invest in biometric identity checks. The Labor Department has begun to shop for a biometric system that will let it capture and check face scans and fingerprints of visa applicants.
Noses continue to draw attention as a possible biometric marker. Researchers from the University of Bath suggest the nose may be an ideal way for security experts to confirm people's identities. Dr Adrian Evans, who carried out the research with one of his students, points out that, unlike ears and irises, noses are hard to hide without drawing attention to yourself, and don't vary much with different facial expression. The researchers used the six common types of nose -- Greek (such as Michelangelo's David), Roman (as modeled by Abraham Lincoln), Nubian (some cite Barack Obama), hawk (John Lennon), turned-up (Nicole Kidman) and snub (Muhammad Ali).
Huawei, a telecommunications network solutions provider, announced that it has entered into an Alliance with PerSay Ltd., a provider of advanced biometric speaker verification products. This new alliance expands PerSay's ability to deliver on the increasing demands for the Voice Biometrics technology. The alliance also allows Huawei to provide a pre-integrated Voice Biometrics enabled IP Contact Center. "Enterprises across the globe have the need to secure the access to their contact center and PerSay and Huawei can provide that solution", said Ariel Freidenberg, PerSay's EVP Global Sales and Business Development.
Salmat, a customer communications organization, headquartered in Australia, today announced that its UK subsidiary Salmat VeCommerce is to become fully absorbed into the parent brand and will now be known simply as Salmat. In recent years Salmat VeCommerce has developed a reputation as one of the most experienced providers of applications that utilize speech recognition and voice biometrics to contact centre operations. Newly appointed EMEA General Manager of Salmat's speech solutions operation, Sean Keane said, "In 2010, we expect to see continued demand for voice biometrics as the banking sector realize the escalating costs of managing fraud."
L-1 Identity Solutions announced it has acquired nearly all the tangible and intangible assets of biometrics developer Retica Systems. Among the assets acquired include Retica's iris-on-the-move and iris-at-a-distance iris recognition systems inventory, software, intellectual property and exiting customer contracts. The two systems from Retica will help improve L-1's capability to determine identities from moving people or from a long distance.
AOptix Technologies, Inc., a developer of advanced iris biometrics products and long-distance wireless optical communications solutions, announced completion integration of AOptix's innovative InSight 2 meter iris recognition system with Aware's URC and BioSP software products. Working at a nominal distance of 1.5 to 2.5 meters, the InSight system fully automates iris biometric image acquisition and provides consistent verification of a subject's identity in just 2 seconds.
Download the brochure on:
http://www.aoptix.com/biometrics/AOptix_Biometrics-DS_6P.pdf
Turkey's Interior Minister Be_ir Atalay said that Turkey would start using biometric passports in line with international standards on June 1."Regular passports will be red and diplomatic passports will be black," Atalay told a press conference after a meeting of the Reform Follow-Up Group in the central province of Konya. Atalay said actual passports could also be used till 2015, and the government had prepared a bill to raise passport validity term to ten years from five.
New Zealand’s Labor Department opposed Customs' purchase of SmartGate border control kiosks from Australian supplier Sagem, partly because it feared the $37.9 million system might need costly changes to accommodate new biometric technologies. Cabinet papers show that ministers came down on the side of Customs, which advocated for SmartGate, after deciding it made sense to piggyback off Australian Customs' ongoing investments in the system, which is also used at Australian airports.
Government initiatives and non-contact systems could emerge as keys to growth for the biometric industry. These and other biometrics market data and trends are presented in "Biometrics: Trends & Opportunities Worldwide." Another key factor could be the development of industry wide standards, which would lead to lower costs and enable easier adoption of present and emerging technologies. This biometrics report provides a detailed analysis of the biometric market. Increasing security concerns ranging from individual identity theft, corporate security, to even national security represents factors that are important to the biometric market. This 800 page report can be delivered by e-mail for € 2.248,-
NEW DELHI— India kicked off the national census of its billion-plus population Thursday with a 2.5 million strong army of census-takers fanning out across the country to conduct what has been billed the world's largest administrative exercise. The census, conducted every 10 years, has a new element this year with the collection of biometric data in which every citizen over the age of 15 will be photographed and fingerprinted, information that will form the base of a new National Population Register of the country's 1.2 billion population."It is for the first time in human history that an attempt is being made to identify, count, enumerate and record and eventually issue an identity card to 1.2 billion people," Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said.
AFIS technology market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 9% during 2010- 2012 on the back of increasing usage by private sector, says a new report from RNCOS. New Delhi, India - Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) technology is used in various law enforcement and civil applications. AFIS, an established technology in the law enforcement settings, is one of the most widespread applications of biometrics today and will continue to be so in near future. As many law enforcement organizations are already using AFIS, its primary growth in future will come from private sector employee background check applications. In this regard, our research report “Global Biometric Forecast to 2012” projects that the AFIS technology market will grow at a CAGR of around 9% between 2010 and 2012.
President Obama wants people to be better secured when using the Internet. The rising costs and concerns over identity theft as well as weak cyber security have caused the president to task a group with finding solutions to the online identification problem. Obama’s group, the National Strategy for Secure Online Transactions, may eventually recommend ways for consumers to be vetted, some type of background check, and a technology they can use for better security when conducting business online. The president wants consumers to use strong authentication, something more than user name and password, which will most likely add another security factor, say officials familiar with the project.
The Civil Supplies Department will soon embark on incorporating biometric security features in all ration cards. Since repeated drives against bogus cards have proved inadequate, the Department is pinning its hopes on systemic intervention. It would be later integrated with the Unique Identification Number (UID) database.“During the recent house-to-house verifications, it was found that a lot of genuine cardholders were getting affected,” said K.Shanmugam, Principal Secretary to the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department. “There might still be a large number of bogus cards in circulation.” A process which involves biometric collection of data and de-duplication will eliminate both multiple entries and multiple cards, said Mr.Shanmugam.
This learning continues throughout life, so teaching machines to make common sense assumptions about language is a mammoth task. Over the years researchers have been making in-roads into improving voice recognition and speech-to-text software. But being able to recognize words is still a long way from machines actually understanding what people are saying. Now the American Palo Alto Research Centre (Parc) is working on an ambitious project with the aim to take computers' language skills to the next level. Parc's research on natural language processing was bought by search engine Powerset who combined it with data from online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Users can search Powerset with keywords, phrases, or simple questions - the results are aggregated from multiple Wikipedia articles. The aim is to provide more accurate results and answer questions directly. Parc researcher Cleo Condoravdi said search engines are not refined: "You put in your keywords, you get some results, a lot of them might be relevant but it's up to you the user to sort through," she said. "Now the dream would be if you could just ask your question and get the answer directly," she added.
"They all look alike to me" is no longer an excuse when studying penguins. The same facial recognition software that helps Homeland Security identify terrorists could one day be used to identify individual penguins and monitor their populations, thereby aiding in their conservation. Traditionally, tracking individual penguins—which is important for monitoring population dynamics, understanding migratory patterns, and assessing the health of a species—has required attaching transmitters to their backs or metal bands to flippers or legs.
If you're a proud gun owner, you probably know the importance of investing in the proper safe to secure your firearms. Not only does a safe help keep your firearms protected from risks of fire and water damage, they also help resist against burglary. Most importantly owning the proper safe can help keep your firearms out of the reach of children's hands. With all of the differing opinions on which type of unit is best, let's take a look at the biometric gun safes and see if they work as well as they claim.
Biometric gun safes operate similarly to traditional security safes. Instead of having a combination lock or an electronic lock that provides access with a personal identification number, a biometric gun safe uses fingerprint technology to recognize users. Most models enroll members by having them record their fingerprint at the scanner. Most units will take two to three snapshots of the users fingerprint to provide more access scans. Once the images have been recorded, the safe will automatically lock or unlock once the fingerprint has been recognized as a valid user.
Watch some product demo video’s on:
http://www.gunvault.com/multi-vault-biometric.html
Law enforcement in Brunswick and seven other North Carolina counties on joined a statewide information-sharing initiative aimed at identifying criminal illegal immigrants. The program was developed by the federal Justice and Homeland Security departments to deport illegal immigrants who have broken the law. Through this program, fingerprints will be simultaneously checked against both FBI criminal history records and the biometrics-based immigration records maintained by Homeland Security.
The Bulgarian biometric passports began being issued on March 29. The new identity cards will cost BGN 18 ($12.39), a driving license fee will become BGN 25 ($17.21), and international and biometric passports will be issued for BGN 40 ($27.53). Current costs for these identity documents are BGN 10 ($6.88), BGN 18 ($12.39) and BGN 30 ($20.65), respectively. Bulgaria's government has approved an increase in the charges, in order to help cover the costs of the introduction of fingerprinting, which is to be carried out at the location where the application is submitted.
In 1975, "The Godfather: Part II" was the Best Picture and "I Honestly Love You" was Record of the Year and, oh yea, Ulster County New York installed a manual time and attendance system that has been in operation until recently. That is when the county introduced its new biometric time-and-attendance system. After all test phases have been successfully completed the small biometric finger scanners will be implemented throughout all county departments. The data will be used to track and adjust employee schedules, expedite the payroll process, and ensure that employees are properly compensated for time actually worked.
One of the most prevalent biometrics applications today, the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) technology, will continue to prop up growth in biometrics. As many law enforcement organizations are already using AFIS, its primary growth in future will come from private sector employee background-check applications. That is the position of "Global Biometric Forecast to 2012," published by RNCOS, which projects that the AFIS technology market will grow at a CAGR of around 9 percent between 2010 and 2012.
Not everyone welcomes biometrics. Unionized staff at St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital made lucid point they are prepared to fight administration and the province when it comes to issues like biometrics fingerprint scanning and reduced out-patient lab hours. A regional vice-president for the union attacked the hospital's decision to go to a biometric fingerprint scanning system.
"The hospital will tell you this decision was made for health and safety reasons. I don't buy that for one second and what management is asking you to do with biometrics is nothing short of a crime."
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) posted in the Federal Register an interim final rule that would permit hospitals, healthcare providers, and pharmacies to use electronic prescriptions in the dispensing of controlled drugs. The new interim rule adds the option of using of biometric identifiers -- such as a handprints, iris scans, or fingerprints -- to help authenticate the identity of the e prescribing user. In the new regulation, users of e prescribing systems for controlled substances would have to prove their identities by using two out of three factors: something you know (passwords), something you have (tokens), or something you are (biometrics).
Senators of South Carolina and New York presented a blue print of immigration-bill to President Barack Obama which included the proposal to issue biometric Identity Card which will contain physical information such as finger prints to all the working Americans. In this case, just imagine how many biometric cards would we need to prove that we are eligible and we are not illegal immigrants. We would need more than 150 million cards if everyone is going to get one. One executive with an identification-technology company says the accuracy of such large-scale biometric measuring hasn't been proved. "What study have we done?" he says. "We just have a few assumptions."
Adisucipto International Airport (JOG) serving Yogyakarta in Java will be the first airport in Indonesia to introduce biometric security systems with the installation of facial imaging technology and fingerprint. The rest of the country's air and seaports will be rolled out in phases. The new infrastructure will be installed at 27 different entry points, and will enable the immigration department to check incoming passengers against watchlists, as well as better verify passports and visas.
PhoneFactor announced that Network Products Guide has named PhoneFactor's Biometric Voice Authentication service a winner of the 2010 Product Innovation Award. The award recognizes vendors with innovative and ground-breaking products. PhoneFactor places an automated call to the user to verify their login. The user answers and presses # (or enters a PIN) to authenticate. With the addition of voice biometrics, the user's voiceprint can be verified during the authentication call as well, taking the cost and complication out of biometric authentication.
AOptix Technologies, Inc., a developer of advanced iris biometrics products and long-distance wireless optical communications solutions, announced a strategic partnership for iris biometric security with the Microsoft Global Security Operations Center (GSOC) in Redmond, Washington. Working at a nominal distance of 2 meters, the InSight system fully automates biometric image acquisition and provides consistent verification of a subject's identity in just 2 seconds. The system employs innovative adaptive optics technology that automatically finds the subject's eyes and face within a very large capture volume, making subject participation effortless. This increased recognition space allows for varying personnel needs such as multiple heights ranging from ADA wheelchairs to an excess of seven feet.
Network Intercept announced the launch of a limited free version of Keystroke Interference, a solution to identity theft. With the availability of this limited Keystroke Interference for download, anyone with Internet Explorer can utilize this important safety measure for their protection of personal and banking data. These malicious programs capture a user's keystrokes to gain access to account and password information, and subsequently, their online accounts. The brilliance of Keystroke Interference lies in its simplicity. By injecting a string of random symbols and numbers into the captures data, the information is rendered useless to the hacker and the data remains safe and secure.
A new report from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) in association with SITA, the specialist in air transport IT solutions, forecasts that by 2020 Indian domestic air traffic will reach 160-180 million passengers per annum and international traffic will exceed 80 million. Today less than 2% of Indians fly in any given year. However, the feedback indicates that mobile technologies, self-service kiosks and biometrics will be key areas of investment in future for airports. The report highlights five technologies -- mobile devices, Web 2.0, Near Field Communications, RFID and biometrics -- which will be of great importance as the industry responds to the growing needs and expectation of Indian travelers.
Emerging technologies offer significant benefits but also risks to our privacy. How to deal with these risks is the subject of a new three-year project funded by the European Commission. Called PRESCIENT, the project will be considering the privacy implications of emerging technologies such as new identification and surveillance technologies, biometrics, on-the-spot DNA sequencing and technologies for human enhancement. The project will identify and analyze ethical issues posed by new technologies and discuss them with interested stakeholders and, in due course, provide scientifically based recommendations to policy makers on how to address privacy issues of emerging technologies.
More details about the project are available at http://www.prescient-project.eu
or from Michael.Friedewald@isi.fraunhofer.de
Motorola displayed a solution developed by Annapolis, Md.-based Zephyr Technology that monitors and wirelessly transmits data on body functions such as heart rate, breathing rate and skin temperature. The capabilities are perfect for monitoring the health conditions of particularly firefighters, who especially are prone to heat- and stress-related health issues when at an incident. The data is transmitted via Bluetooth to a radio connected to a laptop that displays the data. As many as 64 people can be monitored by a single application, and the solution can support multiple applications.
The Department of Defense has created the new Biometrics Identity Management Agency, which will lead DoD activities to integrate and synchronize biometrics technologies and capabilities and to manage the DoD's biometrics database to support the National Security Strategy. the Biometrics Identity Management Agency (BIMA) supersedes a Biometrics Task Force established in 2000. A component of the Army, the biometrics agency has Defense Department-wide responsibilities.
Indigo Identityware has announced the release of its new product Indigo Virtual Remote for advance authentication. Users can securely access their desktops and/or networks with biometric strong authentication from a remote location using Indigo Virtual Remote. Indigo Virtual Remote allows authentication and enterprise single sign-on (ESSO) capabilities. Indigo's unique solution uses the cloud and a secure connection.
This allows users secure access to their desktop and/or authorized applications from a remote location without Indigo's authentication or ESSO software loaded on the remote workstation.
The Biometric User Handbook includes clippings from more than 1,110 news releases on companies and organizations converting to Biometric ID. It covers the various types of biometric applications from the beginning of this decade. It is non-vendor and non-application specific, so you can be assured that all types of Biometric deployments and implementations are covered.
U.S. Mayors Support Immigration Reform
WASHINGTON - With momentum growing for immigration reform, the nation’s mayors welcome the bipartisan proposal offered by Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC). The Senators announced their proposal in an op ed in the March 19 edition of The Washington Post. It would require: biometric Social Security cards to prevent illegal workers from getting jobs, strengthened border security and interior enforcement, a process for admitting temporary workers, and a "tough but fair path" to legalization for those already in the country.
Long-awaited interim final rule allows use of biometric data for identity-proofing
The Drug Enforcement Administration has released a long-awaited regulation on eprescribing of controlled substances that is expected to remove a major barrier to use of the application. The rule is similar to the DEA’s 2008 proposed regulation for e-prescribing, but it adds the option of using a biometric identifier, such as a fingerprint or iris scan, to authenticate the identity of the user of the e-prescribing system. Under the rule, doctors would be able to electronically prescribe controlled substances such as morphine and other painkillers. Currently, doctors must use paperwork and fax machines for those substances. If they choose to prescribe other drugs electronically, the physicians have to maintain separate paper and electronic record systems, which many choose not to do. The DEA on March 24 issued the 334-page Interim Final Rule on Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances. It is expected to be officially published in the Federal Register on March 31, followed by a 60- day comment period.
Provincial cards could use biometric data
CALGARY - The province is working on ways to provide ID cards to homeless people that could include biometric samples of fingerprints or facial scans. In a meeting with the Herald editorial board , Housing Minister Jonathan Denis said his department is in discussions with Service Alberta about creating an Alberta ID card for the homeless. "We are going to be discussing a biometric type of system," he said. "Identification does have value on the street and we have to make sure we have those adequate controls in place. "But it would make someone feel like more of a person, help them get on their feet with a bank account -- things you can't get without identification."
One of the clearest signs that you are in a Japanese city, besides the fact that there are Japanese milling around, are the vending machines at every corner. From your usual drink dispenser to those that produce hot meals on demand, you can even buy underwear from one of these vending machines.
Besides money, some models accept RFID cash cards and credit cards. In Singapore, you can even send an SMS to purchase an item, with the cost added to your monthly phone bill. Watch the (Japanese) video on: http://asia.cnet.com/crave/2010/03/31/pay-at-vending-machines-with-a-finger/
Physical security measures to control access, entry and identification are not an alternative to an Identity and Access Management solution; they are a key component of a rounded access assurance implementation, Stuart Hodkinson of Courion writes. The increasing number of high profile data breaches and data losses from both the private and public sector making the headlines right now has forced most organizations to rethink and re-evaluate their approach to IT security and access management. While clamping down on inappropriate and unlawful access to company IT systems and data is undoubtedly at the forefront of a good IT security policy, a strong access assurance strategy can and should go much further.
Somewhere in Perth's central business district is a building containing the names, ages, addresses, photographs and unique fingerprint codes of thousands of travelers who danced and drank at Sydney's Home nightclub last year.
Home, in Darling Harbor, began trailing a biometric ID scanning entry system nine months ago. Patrons lined up before six large terminals to have their photo taken, and their driver's license and right index fingerprint scanned. The information was copied and sent to Western Australia, where it is stored on a secured central database by the system developers.
Fingerprints consist of patterns formed by parallel ridges on bare skin of fingertips. They are typical for higher primates, but occur sporadically in other mammals. We have recently observed the presence of dermatoglyphes, microscopically and macroscopically similar to those of humans, on the fingers and toes of the tree-climbing marsupial Phascolarctus cinereus (the Koala). Presence of nearly identical dermatoglyphes in lineages of mammals undergoing separate evolution for at least 70 million years, but adapting to climbing and grasping, indicates that adaptive regularities may be a common feature of the evolutionary process.
A 28-year-old man was arrested on identity theft charges related to allegedly trying to fraudulently obtain a driver’s license at the state department of motor vehicles in Reno. Victor hugo Gonzalez-Granados, is also suspected of being in the country illegally and has a hold placed on him by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
He was booked into the Washoe County Jail on suspicion of identity theft, two counts of possession of a document to establish false identity, and fraudulently applying for a driver’s license.
An army of 2.5 million officials will be deployed in India this week to help carry out the latest census of the world's second-largest population, an official said on Tuesday. The survey will cost 60 billion rupees ($A1.36 billion) and will consume 11.63 million tonnes of paper, partly because instruction manuals for the head counters will be printed in 18 languages. Adding to the complexity of counting and classifying India's billion-plus population will be a separate and simultaneous process of collecting biometric data on every person, to be used in a new National Population Register. This register, which will fingerprint and photograph every person aged over 15, will be used in an even bigger and more ambitious project to give each citizen a unique identity number similar to a US Social Security number.
Collecting fingerprints and other biometric data has long allowed law enforcement and the military alike to track down wanted individuals, solve cases, or just keep tabs on people. Now what was a U.S. government task force under the U.S. Army has officially become a full-scale national security agency in charge of biometrics, according to the Secrecy News blog run by the Federation of American Scientists. The Biometrics Identity Management Agency (BIMA) has a responsibility that spans the entire U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and would specifically support the DoD's "authoritative biometrics database" in the name of national security.
In this country of 1.2 billion people, Inderjit Chaurasia could not prove his identity. When the migrant worker tried to open his first bank account in New Delhi, he was turned away because he had only a driver's license for identification. Then he applied for a government foodsubsidy card but was rejected for the same reason. "Everywhere I go, they ask me for proof of residence and income tax that I do not have," said Chaurasia, 32, adding that he has never voted or paid taxes. "We are migrant workers. We go where the job takes us. Where do we find identity papers?"
Millions of Indians like Chaurasia are unable to tap into government and financial services because they lack proper identification. And, many here say that corrupt officials routinely stuff welfare databases with fake names and steal money meant for the poor. But a mammoth project underway aims to address that problem by assigning all Indians a unique identity number backed by their biometric details and storing that information in a gigantic online database.
Many schools are fingerprinting pupils without parents' permission, teachers have warned.
It is thought around 100 schools in the UK now use fingerprint identification systems for registration, borrowing library books and cashless catering. But there is no legal requirement for schools to seek parents' consent for using biometric technologies. Critics say this is "outrageous" and have called for a "strong and explicit law" to cover this issue. A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families says it was "common sense" for schools to consult parents about taking fingerprints.
President Obama has created a group called the National Strategy for Secure Online Transactions. The charge of the organization is to produce a framework that may eventually lead to U.S. citizens using strong authentication when conducting business on the Internet. The vision of the group is: “To improve the trustworthiness and security of online transactions by facilitating the establishment of interoperable trust frameworks and implementation of improved authentication technology and processes for all online transaction participants, across federal, civil and private sectors.”
With biometric technology, savings and security for your restaurant are in your employees’ hands.
The largest expense that foodservice operators incur, other than food, is employee labor costs. In addition to wages, human capital can cost quick serves countless dollars in employee theft and misuse of the time-management system. With biometric technology, it’s virtually impossible for employees to “beat the system”—resulting in a quick return on investment for restaurant operators. A growing number of quick serves are incorporating biometrics like fingerprint readers into their time-clock management and POS systems, and many are wondering how they ever operated without it.
The first day of the new system of applications for Bulgaria's new-style biometric identity cards and passports was dogged by long queues, inefficient service and crashing computer systems, Bulgarian National Television said on March 29, 2010. People with expired ID cards or overseas passports, youngsters who had not had an ID before or people who simply wanted to renew their documents flocked to the two police departments in Bourgas to get their new documents issued. However, they encountered slow-moving queues, computer systems crashing, and police personnel unable to service them. According to police, the system will be operating normally in the next few days.
A Florida based HMO, Simply Healthcare Plans, Inc. signed on with Biometric Technologies, Inc. to reduce and prevent healthcare fraud. BioClaim, a patented software product specifically developed for the detection of fraudulent healthcare claims uses biometrics to authenticate a patient at the point of service, and interfaces the patient and claims information with the HMO claims system, by replacing the sign in sheet in a medical office. Instead, the patient uses the biometric device to scan their right index finger.
Watch the CBS4 Video :
http://cbs4.com/video/?id=86151@wfor.dayport.com
The inevitable fusion of biometrics and smartcards received a major boost with the announcements that Swedish-based Precise Biometrics had received an order for hardware worth SEK 4.3 million in a Match-on-Card project for government employees. The order is an additional follow-up order from an existing customer in the Middle East.
The company noted that the delivery consists of Precise 200 MC readers, combined fingerprint and smart card readers that will be used in a current government ID card project together with the Precise Match-on-Card technology. The government customer will use the fingerprint readers in further extending their ID card program.
Using biometrics to improve ATM security can be tackled in a number of different ways. In different countries, fingerprint authentication has been successfully used to combat ATM fraud by financial institutions such as the Western Bank in the USA, Banco Falabella in Chile, and Groupo Financiero Banorte in Mexico. One developing country, Nigeria, may turn to biometrics to minimize ATM fraud.
Imagine heavy equipment such as a crane in the hands of the wrong individual. Not if A UK Biometrics company iEvo can help it. iEvo is the first firm to come through the ranks of a university-backed support initiative, which helps innovative businesses link up with design experts. The iEvo system uses multispectral imaging technology adapted from the healthcare sector to conquer the tribulations of cold weather, dirt and water which usually plague biometric readers in the building industry. The system processes readings from the finger using nine different formats of light and extracts the image from the surface and subsurface of the skin.
L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc. announced a new access control solution based on finger-vein recognition technology, the 4G FingerVein Station. Very dry, dirty or worn fingers pose a challenge for standard fingerprint readers and the 4G FingerVein Station offers an alternative for these conditions found commonly in industrial and manufacturing environments.
The use of near-infrared light to gather biometric data means that the condition of the skin surface does not affect accurate processing.
Vein patterns are extremely difficult to forge and impossible to manipulate because veins are inside the body and invisible to the eye.
Download the 4G Vinger Vein data sheet on:
http://www.l1id.com/elqNow/elqRedir.htm?ref=http://www.l1id.com/files/532-L-1_4G_FingerVein_Station_160310.pdf
The National Population Register census in India starts in 3331 coastal villages of nine states and four union territories in April and soon will extend to cover people all over the country. The massive exercise is also being linked to UID (unique identification) numbers that the goverment, through the UID authority, intends to permanent residents whose names are in the NPR. Those aged above 15 years, for whom biometrics would be collected, along with their names and other requirements in the NPR. The formation of a digital database having identity details of all the individuals along with their photographs and finger biometrics will result in the creation of a biometrics based identity system in the country.
Ghana appears heading toward a biometric passport based on a document "Acquiring Biometric Ghanaian Passport, 2009, Questions and Answers," which defines a biometric passport as a passport that carries biological information that Ghana appears heading toward a biometric passport based on a document "Acquiring Biometric Ghanaian Passport, 2009, Questions and Answers," which defines a biometric passport as a passport that carries biological information that links the holder to the document. The document also stated that the biological features (biometrics) that are usually used are facial recognition (digital photography), fingerprint, and iris. It appears the main objective for the introduction of the biometric passport is to prevent the acquisition of multiple passports for criminal and fraudulent purposes.
Indonesia has announced the rollout of a border control system that includes biometrics capture at 27 of the nation's air and seaports. The system will drastically improve Indonesia's border control through supplementary checking of watch lists, verification of passports, visas and permits and visa issue integration. The key ingredient however is the capture of biometrics from travelers, in particular facial images and fingerprints. The first airport, Adisucipto International Airport serving Yogyakarta in Java, has gone live with the system and the remaining ports will be up and running by June.
New Zealand's Department of Labour is evaluating the use of biometrics (both face and fingerprints), in the identity management of visa holders crossing the local border. The trial is to use a mixture of genuine information in real time and trial data in a test environment.
Equipment is needed to capture, store and analyze new data and to migrate existing photo and fingerprint records. The assessment will also look at openings to leverage on hand technology, such as the automated passenger processing systems for Australian and New Zealand e-Passport holders.
TradeHarbor, Inc., a provider of voice authentication services, and USAN, a provider of Call Center Cloud solutions, announced a partnership to offer TradeHarbor's Voice Signature Serviceto any customer using USAN's IVR services. A voice signature is a digital representation of a person's voice used to verify their identity with a high degree of accuracy. According to the companies, a voice signature is as unique as a fingerprint and as binding as a handwritten signature.
Health professionals seem to be leaning strongly in favor of using biometrics to bolster patent authentication and security. One physician adds his opinion based on a clinic in New York City's impoverished South Bronx, which has been scanning patients' eyes to access EMRs since last year. It seems the Urban Health Plan clinic, with large uninsured and Medicaid patient populations, has records for 50 Maria Hernandezes, 66 Maria Gonzaleses, 55 Jose Gonzalezes, 83 Carmen Rodriguezes and 103 Jose Rodriguezes among its 37,000 patients, CNN reports. It's likely that many are undocumented immigrants, because few provide valid Social Security numbers. this type of replication could effortlessly lead to severe mix-ups.
Microfinance and reaching the unbanked or underbanked is a hot topic worldwide. Sometimes getting people banked means going to them instead of the other way around. Craft Silicon of Kenya has a software solution for branchless banking that reduces the costs of agents by providing hand-held devices, which have either biometric authentication or PIN, on option. Agents have to authenticate the transaction by putting his biometric or PIN signature into the unit. Branch officer devices work offsite. They can operate on solar energy and battery life is not a problem.
More on the MFNT summit in Marrakech can be found on:
http://www.mfntsummit2010.com/site/ang/index.php
A different kind of signature ID. TruTag Technologies, a spinout of Cellular Bioengineering, Inc., was selected as the 2010 North American Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Innovation of the Year by Frost & Sullivan. TruTag microtags are secure, optically encoded micro-crystals made of pure, nanoporous silica, which is deemed "Generally Regarded as Safe, or (GRAS)" by the FDA. Therefore, TruTags are edible and can be used to authenticate and identify medicine, food and numerous other solid or liquid products. The unique choice of tag signature and product combination is the TruTag key to confirming the authenticity of the product.
Cross Match Technologies, Inc., a provider of biometric identity solutions, introduced a new interactive Web site.
The revamped Web presence was unveiled during the International Security Conference and Exhibition. New and returning Web site visitors will notice an interactive "Product Bar," with a menu of biometric solutions that quickly guides customers to the products best suited to their individual security needs.
The debate over a National ID card, and the possible role of biometrics should such a card actually come into being, continues. The impetus for the debate comes from recently introduced immigration bill containing the blanket issuance of a national biometric worker identification card. The opposing groundswell comes from the ACLU. The "comprehensive immigration reform bill" has no name to speak of. Then there bill co-sponsored by Senator Graham and Sen Schumer. It actually deals with immigrant workers present in the United States.
The New Hampshire House of Representatives turned down a bill proposed earlier in the year that would have restricted the use of biometric IDs within the state. The New Hampshire legislature was considering a bill that would put severe restrictions on the use of biometric IDs within the state’s borders, limiting such use to employee identification. Biometric data was defined in the bill to include everything from DNA to retinal scans to facial features to fingerprints.
Ceelox, Inc. believes the way to fight recent cyber attacks aimed at unauthorized wire transfers is through two factor identity authentication utilizing biometrics. The bulk of these attacks necessitate the attacker to compromise the target computer, install a keylogger, retrieve the keylogger's information, and force the target user to answer banking security questions. best practices for increased cyber security include: employ advanced authentication techniques for user logins (two-factor authentication) and utilizing a username (something you know) along with biometrics (something you are).
TI's TMDXBDKFP5515 Fingerprint Development Kit Incorporates AuthenTec ATW310 Sensor; Reduces Product Design Cycles by 9 to 12 Months
MELBOURNE, Fla. -- AuthenTec, a leading provider of security, identity management and touch control solutions, announced that its ATW310 (initially developed by Atrua which was later acquired by AuthenTec) fingerprint sensor has been integrated into a new, low cost fingerprint development kit unveiled today by Texas Instruments. The kit simplifies biometric feature adoption and reduces time to market for designers of fingerprint-enabled physical access control products such as electronic door locks and time and attendance monitoring systems, as well as data storage, USB smart keys, and other portable devices.
More information about the C5515 fingerprint development kit can be found at Texas Instruments’ website at
www.ti.com/c5515fdk-prprod.
Prior to ISC West last year, SIW covered the findings of a survey that examined the topic of biometrics and if the industry had reached the tipping point where widespread adoption of the technology would take hold and become more readily accepted by consumers. A year later, we posed the exact same question to biometric vendors at this year's show to see where they thought the industry currently stands and where it's headed. As with most security technologies, innovation in biometrics is at all time high. In fact, this year's SIA New Product Showcase award recipient for best new product went to Sarnoff's Glance iris recognition solution. The product uses what the company calls its Iris on the Move (IOM) technology to create a quick and effective access control solution.
Watch the Iris on the Move Video on:
http://www.sarnoff.com/demos/iris-on-the-move
Biometrically Enabled Intelligence (BEI) and Identity Intelligence Fusion (IIF) solutions are moving out of the lab and into production environments. This trend presents new and often unexpected challenges in performance and hardware requirements for these systems because of the large data volumes found in operational use. Unlike basic matching, querying, and data management applications, IIF systems must allow users to perform multiple types of searches, organize, and share immediate results. They must also integrate the results together into a comprehensive picture of potential identities, biometric matches, and actionable intelligence. Dr. Feldman's session will explore some of the challenges with integrating the specific capabilities found in BEI and IIF systems to help inform sponsors, program managers, and other stakeholders in these efforts.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s interim final rule on e-prescribing controlled substances calls for providers to use two-factor authentication but introduces a twist: the use of biometric technology as one of the methods. The rule, set to be published March 31 in the Federal Register, aims to address a gap in the government’s e-prescribing push. DEA currently bans the e-prescribing of controlled substances -- a restriction that covers some 10 percent of all prescriptions. The rule does not require the use of a specific form of biometric technology. DEA, however, said it is establishing standards for biometric systems in conjunction with the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
That's something we don't see everyday. Victorinox challenges British hackers to crack its Secure Pro - the company's new biometric USB swiss knife. The competition, as of this writing, is being held at Victorinox's flagship store in London and will end the same day at 6pm. Contestants, however, are given only two hours to hack their way into the drive's data. More of interest to us is what makes Victorinox so confident that it's willing to give away £100,000 to prove that its Secure Pro swiss knife to invulnerable to hacks.
The Homeland Security Department hasn’t decided whether it will pursue a biometric exit system that would electronically collect fingerprints from foreign visitors as they depart from U.S. airports to ensure they leave as required, a senior DHS official said today. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano is expected to make a decision on the future of the system after an upcoming review, Rand Beers, undersecretary for DHS’ National Protection and Programs Directorate, told the House Homeland Security Committee.
The government already collects fingerprints from non-U.S. visitors when they arrive in the country through the US-VISIT air entry system. However, putting a biometric exit system in place at airports has proved difficult, despite pressure from Congress to do so. Logistical complexities and disputes over who should collect the biometric data and foot the bill — estimated to cost billions during the coming decade— have stymied the program.
Turkey is set to finalize two required preliminaries to the visa exemption it seeks with the European Union – biometric passports and a readmission agreement. In line with EU standards, Turkish officials are set to introduce biometric passports, which use electronic technology to authenticate travelers’ identities, in June. A Turkish-Malaysian consortium had earlier won the tender to produce the new biometric passports but the contract was terminated in September 2009 when the prototypes failed to meet requirements. The government subsequently decided to print the new passports in the Darphane, or state mint. The French digitalsecurity company Gemalto will provide the chips for the passports.
SANTA ANA, Calif. - Orange County law enforcement agencies Tuesday began employing a new information-sharing capability already in use in Los Angeles and 10 other California counties that modernizes the process used to accurately identify criminal aliens in the community. Developed by the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS) as part of an initiative known as Secure Communities, the information-sharing capability is a key component of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) comprehensive strategy to enhance efforts to identify and remove criminal aliens from the United States.
We all know those meticulous coworkers who periodically sanitize their workstations, carefully spraying and wiping down the telephone, computer keyboard, and mouse. Presumably they are motivated by fear of germs and colds. But such behavior might some day come in handy at a crime scene. That's the implication of a study published this month in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, conducted at the University of Colorado in Boulder. By sequencing fragments of bacterial DNA, researchers found that the bacteria on a keyboard or mouse could be readily matched with the microbes on the skin of the person who used it. They also found that bacteria swabbed from a person's skin maintained a fairly stable composition for up to two weeks at room temperature - potentially allowing the identification of a suspect long after he flees the scene. Before the technique can be used in criminal investigations, it needs much more testing, the authors say. That includes a comparison with existing forensic methods, and an examination of how well the bacterial technique works on other surfaces.
