Here you can find the Biometric News of Q3 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
Devices such as access cards, PINs and passwords often end up being used to perpetrate crime, says Ideco Group CEO, Vhonani Mufamadi.
As standard forms of security struggle to keep up with market developments, the use of biometric technology is expected to increase over the next decade, he says. Mufamadi says devices such as access cards, PINs and passwords, designed to protect end-users, are ineffective against modern day threats and often end up being used to perpetrate crime. He argues that one of the benefits of a biometric technology is that only authorized people -- not merely their credentials -- are granted access to, for example, a building, a specific part of a building or even a computer or an account. Mufamadi says with the increase in occupational fraud, especially perpetrated by insiders, there is a growing demand for more effective security, fuelling increased in investment in biometric applications, such as fingerprint sign-on
Helen of Troy may have had a face that launched a thousand ships but she would have been able to launch only one phone at a time thanks to new Nokia technology. the Nokia N900, or its prototype will be able to lock quickly and track up to 22 facial features in real-time using the N900's front facing camera -- even when the camera is upside down. All of it is made possible thanks to an Active Appearance modeling technique which was developed for the EU-funded Mobile Biometrics (MoBio) project, where it aims to rely on face verification to authenticate smartphone access to social media sites. Watch the Video.
An image of Britain as a rural idyll of village greens, stately homes and the white cliffs of Dover is presented in the new design of the UK passport unveiled and ready for its introduction. Passport chiefs also intend to use the British weather as their latest weapon against counterfeiters. Met Office weather symbols are to be overprinted on most pages with the mixture of isobars and fronts providing a picture of an overwhelmingly overcast country with little sunshine. This year's redesign represents the 15th different version of the passport since the modern passport was introduced in 1915. The electronic e-passport was launched in 2006 and featured a microchip and facial biometrics and there are now 25m in use. It had been planned to move to the next generation of biometric passport, which would have included electronic fingerprints, but those plans have been shelved by the coalition.
Once upon a time, interactive voice response was used to help customers make their way through the phone tree to reach the right individual within a company. Today, IVR technologies are used for a wide range of integrations to drive results in areas never imagined a generation ago. the use of IVR in voice authentication. Angel offers a Customer Experience Platform in which the technology used will authenticate phone conversations for doctors, patients and pharmaceutical sales reps with the use of voice biometrics. This platform is used by such companies as Pfizer and AstraZeneca in the pharmaceutical industry and Bank of America in the financial sector. Angel has also introduced its Angel 4 Customer Experience Platform for call centers, allowing unified multichannel/multimodal communication options such as SMS, chat, e-mail, voice biometrics and mobile management.
Delivered through a SaaS platform, organizations can quickly deploy the application, accessing the IVR service in the cloud via such devices as a smartphone. To use the service, doctors simply dial in and order a biometric voiceprint. Once voices have been authenticated, the physician can order drug samples without having to interact with a live agent.
The DoD Web site follows the growth of biometrics from "a battlefield curiosity" to becoming a key to helping the Defense Department make its business practices more efficient.
" Biometrics has proven to be invaluable to the war fighter's toolbox," Myra S. Gray, director of the Army's Biometrics Identity Management Agency, told American Forces Press Service. "Five years ago, it was something very new, and the capability wasn't fully understood. It was kind of an add-on to the mission," she said. "Now it's an integral part of the mission because people have seen the value that it brings.
Ceelox, Inc. announced that it recently completed a prototype application for its Ceelox ID Online product, which uses the company's patented fingerprint-based biometric solution to provide "two factor" online identity authentication for Intranet, Internet, and Cloud Computing networks. This prototype has many potential commercial applications, including the ability to make online banking and access to personal bank accounts secure to the end user.
The timing for this type of solution is critical given that cybercrime reported for 2009 was in excess of $559 million. This, coupled with the growth expected in the biometric industry to exceed $7 billion by end of year 2012, should provide a unique advantage to the company.
The battle is on between private companies to restart a long-defunct service that would give airline passengers -- especially frequent flyers -- faster processing through airport security lines. Two companies, each with a deep bench of airport and security experience, are vying to resurrect the Registered Traveler program.
The program collapsed abruptly last summer when the largest service, known as CLEAR, ceased operations as its parent company, Verified Identity Pass Inc., went into bankruptcy.
The first company seeking to revitalize the program is iQueue Priority Access, which launched its service at Indianapolis International Airport. The company hopes to expand service to 20 airports this year and 50 by the end of 2011. The company is owned by Cogent Systems in partnership with ARINC, a systems engineering firm that is part of The Carlyle Group, a Washington-based global private-equity firm.
The other firm moving into the market bought CLEAR and is retaining its name. The company plans to launch at Denver International Airport in October and possibly Orlando International Airport in November.
One of the main differences between the two companies is whether they will offer identification cards with biometrics, such as fingerprints. CLEAR will do so; iQueue will not - at least not yet.
While the government in Ghana is sitting on a huge technological infrastructure that has the capacity to store all the fingerprints of public sector workers electronically. This technology identifies each worker uniquely. It is a state-of-the-art facility that is the envy of even some advanced economies and can solve a lot of the country's financial sector problems - and save this country huge sums of money. However, this facility is not operating at its maximum capacity: it is the national electronic payment platform, christened the e-zwich.
The e-zwich is an electronic clearing and payment system designed to establish a common platform and thereby link the payment systems of all banking and financial institutions in Ghana. Currently, some banks are preparing to launch products based on the national payment platform. As it stands, the platform is being used well with products such as the biometric smart card and the check code line clearing - the payment distribution system and soon-to-be-introduced automated clearing house. But it has the capacity to even do more.
ELSAG has become an industry leader in law enforcement technology. Agencies in all 50 states are using the Mobile Plate Hunter 900", an infrared illuminated camera capable of reading 3,600 license plates per minute day or night, rain or shine. Its Amber Alert Generator can even track down cars when only a partial license plate is available. Over 820 law enforcement agencies use the MPH-900", 250 of which have signed on in the past 2 years alone. The Mobile Plate Hunter-900" is a license plate recognition system used in numerous capacities, including the pursuance of criminals in urban, suburban and rural settings, and to zero in on chronic parking offenders in cities and at universities.
The system has also been instrumental in the conviction of a murderer, sex offenders violating parole, monitoring drug trafficking areas, and motor vehicle related crime.
Japan-based IT major NEC Corp will consider setting production facilities in India in the future if the opportunity arises, its president Nobuhiro Endo said. "India is one of the most important markets for NEC in this region," Endo said, pointing out that his group had established a strong marketing base in the Indian market.
NEC has already put India ahead of other Asian markets, having established a Biometrics Excellence Centre in Bangalore in May (2010). "Moving on, NEC plans to expand its business for its biometrics solutions," said Endo.
By Matt Pillar, Editor in Chief of Retail Solutions.
Biometric payment apps remain fundamentally flawed, but the idea of a mobile wallet shows promise according to one writer. Experiments with biometric payment options are fundamentally flawed. While new high-tech vending machines are being released with options such as touch screens, nutritional information displays, wireless coin dispensers, stock monitors and biometric payments, some feel the idea of moving forward with biometric-based payments on the devices may not work yet, according to a Retail Solutions Online article. The reason for this is based on the unsuccessful Pay By Touch efforts at retail locations is in the past. The vending company pushing the biometric agenda points to the younger demographic as an accepting target for the technology, and says that retinal scans are even a possibility. They contend that vending machines in other countries are so-enabled. "I contend that people in other countries eat dogs and worship cows, but that even our melting pot doesn't produce a large enough demand for profitable dog markets and cow sanctuaries." Cell and smart phones, however, are sure things for market adoption as a payment device.
Biometric Digest readers doing computationally-intensive work and/or using high performance computing resources would likely be interested in this announcement regarding the latest release of the highest accuracy Fortran checking compiler from Numerical Algorithms of distributors. Computer scientists, IT Managers, and other application developers who need speed, accuracy and portability for their Fortran code can now obtain the newest release of what is regarded as one of the best checking compilers --- Fortran Builder 5.2. from the Numerical Algorithms Group (NAG). This release features a virtually complete implementation of the latest Fortran 2003 standard and an integrated development environment.
SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan —The bombmaking material was discovered in a neatly wrapped package under a pile of bricks, just as the intelligence report said it would be. After carefully removing the contents — a couple of mortar rounds, a grenade and a small amount of gun powder — Army Spc. Joshua Dowling gets to work examining what has all the makings of an improvised explosive device.
"What we are looking for is prints of any known individuals already in our database," he says while applying clear tape to the rusty — but live — mortars, in hopes of lifting a fingerprint.
The database is a catalogue of biometric information on all Afghan males of fighting age that the U.S. and Afghan forces have been gathering for months. When a bomb is found or explodes, the troops hope that a fingerprint on a piece of it can lead them to the terrorists behind it. Troops guard crossings along the Afghan- Pakistani border and checkpoints along well-traveled highways to scan the retinas and fingerprints of men who agree to the scan.
Safran SA, the French maker of engines for Airbus SAS and Boeing Co., is nearing an agreement to buy units of L-1 Identity Solutions Inc. for $800 million to $1 billion, according to a Bloomberg report. Safran is seeking to buy businesses including the biometric unit that runs applications such as face- and iris- recognition software. Talks between the two sides are well advanced, the report said.
Safran Chief Executive Officer Jean-Paul Herteman is seeking to bolster biometric technology, used for fingerprint, palm, iris and facial recognition. The company lost a bidding contest in 2008 to buy a unit of Beaverton, Oregon-based Digimarc Corp. when the business was sold to L-1 for $310 million. Safran has predicted that the biometrics market will grow 15 percent annually over the next five years. The acquisition would allow Safran to serve customers better including the U.S. government that track biometric data. The Paris-based manufacturer garnered 19 percent of its revenue from defense security solutions last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The third RISE Stakeholder Workshop is scheduled to be held in Brussels on September 23-24 to discuss implications of global mobility and security and extend the international dialogue on biometrics, data sharing, privacy and security issues already instigated by previous high-level conferences and workshops. The overall goal of this event is to continue to promote and foster international conversation related to the ethical and policy implications of global mobility and security.
The invitation-only September stakeholder workshop is the last in a series of three European workshops leading to a regional multi-stakeholder Conference on December 9 & 10 of this year.
The September workshop will include sessions on 1) Governance, Ethics and Trust, 2) Ethical Implications of Identity Management, and 3) Privacy and Anonymity in a Networked Environment.
Presentations from previous RISE events can be found on the RISE website at (www.riseproject.eu).
Although some privately run registered traveler programs have failed over the years, a few are starting to return which has some questioning the financial viability of such programs, according to a BNET article. However, some problems exist among the new entities and the viability of all of all of them is tenuous according to the article.
Among the newly created and resurrected programs are one at Indianapolis International Airport from iQueue and the return of a previously failed program from Clear following the purchase of its assets by Alclear. Some of the initial issues revolve around questions as to whether such programs ascertain identity only but not if the person could be dangerous. Of particular concern are is that once the 20-airport pilot program ended back in July 2009, the TSA washed its hands of the program, saying the program "transitioned to a business model offered by the private sector in partnership with airports and airlines, noting it was no longer involved in the collection of biometrics or RT background checks." So what remains are programs not using biometrics and one that says it will but does not have anyone for their biometric data processing.
Biometrics is not just about security. Advanced visualization company Imaging Biometrics has signed a global license agreement with the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) for the development and commercialization of technology that may lead to an automated way to evaluate a tumor's response to various treatment therapies. The technology--which standardizes images on a voxel-by-voxel basis--was developed by Jay Udupa, PhD, at the UPenn School of Medicine. The Milwaukee-based Imaging Biometrics said that the technology will be incorporated into several branded products, including an image analysis toolkit currently under development, the IB Suite.
ARINC EMEA is unveiling a new element in its portfolio of integrated border management solutions, with a demonstration of an automated biometric border control gate and biometric enrolment kiosk. ARINC EMEA's solution allows biographical data and biometric data to be combined. This enables legitimate passengers, either enrolled as Registered Travellers or with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) compliant electronic passports, to be processed through the gate more accurately and more swiftly, allowing border control officials to focus their attention on suspect passengers. As a Systems Integrator,
ARINC EMEA is extending its offering within its Integrated Border Information and Control Systems (IBICS) framework by aligning with best of breed solutions suppliers. One of the first partners to be signed is Vision-Box S.A., who have already installed systems in other countries, including Portugal, the UK and Finland. ARINC EMEA is currently in discussion with a number of other leading technology partners and future announcements of their participation in ARINC projects will be made in due course.
UIDAI chief Nandan Nilekani said that Aadhaar, the unique identification (UID) number, will be rolled out in the next four weeks. In the next four to four-and-a-half years 600 million people will get the unique identity number that is going to be their identity, he added while addressing the Infrastructure Management Services Summit 2010 organized by NASSCOM here. Nilekani said that UID will be a national inter-operable mobile identity, based on biometrics, which people can use anywhere in the country. He also said that UIDAI has identified 220 enrollment agencies in the country for the roll out of the project. The UIDAI chief also said the authority is planning to set up micro ATMs in the country, especially villages where no ATM facility is available. The micro ATMs set up in the local shops etc will have a biometric reader, which can act as an authentication device.
The Security Industry Association (SIA) is taking the lead on privacy protection issues with the release of a 12-item "Privacy Framework." The Framework was drafted to address privacy concerns related to the recording of video, the collection of personally identifiable information and the use of biometrics, radio frequency identification (RFID) and other security technologies. SIA has been active in promoting the responsible use of security technology. It has opposed legislative efforts in several states that would have sharply restricted the use of such technologies as biometrics and RFID, arguing that these moves are an inappropriate and ill-informed reaction to legitimate concerns about privacy that would result in the use of less reliable technologies that could make people less secure and make private information more vulnerable.
The full Privacy Framework is available on the SIA website.
The United Kingdom Borders Agency (UKBA) has re-negotiated a key biometrics contract with IBM for constructing the Immigration & Asylum Biometric System (IABS), in a move that reportedly will save £50 million for the agency. The re-negotiated IBM biometrics contract projects to cost £191 million over the coming seven years. By ditching a component of the project that would have stored on the UK nationals, savings were attained. The National Identity Assurance Service (NIAS) system, which will provide a database of fingerprints as well as facial images, will help authorities in controlling the entry of non-EU national into the UK.
The system will also help authorities maintain law and order in the country as it will make it easier to identify people with criminal records, and those who have previously been deported or been refused a visa.
Time Solutions has unveiled a new and improved Hand Punch GT-400 terminal from Schlage. To verify each employee's identity, the HandPunch GT-400 uses hand geometry -- the length, thickness, and curvature of fingers or simply the size and shape of a users hand. With the help of Hand geometry, the reliability is increased and privacy concerns over fingerprint and other biometric technologies are reduced. The hand measurements are converted into a 20-byte numerical template, which is then matched with the enrolment template of each employee thereby verifying the identity. In environments where dirt, dust, grease, moisture, swelling, and dryness are present, this employee biometric time clock functions well. The punch-in and punch-out data at the point of entry, which removes the need for translation of timecard records along with any discrepancies between times worked, and time reported is read and recorded by the device.
Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc. displayed its Fujitsu PalmSecure" palm vein biometric authentication solution during Biometric Consortium Conference 2010. PalmSecure authentication technology was recently integrated with the M2SYS Bio-Plugin platform, delivering a cost-effective, easy-to-deploy biometric access management solution. "With the need for more effective security systems still making headlines, we have seen an increase in demand for biometric authentication solutions that allow companies to leverage controls already in place while increasing identity management and authentication functionality," said Vic Herring, vice president of sales and marketing, Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc.
The health care industry is in the process of switching from paper to electronic medical records. President Obama set aside more than $19 billion for health care providers to deploy the electronic records in order to streamline health information. However, with the transition there are concerns about linking the correct electronic record to the correct patient.
Linking to the wrong record can lead to misdiagnosis and medical complications. According to the independent health care ratings organization HealthGrades, more than 195,000 deaths occur annually in the United States because of medical errors. Almost 60% of these deaths were attributable to a failure to identify the patient correctly, according to a Smart Card Alliance white paper. That is one of the big reasons, biometrics, is catching on in certain health care areas. Palm vein scanners are being used in patient identification solutions with both the health care organization deploying them and the patients using them enjoying the application, at the Springfield Clinic in Illinois. During a pilot and initial rollout at Springfield, the technology performed very well, handling 20,000 encounters with no support issues.
The selection of what technology to use in order to reinforce access control in business deserves serious thought, particularly given the irrefutable record of accomplishment of application of password protection and the increasing interest in biometric technology. This is the view of Liam Terblanche, Chief Information Officer at Accsys, a national supplier of payroll, HR, time & attendance and access control solutions.
According to Terblanche, the fact that passwords have been around for so long is quite understandable. "The principle of using passwords to control access has been with us for eons. As with any evolutionary process, the 'good' stays while the 'bad' is replaced by something better. The absence of a universal biometric modality (one biometric technology that can be used by everyone) means that standardization is still a long way off. Some people simply do not have fingerprints. Glaucoma and other eye defects and diseases make the use of iris scans non-universal. Facial occlusions, including wearing a Hijab or Niqab have been shown to impede the success of face recognition, for example," he adds. “We are still a few years away from centralising one shared platform that will replace the use of passwords in a global environment.”
For more information, go to http://www.accsys.co.za
Three counties in Georgia and three counties in South Carolina are now using the new U.S. immigrations information sharing system. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began using a biometric information sharing capability in Cobb, Fulton and Muscogee in Georgia; and York, Greenville and Charleston in South Carolina.
The new federal system helps officials identify aliens lawfully and illegally in the country when they are booked into a local law enforcement agency for a crime. This capability is part of ICE's comprehensive strategy to improve and modernize the identification and removal of criminal aliens from the United States.
Under the old system, fingerprint-based biometric records were taken of individuals charged with a crime and checked for criminal history information against the Department of Justice's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System.
Now, through enhanced information sharing between DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security, fingerprint information submitted through the state to the FBI will be automatically checked against both the FBI criminal history records and the biometrics-based immigration records in homeland security's Automated Biometric Identification System.
Is it time to say goodbye to the traditional low-tech wallet . Now there is a Biometric Wallet that promises to protect money (minus the $700 you paid for the biowallet), ID, and credit cards from thieves even if they pick your pocket. A carbon fiber exterior keeps things light but unbreakable while a biometric fingerprint lock keeps the contents under wraps to all but the owner. And for even more high-tech protection you can connect the wallet to your cell phone via Bluetooth and get an alert if the wallet finds itself too far for comfort.
Avalon Biometrics has announced it won a contract earlier this month with Filmetrics to provide its live enrolment solution -- BioCap -- for the Philippines' Social Security Service (SSS). The system to enroll SSS applicants uses an outsourced business model and features support for various peripherals such as signature pads, cameras, fingerprint scanners and document scanners.
The first Phase of the project covers 50 live enrolment stations, which will be installed in Philpost subsidiaries all over the Philippines with an embedded database for offline operation. The second phase will enable various governmental agencies to connect to the central online.
More info: Download the company profile . of Avalon Biometrics
NEC Europe has announced the launch of a Mobile Biometric Device (MBD) that can also read all current travel documents. The product is described as a front-line security device for border control capable of identity enrolment and verification at any given control point using multiple biometrics. NEC says the ruggedized tablet-computing device enables government agencies to improve their control points by enabling identification at movable control points such as outdoor land crossings, ferries, trains, buses and within airport terminals. . Its 2-megapixel color camera is optimized for facial recognition and allows multi-modal, video-streaming performance. In addition, a 5.6-inch TFT landscape display with 1024 x 600 resolution is readable in sunlight coupled with a full QWERTY backlit keyboard featuring 58 keys and directional navigational arrows. The device is also said to provide a 1.6GHZ Intel processor equipped with an optical fingerprint reader.
For more information contact:
rebecca.atherley@eu.nec.com
The world’s largest annual gathering of twins takes place in Twinsburg, Ohio, where the Twins Days Festival began as a one-day Bicentennial event in 1976. Every year, twins, triplets, and other multiples from around the country travel with their families to the northern Ohio town—named for identical twin brothers from Connecticut—to compete, celebrate, and socialize. Twins are also fascinating research subjects for Notre Dame biometric researchers. The event has become an important site for field research by Kevin Bowyer and Patrick Flynn of the University of Notre Dame's Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Flynn has a twin sister, making this research especially relevant to him. Flynn and Bowyer have been developing and assessing image-based biometrics and multi-biometrics technologies since 2001, including first-of-kind comparisons of face photographs, face thermograms, 3-D face images, iris images, video of human gait, and even ear and hand shapes.
More on the twin event on:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/09/twins/twins-text
VoiceVault, a provider of voice-based biometric identity verification solutions, has announced a new voice biometric Smartphone Developer Program for VoiceVault Enterprise. The program includes a number of important tools and resources that enable developers to design voice biometric-enabled smartphone applications, leveraging the VoiceVault Enterprise technology platform of the company, and offers support to various smartphone platforms, such as iPhone, Android and Blackberry.
The solutions offered by the company take advantage of an individual's unique vocal characteristics for biometric identity verification over the phone, web, or via smartphone applications. VoiceVault leverages the technologies that are predicated on the fact that speaking is natural and effortless, which means no two voices are the same.
The necessity for secure methods of authentication is becoming more and more imperative in the corporate world these days. Passwords, token cards, and PINs are all risks to the security of an organization due to human nature. The lack of ability to memorize intricate passwords and the propensity to write these down along with losing token cards or forgetting PINs all contribute to the possible breakdown in security for an organization. Compugra Systems Inc., a New Jersey and Hyderabad, India based company is now implementing IRIS based Enterprise Systems and solutions in India, USA, The Bahamas, Europe, and Brazil. The iris-recognition technology market in India is still in its nascent stage.
The rapid acceptance of biometric technologies for providing enhanced security by both government and private sectors has opened the floodgates of opportunities to the biometrics market in India.
The Department of Homeland Security plans to test Global Rainmakers Inc.'s iris scanning technology at a border patrol station in Texas, where it will be used to monitor illegal immigrants.
Rather than continue to rely on often-unreliable fingerprints, the DHS is experimenting with the scanners to see whether they have a viable future for border security. Iris scanners are becoming more feasible because of GRI's technology, which can scan up to 50 people per minute, from several feet away, while on the go (even running).
Before, one had to lean close to a scanner for it work, standing still until the iris was captured. Iris scanners are also far more accurate than other biometrics (fingerprints, voice, etc.), and capture thousands of points of data with each scan. The technology has already sparked privacy complaints from the ACLU, which is concerned that the scanners could be used to identity people without their knowledge.
IrisGuard, manufacturer of advanced iris recognition systems, has received the 2010 Product Quality Leadership Award in Biometrics from Frost & Sullivan. Various installations have been carried out in a number of ATMs locations.
For instance, the Cairo Amman Bank has utilized IrisGuard's solutions in its banking division and the UAE has been using the advanced biometric systems since 2001. The IG-AD100 Dual-Eye Iris Recognition Camera from IrisGuard obtained Zero False Non Match Rate and Zero False Match Rate when it was tested by the International Biometrics Group. IrisGuard's systems have the ability to locate people's iris and develop strong templates and strong matches. IrisGuard; systems are also used in the U.S. banking sector and law enforcement market. The company is also developing a new iris recognition system for the retail and home banking sector.
The Product Quality Leadership Award is presented to the company that has excelled in the following criteria: product performance, product reliability, product design, product usability and perceived value.
In a chat with PC Gamer, Valve's head man Gabe Newell talks about an advanced method of play testing.
Newell says that Valve has been experimenting with biometrics as a way to gage how a player reacts while playing a game. He says using techniques like "gaze tracking, skin galvanic response, pulse rate, and so on" can give Valve " a much more accurate indication of player state." He adds that giving that info to players can actually have benefits, saying " .. you're in a competitive situation, and you see somebody's heart rate go up, it's way more rewarding than we would have thought." To back up his remarks Valve has bought a $50,000 gaze-tracking machine to see what players are looking at on the screen. Newell says they have learned a lot with the use of the machine, saying, "A huge percentage of the stuff we draw on the screen people never even look at. Therefore, what you want to do is use that and redesign it."
UK company OmniPerception has secured substantial funding to enable it to consolidate its position in facial biometrics technology. The investment of more than £1M has been provided by Iris Capital, Pentech Ventures and Blue Star Capital, to help bring to market a number of cutting edge technology solutions.
These include CheckPoint’s, a facial surveillance technology that the company claims is "capable of identifying a wanted individual in a matter of seconds." OmniPerception CEO Stewart Hefferman said, "This investment comes at an exciting time for OmniPerception when we are involved in a number of projects that we hope will change the face of the biometric arenas. Alexander Wiedmer of Iris Capital said, "We are confident that the company will continue to establish their presence in the biometrics market as the UK leading facial biometrics company, and their experienced and motivated team will continue to develop their products to fit the market needs."
It's one of the Obama administration's most important and secretive immigration enforcement programs. But despite growing concerns from civil libertarians and immigration activists about the way the program's been designed and implemented,it's caused barely a ripple in Congress or in the establishment media. And the White House continues to stonewall those seeking release of basic details about the program.
Known euphemistically as "Secure Communities," the program looks and sounds innocuous, and even beneficial. Why shouldn't the nation's jails be equipped with a federal database to help identify illegal immigrants who've been convicted of serious felonies like rape and murder to ensure that they're deported -- rather than released back into civilian life after they've completed their sentence? Because that's not what Secure Communities is actually being used for, in fact. Rather than weed out incarcerated felons that could menace the public order, the program’s been targeting low-level misdemeanor offenders, including people who may be guilty of little more than running a stop sign or driving with a broken taillight.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began using its biometric information sharing capability in 10 western North Carolina counties 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.
This capability is part of Secure Communities --ICE comprehensive strategy to improve and modernize the identification and removal of criminal aliens from the United States. Through enhanced information sharing between DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), fingerprint information submitted through the state to the FBI will be automatically checked against both the FBI criminal history records in IAFIS and the biometrics-based immigration records in DHS's Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT). Download the Secure Communities Factsheet here.
AuthenTec has announced a new SDK for developers to create applications around AuthenTec smart sensors and TrueSuite identity management software. With the TrueAPI SDK, developers can create applications or modify existing applications to include biometric support that leverage AuthenTec's security and identity management features. AuthenTec's TrueAPI interfaces with the company's TruePrint smart sensors and TrueSuite software, enabling a range of new application possibilities that complement TrueSuite applications for replacing website logins and passwords, launching multiple applications and websites, and/or locking files and folders with the single swipe of a finger. AuthenTec's TrueAPI is built for Microsoft's Windows 7 and the new Windows Biometric Framework. "Our new TrueAPI SDK provides application developers an opportunity to integrate biometric technology into their solutions and add a whole new dimension of convenience and security," said AuthenTec's Scott Long.
Next Generation Vending and Food Service, a Massachusetts-based company that deals in hi-tech vending machines, is testing new vending machines that include biometrics, credit card-based machines, and those featuring touch screens in the northeast, according to a CrunchGear article.
The biometric-capable machines enables a user to link a credit card to their fingerprint so that they can simply swipe their registered finger instead of using money to purchase snacks. Early reports on the trials coming from company officials are positive with the likelihood of expansion into other areas of the country being a possible next step. There is no word of possible use of footprints from those kicking uncooperative machines.
It is not just for kids anymore. At a DNA LifePrint Child Safety Event in Miami, it was emphasized that young people heading off for college also are at risk. Biometric fingerprinting is used at the free event, which is endorsed by John Walsh, the host of "America's Most Wanted." According to the event's news release, "Our program provides parents with the four most crucial items needed in quickly and safely recovering a missing child: FBI certified biometric, 10-digit fingerprint profile; high-resolution, full-color digital photograph of the child; child safety journal; and home DNA identification kit." It was said that children that are most at-risk are the young adults going off to college for the first time.
Det. Sgt. Joseph M. Matthews, a veteran homicide investigator and polygraph examiner for the Miami Beach Police Department, said young people heading off for college also are at risk. DNA samples can be crucial, Matthews said, because trace evidence discovered may then prove helpful. For instance, DNA samples likely will be found on a baby’s pacifier, or, if the child is older, a baseball cap. He said the information given to parents is private. “You just keep it in the privacy of your home. It’s foolish not to take advantage of this,” Matthews said. “There’s no Big Brother. It’s not registered anywhere.”
Comment: Are we really sure there is no copy of the data that can be used at some time in the future?
National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), which is charged with the establishment of a new registration system for the entire population of Pakistan, announced free duplicate ID cards to flood affected citizens to speed up the government's efforts for rehabilitation and relief. Deputy Chairman NADRA, Tariq Malik said NADRA aims to provide free duplicate Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) to the citizens badly affected and displaced due to floods. He said flood affected citizens don't need to bring any document. They will gather biometrics (digital fingerprints and snapshot) of citizens, their father/mother name and address for the identification of CNIC number and accordingly, and trace the CNIC.
Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., and Avion Solutions, Inc. announced the development and launch of a finger-vein authentication system specifically designed for law enforcement in North America.
Avion's Inmate Tracking and Control Technology (INTACT) software enhances day-to-day correctional facility business practices by providing current and historical information of all inmate movement, both inside and outside the facility, all in an intuitive, flexible workflow based system that is easy to learn and use.
Hitachi's finger-vein authentication technology (VeinID® was integrated by Avion to provide a cost effective solution to comply with common law enforcement and public safety issues.
INTACT features biometric identification technology, and is designed to present inmate information in an historical context, allowing officers to see a complete photo and behavioral history with a few simple clicks. Jackson County (Alabama) has been utilizing Avion's INTACT software with Hitachi's finger-vein authentication system to provide a reliable and secure biometric software solution for identification of Personnel, Vendors, and Visitors utilizing biometrics.
The Army's Project Manager for DOD Biometrics, located in the Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems, is the Defense Department's executive agent and lead agency for the development of all biometric efforts. Heading that work is Col. Ted Jennings, project manager of DOD biometrics.
Jennings and two of his chief deputies spoke recently with Defense Systems contributing editor Barry Rosenberg about their efforts to build a central repository of the DOD and methods being used to track who comes and goes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Among the items discussed is the role of DOD Biometrics ("...dealing with the formal program of record that is supposed to incorporate or work with all of the different services biometrics efforts...") and data collected ("...our primary modalities are a full 10 print with slaps and rolls, which is when you put the upper part of your hand down and get all four fingers down to about the second knuckle. We also have at least one system that does the lower palm, the upper palm, and what is called the writer’s edge, which is the side of your hand away from your thumb. All of those areas of your hand have unique identifying prints on them. The more information we can gather, the likelier chance that our folks who do latent captures from IED fragments or sensitive site exploitation will be able to match against that latent print we pick up.
A discussion (on Linkedin) with International Civil Aviation Organization's Barry Kefauver looks at the latest in the ePassport programs. Among the conversation topics: What was the risk that ICAO took on biometrics that paid off? His answer: "....
The use of biometrics, especially the use of facial recognition as chosen by ICAO as THE globally interoperable technology, was viewed quite sceptically and by one observer I recall, characterizing biometrics as "the new snake oil" & the risks, known and unknown, were dealt with as they were encountered and they were addressed in ways of global collegiality, a sense of togetherness...While there is always room for improvement, I think the payoff has been in confronting these risks head on, addressing them as effectively as humanly possible and being strengthened by having done so; we now have the most secure passport the world has ever known."
Some experts feel that because of forthcoming voice authentication for Apple products that voice biometrics is on the doorstep of addressing the security concerns but that it will be a catalyst for voice biometrics to become universally accepted. Working on the same concept, PerSay, a reputed provider of advanced Voice Biometrics solutions announced its VocalPassword functionality for iPhone iPad, and iPod touch applications. Once this is in place, the rather cumbersome login, strong password authentication process is history, and a new era is upon us.
IPhone voice authentication, which interfaces with VocalPassword Web service interface, implements a very accurate and easy to use process that utilizes a touch-and-record user interface. With minimal resources, it embeds into any iPhone app, as the Voice Biometrics functionality requires just a simple spoken pass phrase, after which multi-factor voice-based authentication is possible.
Datastrip, a leading provider of mobile biometric identity solutions announced that their EasyVerify handheld multi-modal biometric readers are now available with the MIRLIN Iris Recognition Engine from Smart Sensors Limited.
The EasyVerify is a feature rich mobile terminal that can acquire multiple biometrics (iris, finger, face), that can read and process a wide range of optical and smart card based credentials, ID Cards, and travel documents. The EasyVerify contains an x86 processor, a QWERTY keyboard, a 3.7 inch 640 x 480 pixel colour LCD display, contactless smart card reader, and a FIPS 201/NIST SP 800-76 compliant fingerprint sensor.
It can also be equipped with a variety of wireless and wired communications interfaces. Datastrip’s iris camera is a fully featured 1.3 M pixel CMOS camera with near IR illumination. It delivers sharp iris images compatible with the ISO/IEC 19794-6 standard. The MIRLIN Iris Recognition Engine in conjunction with the EasyVerify terminal performs image quality assessment, iris template generation (image segmentation, image normalization, image encoding), and iris matching functions.
It supports iris image capture, enrollment, and matching for one or two eye applications, and provides ID verification (1-to-1) and identification (1-to-N) solutions in either a standalone configurations or remote database / server networks. Download the EasyVerify Specs on: http://www.3bs.cl/datastrip/EasyVerify.pdf
The on-going registration for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) and Barangay in the Philippines elections and the entire province of Lanao del Sur was generally peaceful. 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. Only half of the 50.8 million voters have biometrics data -- signature, photograph and fingerprint. based on this 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.
The Middle East and African (MEA) region is emerging as one of the most attractive destinations for biometric investments on the back of technological developments. The region is witnessing interest in the use of biometrics for e-gate/registered traveler programs expediting the secure movement of pre-registered travelers through border points.
Consequently, the MEA biometric market region is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of more than 32 percent during 2011-2013, says a new RNCOS research report
"Global Biometric Forecast to 2012." The research carefully identifies the factors propelling growth in the MEA biometrics industry. Various factors such as surging demand for the latest technology for verifying the identity of individuals at corporate and government sites as well as at airports have been responsible for the good performance of the industry. Further, it has been found that many countries of Central and South African region are initiating programs to issue e-passports to individuals. Besides, the increasing demand for e-banking services will push the biometrics industry in the region. On the technological front, various technologies covered in the report are facial recognition, fingerprint recognition, iris recognition, AFIS and middleware.
You can download the report here for $ 2000,-(single user license).
The Security Industry Association has come out this week in opposition of an Alaska bill that would restrict the use of biometric technology.
According to the bill, which is sponsored by Alaska State Sen. Bill Wielechowski, a person must give "informed and written consent" before their biometric data could be obtained, excluding law enforcement and other state and federal authorities. The bill defines biometric data as fingerprints, handprints, voices, facial images, iris images, and retinal images. In a statement, the SIA says the proposed legislation would adversely impact the use of biometrics for security purposes and noted in a letter to the bill's sponsor that it would have "unintended negative consequences." "Biometrics provides an effective measure against fraud and identity theft in applications as diverse as personal access to buildings/computers, banking security, business-to-business transactions, and e-commerce," SIA CEO Richard Chace wrote in the letter. Similar legislation was defeated earlier this year in New Hampshire following lobbying efforts by the SIA.
El Salvador recently inaugurated a new Advance Passenger Information (API) System to enhance control of the nation's air borders. Inaugurated in late May, the API system is now in use by all major airlines operating in the country. It is designed to monitor and control the movement of passengers and crewmembers during arrivals and departures of commercial air carriers. The new API system is the result of a successful collaboration, which started in 2009 between ARINC Incorporated, air carriers operating in El Salvador, and the El Salvador Department of Immigration.
ARINC is responsible for the front end of the system, and the El Salvador Department of Immigration has provided the back end. ARINC's deliverables included the network infrastructure, network protocol and message format conversion, messaging services, and around the clock technical and maintenance support.
An interesting question posed on "Just Ask Gemalto" offered an interesting answer. The question: Can someone copy biometric data? The response? "Biometrics is a representation of a person and is useful for authentication purposes only if they can be acquired repeatedly for comparison with a reference template.
So, yes most, if not all, useful biometrics can be copied and potentially played back. A voice can be recorded, and a fingerprint can be acquired from the traces left on a reader." There is more, "Recent biometrics systems, however, can check if there is a live finger on the sensor or reject verification if the acquired biometrics is too close from either the verification template or the previous image used. The reference template used in biometrics systems also should be secured either using a smart card or by encrypting the database that holds them."
HCL Technologies Ltd. (HCL), a $5 billion global Technology and IT Enterprise that comprises two companies listed in India -- HCL Technologies & HCL Infosystems, announced a strategic partnership with Daon to help aviation, transportation, government and public sector clients solve their identity program challenges through innovative biometric technology solutions. Daon provides the enabling identity assurance technology wherever authentication is required, delivering identification and verification software for managing identities in border management environments, civil identity applications, traveler ID, employee credentialing and access control solutions. Through this partnership, Daon will leverage HCL's expertise in innovative biometric technology solutions engineering, deployment, training and R&D, to provide joint air travel clients with innovative solutions and service differentiators.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), in cooperation with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), convened the fourth in a series of workshops held under the U.S.-India Standards and Conformance Cooperation Program (SCCP). The workshop focused on biometrics technology, the relevant international standards, and their application in support of national priorities in the U.S. and India. In his opening remarks, James Herman, minister counselor for consular affairs (consul general) at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi described how biometrics technology makes the work of consular officials easier.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India's latest proposal for biometrics based know your distributor (KYD) norms for independent financial advisors are being reworked and the final guidelines could be expected soon.
The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) is taking another look at its know your distributor (KYD) guidelines that were expected to be implemented by 1 August, 2010. We learn that a circular listing the new rules had even been issued and quickly withdrawn in the past few days. Although KYD rules are largely supported by the industry, two issues are rankling many insiders- firstly, who would set it up and secondly the onus for verification on fund houses. Sources say that AMFI is reviewing its stand on the issue.
Computer scientists from the University of Bristol in England are collaborating with shark researchers to build an international visual biometrics database of Great White Sharks.
The computer identification system will store images of the shark's unique dorsal fin to help international shark groups recognize and track individual species, providing them with a better insight into their behaviour and how to protect them.
Dr Tilo Burghardt from the University's Department of Computer Science, who is working on the project in collaboration with international partners, said: "We are developing the software for a system that will be able to automatically recognize features of White Shark dorsal fins using 'computer vision' technology, and then archive the animal information along with their IDs. We hope it will be usable within two years, with members of the public able to participate."
The program that helps find abducted children takes its services global.
2010 has been quite the year for SecurLinx CEO Barry Hodge. The year started off with the Morgantownbased advanced technology and software development company coming to the rescue of AmberVision, bringing the acclaimed abduction recovery assistance program back to life through the acquisition of its assets.
Amber- Vision prides itself on making families safer by returning missing children to their homes through the collaboration, of technology, media, law enforcement and the general public. The program houses a database that provides the necessary information to issue an AMBER Alert in the event of a child abduction.
Because of SecurLinx's acquisition of the program earlier this year, 250,000 West Virginia children will be enrolled in the program this fall shortly after the start of the academic year. On Aug. 4 in Morgantown, Hodge announced yet another milestone for AmberVision -- the program's debut in the international market. Hodge formed an agreement with Morgantown's sister city -- Guanajuato, Mexico -- to offer the missing persons alert service to the city.
A new biometric system touts iris and fingerprint biometric technology, manages electronic key cabinets, secures airlock portals, catalogues inmate property storage, monitors visitor appointments, conducts criminal record checks, integrates key access policies and more. The Corrections Biometric Management System (CBMS) is tailored to the demanding requirements of a corrections environment and has already been implemented in 25 correctional facilities.
Although the system is loaded with features, it is designed to operate intuitively. David Smith, the project’s director of engineering, said that the system simplifies many operational procedures involved in running a correctional facility while improving security, efficiency, and logged intelligence. “It fully automates pretty much any rule you can think about for a correctional center depending on the person,” Smith said.
Because an integrated system can do things that humans alone cannot, like instantaneously upload data to a server and cross-reference against other records, the CBMS can identify patterns and detect suspicious behavior that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.
“It can find patterns if, say, a visitor at correctional center one … goes to visit correctional center three, they would be identified even if they used false identification,” Smith said. “If they’re running information between gangs, that information would be identified.”
Deportation records compiled by immigration advocacy groups show that approximately 47,000 people have been removed or deported from the United States due to the use of a fingerprint sharing system by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Secure Communities program, a report said on Tuesday.
Detained immigrants walk back to their housing units following lunch at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility on July 30, in Florence, Arizona. ( John Moore/Getty Images)
According to deportation-focused advocacy groups including the Immigration Justice Clinic of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, 79 percent of the people deported due to Secure Communities, the programs that shares acquired fingerprints, are non-criminals or were picked up for lower level offenses, such as traffic offenses or petty juvenile mischief.
TAMPA — MacDill Air Force Base is bringing its gate security into the 21st century, and possibly beyond.
After decades of eyeballing identification cards and waving people through, Hillsborough County's second-largest employer is installing a computer database system with scannable ID cards.
One day, this Defense Biometric ID System could follow in the path of high-security military bases by replacing cards with fingerprint or hand scans. "As times change, we need to look at our security measures to make sure we're up to date," said Sgt. Bryan Gatewood, a spokesman for the 13,000-employee base. "It's just one of the tools we're using to keep up with technology and keep Tampa Bay safe." The cards provide a much-needed upgrade for a base that has had its share of security issues.
In June, a man and woman driving an sport utility vehicle that contained guns and ammunition tried to get through the MacDill security gate with fake IDs. And in May, an off-duty FBI agent shot and killed a visiting Army veteran after a confrontation and chase at the base.
At 24 Hour Fitness, it's your fingers that will do the talking. Members type in their ID code, scan their fingers on the MorphoTrak and a cardless entry device approves their admittance.
24 Hour Fitness says its green, no cards needed, as well as convenient and secure.
"Membership cards can be lost, they can be stolen. What members that can be assured with, with the cardless entry system, only they are using their membership and only other 24 Hour Fitness members are using their club," 24 Hours Fitness Division President Dan Benning said. The system just rolled out in the Bay Area and will be in place at all 24 Hour Fitness clubs nationwide by the end of the year.
But it has some members concerned. "They don't need my thumb print, I mean it's not the Pentagon or Lawrence Livermore Lab. It's a gym," Cynthia Cox from San Francisco said. Cox says she's been a victim of identity theft twice and scanning her finger makes her feel vulnerable. "Because I don't trust that it won't get hacked. And then it's a lot easier to change your credit card number than to change your thumb print," she said.
But other members say the convenience makes it all worth it.
Watch the Video here:
"Stop," yelled the young Afghan police officer, pointing at the driver of another white Toyota Corolla, ubiquitous here. "Get out of the car. Keep your hands up."
Another officer approached the driver, who made no mistakes as he climbed slowly from his vehicle. The driver was frisked. So were his two passengers. Then the car was inspected for weapons and explosives, for smuggled goods, for the Taliban. For anything and anyone capable of causing harm.
This is what Afghans travelling into and out of Kandahar City can now expect. Not just a laconic wave or weary glance from a bored Afghan National Police officer, as in days past, but a robust security check.
The checkpoints were installed last month and have been in operation for just a couple of weeks. They're all staffed by U.S. army soldiers who in turn mentor members of the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP), a force that's considered a step up from the regular, oft-maligned Afghan National Police (ANP).
The man fits a couple of criteria for an iris scan and digital finger printing. He is travelling alone, and he looks to be between 15 and 35 years of age. Fighting age. ANCOP officers are also trained to look for anyone with visible tattoos -- possible ex-prisoners -- and anyone of Pakistani origin. It's the sort of profiling that people in the West wouldn't condone. But priorities here are different.
The man's eyes are scanned, and his fingerprints are digitally recorded. The information will soon be fed into central databank that can be accessed by security
AOptix Technologies, Inc. (www.aoptix.com), today announced the commercial product release of InSight™ VM, the second in a series of products from the iris recognition system innovator. The InSight VM reflects a vertical orientation of all components so that the new form factor is slender with a compact footprint. It also features an elegant and contemporary industrial design that is appropriate for installation in public spaces such as modern airports and office buildings.
The InSight VM operates at a nominal 2 meter stand-off distance and employs the company’s proprietary Adaptive Optics technology to fully automate the iris capture process at a typical 2 seconds per eye.
The system’s imaging functionality is identical to the company’s original InSight SD system, capturing pristine iris images at a distance of 2 meters. Its industry leading .75 cubic meter capture volume allows virtually everyone from ADA-specified wheelchair height to over 7 feet (2.15 meters) tall to position themselves with minimal effort.
In interacting with the InSight system, the subject merely needs to stand in its very large capture volume, look at the device, and open his or her eyes. The system does all the work of finding the subject and locating the eyes for iris imaging, automating the entire process.
“Our InSight VM introduces a new aesthetic to iris recognition,” said Phil Tusa, VP of Biometrics Programs for AOptix. “This system puts the superior usability of InSight technology into a form factor that opens up exciting new deployment possibilities.”
Under 9 inches (23 cm) wide, it is suitable for integration into immigration control counters and eGates, as well as access control environments. Physical integration is simple, since the InSight VM is fully self-contained and can be easily floor mounted or integrated into flow control devices.
Animetrics, Inc, developer of next generation 3D imaging technologies for facial biometric systems today announced that they have begun offering the FaceR CredentialME, an authentication service for devices running various operating systems including Android, Windows Mobile and RIM. This application turns mobile handsets into two factor facial biometric authenticating devices. The launch of the FaceR CredentialME application on the Sprint 3G network and Sprint 4G, the first and only wireless 4G network from a national carrier, is in conjunction with, Troy Security Solutions, an Animetrics Application Solution Provider specializing in securing the mobile enterprise with cutting-edge products and solutions.
“As mobile devices become the favored way for communicating, social networking, financial transactions and accessing new media content, the need for enhanced logon and transaction security is greater than ever”, said Joel Breen, Vice President of Animetrics. FaceR CredentialME provides Sprint business customers the tools to secure their mobile systems via a wireless connection to a cloud-based security solution built to thwart efforts of hackers and identity thieves.
FaceR CredentialME is based on Animetrics patented 2D-3D FACEngine® Facial Recognition technology. It enables a handset to use Facial Recognition as a primary or second-factor authentication when accessing resident or online services, such as enterprise email, corporate networks and mobile banking.
A 62-year-old cancer patient travelling from Singapore was detained in US airport customs for several hours in December 2008 because authorities could not detect his fingerprints. The patient, who was travelling to the US to visit family, had been taking the drug capecitabine for over 3 years to prevent a recurrence of head and neck cancer.
Capecitabine is an anti-metabolite drug commonly prescribed to treat several types of cancer. A known side effect of the drug is inflammation of skin on palms of the hands and soles of the feet, a condition called hand-foot syndrome. Persistent hand-foot syndrome resulting from long-term use of capecitabine can eventually lead to loss of fingerprints. Not all patients will develop hand-foot syndrome and the usual time to fingerprint-loss if the side effect does occur is still unclear.
According to Dr. Eng-Huat Tan of the National Cancer Centre, Singapore, patients taking long-term capecitabine may have problems with regards to fingerprint identification when they enter United States' ports or other countries that require fingerprint identification and should be warned about this. It is now recommended that these patients carry a doctor's letter with them to avoid any customs issues.
In the UK the Identity Documents Bill, introduced in the House of Commons on 26 May 2010, would cancel all national identity cards and abolish the associated National Identity Register.
By that time, 14.670 ID Cards were already issued almost 3000 of which had been given free of charge to airside workers.
Questions were asked in a Committee Stage to whether those 11.670 people would have a refund of the 30 pound they paid for the card, now made useless.
Meg Hillier, the shadow Minister, commented that the absence of a money resolution in the Bill prevented the tabling of an amendment to provide for a refund.
Detailed information on the provisions in the Bill and background to them can be found in Library Research Paper 10/41 which was prepared for the Second Reading. Further material and links to the proceedings on the Bill can be found on the Parliament website Identity Documents Bill page
Global Rainmakers has partnered with Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico-based information systems company Portoss on a project intending to make Leon the most secure city in the world.
Leon (formally Leon de los Aldama) is the 6th most populous city in Mexico and the first in the State of Guanajuato.
The partnership will utilize iris biometrics from Global Rainmakers as the base of the security for all aspects of day-to-day life for Leon’s 1.2 million citizens. Portoss will integrate iris capability across the city, install miles of fiber optic cable and construct the central iris database with power to enlarge the scale to include private sector corporations for a variety of applications.
Some of the functions of the system the iris recognition is expected to perform are identifying people from a distance and while in motion. Further, Portoss is planning to have the system be designed to allow for future applications of the iris systems by the private sector.
ZK Software acquired a well-known RFID company in China. This China RFID company has a professional R&D team with 37 sophisticated experts and 13 years RFID industry experience. Up to now, ZK Software has independent biometric core technology and RFID technology. After 4 months product development, ZK RFID R&D center launched KR100, KR200 and KR300 series of RFID Wiegand readers, which comply with industry standards. These readers adopt perfect texture-surface treatment technology, elegant appearance and waterproof design. In addition, the readers contain the capability to compatible with almost every access control panel in the world. All of ZK RFID Wiegand reader passed CE and FCC certificates, and the materials of the reader is comply with environment protection standard. ZK Software will develop complete series of RFID products, including RFID T&A, RFID access control, RFID Wiegand reader, RFID door lock and so on in the near future.
Airports, military bases, high profile government agencies and industrial complexes are among the first organizations to take a new approach to the highly complex world of security. AbeoTS's Automated Warning and Response Engine (AWARE") takes an advanced, preemptive stance on security by automating all possible security scenarios and intelligently building rules into an engine for responding to event detection. AWARE provides instant detection, analysis and response in a single geospatial graphical interface, merging the dozens of separate data streams that usually result in sensory overload for monitoring personnel into a GUI based on AbeoTS's extensive 3-D expertise. The intelligent rules engine dramatically reduces false alarms, prioritizes and correlates events automatically, responds in real-time while facilitating multi-jurisdictional communication, and integrates into existing legacy systems and sensors.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) in the Philippines implemented a policy of strictly requiring its officials and employees to personally register their daily attendance through a biometrics-based "Bundy clock" system. in an order signed recently, directed the bureau's 2,000 personnel to strictly observe a 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. work schedule.
The BI chief required the bureau's employees to personally register their attendance in the bureau's biometrics-based "Bundy clock" system when reporting for and leaving from work. A Bundy clock is a time clock, sometimes known as a clock card machine or punch clock or time recorder.
Lanner Group, the business-process improvement company, announced that Liverpool John Lennon Airport has invested in MFlow Forecast to help with its redevelopment program. Based on Lanner's simulation tool WITNESS, the system was developed in partnership with Human Recognition Systems (HRS), the biometrics and behavior analytics specialist. Lanner and HRS have together developed WITNESS in order to deal with the particular requirements of the airport's project. Technology such as X-ray machines and biometric systems for screening staff and passengers is both complex and expensive. The airport needed to model various different scenarios to optimize space, security requirements and budgets before committing to investment. Liverpool John Lennon Airport originally appointed HRS to help with a new GBP12.4 million re-development program. The airport needed to prepare for a significant increase in passenger numbers and a security screening facility, which is three times larger in capacity than the previous screening area.
In the next few months, Sony and Microsoft will introduce motion controls and exercise-based games to their game machines, to keep up with Nintendo's Wii. In a guest column, child psychiatrist Paul Ballas argues for a new rating system that evaluates a videogame's capacity to work you out.
New hardware is paving the way to much more physical game play. The PlayStation Move, a wand that mimics the Wii's revolutionary motion controller, lets players use precision arm and body motions to interact with games. The camera-based Kinect for Xbox 360 turns gamers' entire bodies into controllers. Ubisoft's Innergy Sensor tracks several biometrics including breathing and heart rate, and incorporates the information into game play.
It is similar in functionality to a previously announced device, Nintendo's Vitality Sensor for Wii. All this new motion-control and biometric-reading technology means the world of gaming has changed in a fundamental way. Now that every major gaming console is moving toward motion-control devices, we seem to have reached a tipping point: Both the technology and artistry of videogames can legitimately combat childhood obesity in a way not previously possible.
Penn State researchers managed to identify the pass code patterns on two Android smartphones (the HTC G1 and the HTC Nexus One), 68 percent of the time, using photographs taken under different lighting conditions, and camera positions.
In their report, researchers noted that in one experiment; the pattern was partially identifiable in 92 percent and fully in 68 percent of the tested lighting and camera setups.
Even in our worst performing experiment, under less than ideal pattern entry conditions, the pattern can be partially extracted in 37 percent of the setups and fully in 14 percent of them. Traditional alpha numeric pins may not be as ‘cool’ as their new password pattern brothers, but they are still a formidable foe that normally will require physical access to the device and brute force attacks to eventually compromise it and short of biometrics that is a good as you can get.
NTT Communications Corp. has developed security software for personal computers that identifies users by the way they use the keyboard, the company said. The biometric identification software measures "keystroke dynamics" -- the timing and rhythms of an individual user's typing style--at the time of log-in and then throughout a session. The company plans to commercialize the software in Japan within this fiscal year.
Users register their keystroke dynamics profile by typing about 1,000 characters. Through comparative analysis of every 150 subsequent keystrokes, the software determines whether the actual user is the person who logged in.
In a bid to bring transparency in the public distribution system (PDS), biometric ration cards were launched in Orissa in India. 'Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the cards as part of the state's pilot project at the district head quarters of Rayagada,' the official told IANS.
Designed jointly by the state government and the World Food Program (WFP), the hi-tech biometric registration system aims to ensure that subsidized food goes only to those entitled to it. These records have been used to prepare ration cards and bar-coded coupons for people living in rural areas and smart cards for those living in poor urban pockets of the district. The new system uses iris biometrics and fingerprint to register individuals. Around one million beneficiaries across the district have been electronically recorded.
Kenyan banks are tightening their systems against a new wave of global cyber crime that has seen thousands of British online bank customers lose savings to criminals in one of the most sophisticated attacks of its kind.The fraudsters used a malicious computer program that hides on home computers to steal confidential passwords and account details from at least 3,000 people.
Standard Chartered Bank says it is changing the mode of accessing the online banking from having user name and password by introducing use of name and one-time password which their more than 16,000 mobile banking customers will receive through their phones. The adoption of biometric technology by financial institutions is seen as a means of enhancing information access and data security. It comes at time when banks are moving to Internet banking, which requires that users maintain a high level of confidentiality, for example not revealing passwords or PINs.
Coalition forces in Afghanistan have diverse methods of gathering information to establish if members of the Afghan population are insurgents or above suspicion. Biometrics has made the process easier.
There are multiple biometric systems used in today's military: the biometrics automated toolset, the hand-held interagency identity detection equipment and the secure electronic enrollment kit. The method of getting a never-before-scanned individual in the biometric database is called enrolling. This consists of gathering the subject's facial picture, fingerprints, and/or an iris scan. Personal information including name, province, district and reason for the enrollment are also put into each enrollment file.
Valet operations around the world use every possible method of recording time and attendance from the most primitive to the most complicated. Some operators ask valet staff to write down their hours by hand, others use time clocks, and others consult their schedule and assume the hours assigned were the hours worked. Automated Valet's valet operating system, AVPM, comes with Biometric time and attendance, a feature that takes all the guesswork out of keeping track of employees' hours and makes payroll accurate and easy to complete. Biometric technology is the most advanced method for recording time and attendance. It eliminates any opportunity for human error or fraud. Biometric time and attendance uses the employee's fingerprint to record their entry and departure. They simply press their thumb against the finger print reader, and they are identified and their times are automatically recorded. It is impossible for an employee to clock in our out in any other manner. No one can do it for them, and there is no way they can adjust times manually except management.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began using a new biometric information sharing capability in Pulaski County, Arkansas that helps federal immigration officials identify aliens who have committed a crime. Previously, fingerprint-based biometric records were taken of individuals charged with a crime and booked into custody and checked for criminal history information against the Department of Justice's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. Now, through enhanced information sharing between DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security, fingerprint information submitted through the state to the FBI will be automatically checked against both the FBI criminal history records in IAFIS and the biometrics-based immigration records in DHS's Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT). In addition, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) began using a new biometric information-sharing capability in five more Texas counties
The Washington Post published the first story in a new series exploring the Top Secret world created in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The series titled "Top Secret America”, describes and analyzes a defense and intelligence structure that has become so large, so unwieldy, and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, or whether it is making the United States safer.
Each day at the National Counterterrorism Center in McLean, workers review at least 5,000 pieces of terrorist-related data from intelligence agencies and keep an eye on world events. (Photo by: Melina Mara / The Washington Post)
Among the highlights:
-Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on Top Secret programs related to counter-terrorism, homeland security, and intelligence at over 10,000 locations across the country. Over 850,000 Americans have Top Secret clearances.
-Redundancy and overlap are major problems and a symptom of the ongoing lack of coordination between agencies.
-In the Washington area alone, 33 building complexes for Top Secret work are under construction or have been built since September 2001.
This is the first and most comprehensive examination of the complex system. It was reported by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Dana Priest and author, researcher, and military expert William M. Arkin. The findings are based on hundreds of interviews with current and former military and intelligence officials and public records. Nearly two dozen journalists worked on the investigation, including investigative reporters, cartography experts, database reporters, video journalists, researchers, interactive graphic designers, digital designers, graphic designers, and graphics editors at The Washington Post.
“This country’s top-secret national-security enterprise is both enormous and opaque,” Marcus Brauchli, The Post’s executive editor said. “We have sought through this long-term investigative project to describe it and enable our readers— including citizens, taxpayers, policymakers and legislators—to understand the scale and effectiveness of what has been created.
The National Reconnaissance Office -- which designs, builds and helps operate the nation's reconnaissance satellites – is headquartered in Fairfax County. (Photo by Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post)
A new patent purchased by technology company Apple from three engineers in Oregon may point to a possibility of biometric capabilities in future devices from the company, according to a Macgasm article. The patent deals with utilizing fingerprint sensors embedded into flat-panel displays for authenticating identity. Such technology could lead to sensors being placed underneath the touchscreens that have become staples of Apples most prevalent devices enabling for authentication without visually interrupting the style of the device.
A palm-sized biochip for room temperature DNA detection developed by Paul Li at Simon Fraser University near Vancouver, Canada. The 4" diameter chip is roughly the same thickness as the Canadian one dollar coin, the Loonie (shown in the picture for scale). (Credit: American Institute of Physics)
DNA microarrays are one of the most powerful tools in molecular biology today. The devices, which can be used to probe biological samples and detect particular genes or genetic sequences, are employed in everything from forensic analysis to disease detection to drug development.
Now Paul Li and colleagues at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada have combined DNA microarrays with microfluidic devices, which are used for the precise control of liquids at the nanoscale. In an upcoming issue of the journal Biomicrofluidics, which is published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP), Li and his colleagues describe how the first combined device can be used for probing and detecting DNA.
The key to Li's result: gold nanoparticles. Suspended in liquid and mixed with DNA, the nanometer-scale spheres of gold act as mini magnets that adhere to each of the DNA's twin strands. When the DNA is heated, the two strands separate, and the gold nanoparticles keep them apart, which allows the single strands to be probed with other pieces of DNA that are engineered to recognize particular sequences.
Li, whose work is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, is applying for a patent for his technique. He sees a host of benefits from the combination of DNA microarrays and microfluidics.
"It's faster and requires a relatively small sample," he says, adding in his paper that "the whole procedure is accomplished at room temperature in an hour and apparatus for high temperature… is not required"
Police want access to a registry of fingerprints taken during the passport application process. Police say the registry would help them solve crimes. Within ten years, every person who applies for a passport in Finland will have their prints in the registry. Over the past year, nearly half a million people in Finland have been fingerprinted for the national passport registry. This is due to an EU mandate that calls on passport applicants to provide biometric information to authenticate their identity. Now police want to be given access to the fingerprint registry to help in criminal investigations.
Thanks to pioneering research by the NFI, the Dutch police can soon use fingerprints to detect criminals, more often. The Dutch Forensic Institute (NFI), finger-track expert Marcel Puit says: "We have developed a scientific method whereby the police can use a lot more fingerprint traces to solve a crime."
A fingerprint has 50-150 Galton points. The Dutch police has a standard that at least 10 points must be consistent with a fingerprint of the suspect in the database. If it is less, the trace may not be used in court. The Puit and his fellow researchers now have developed a scientific model in which tracks with 5 to 9 Galtonpoints also can be used. The Dutch criminal fingerprint database can be extended by the fingerprint database used for the new Dutch Biometric Passport, where 4 fingers are scanned and stored in the database for forensic use, but only 2 used in the passport. (A typical example of function creep).
The government has selected Wipro Infotech to develop software for digitising its crime and criminal tracking network system under the national e-governance plan, the IT bellwether said. As the Home Ministry's software development agency, the company will link 14,000 police stations and 6,000 police offices across the country for tracking crime records on real-time basis in digital format.
"The system aims to create a nationwide networked infrastructure for IT-enabled criminal tracking system. Spanning across 35 states and union territories, it will link about 14,000 police stations and 6,000 higher police offices across the country," Wipro vice-president Anand Sankaran said in a statement.
So also India is going to use the passport database for criminal investigation.
A refreshing dip at the Germantown Indoor Swim Center may soon be only a touch away as the county's recreation department moves toward a new technology that turns bodies into barcodes. Beginning this fall, the county plans to replace plastic cards with biometric finger vein scanners for customers entering pools, weight rooms and community center programs at each of the Montgomery County Department of Recreation's 33 locations.
The scanners, which look like a computer mouse, create a unique code for each person They will be tested in three locations before expanding to all centers in the spring, Riley said.
Rohith Chintala, 10, of Potomac, signs in with his card.
The Germantown Indoor Swim Center, the Holiday Park Senior Center in Wheaton and either the Potomac Community Recreation Center or the Marilyn J. Praisner Community Recreation Center in Burtonsville have been identified as the first to receive scanners because they are the busiest locations.
Some reactions from center users:
"When you go to jail they get your fingerprints, not when you go to play.”
"It would be easier. You don't have to carry a card."
Technology Allows Both Short and Long Range Use for Bio Identity Theft and Fraud Prevention
SmartMetric, Inc. announces today that it has completed the research and development and successfully tested its latest prototype biometric card. The newest bio-metric card contains the feature of dual band radio transmission that enables both short and long range use which is activated only via the owner's fingerprint.
No ma'am, please put your thumb on the scanner, if you want to take your ward with you.
This verification is a must here, says the guard. No sooner than the woman puts her thumb on the scanner, the picture of the student and the woman come on the computer screen. Verification done, the guard allows the woman to take her ward. With the increasing number of cases of kidnapping of school students coming to the fore in the past few years, Bright Way College in Sector J of Jankipuram has got installed guardian verification system to ensure the child goes back to home only with the right person. The software developed by Wajahat H Naqvi and Amit Kaushal of GI Biometrics Solution Pvt Ltd has brought both relief and smiles on the faces of the school teachers and management alike.
Now the UK Parliament is in recess for its summer break, it is interesting to look back over the last month and see what has been talked about by the new British Government relating to biometric passports. First we report on an interesting exchange in the House of Lords on 13 July relating to biometric passports. The exchanges were reported via the Lords Hansard service and begin with a question by Lord Dubs: The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Neville-Jones): My Lords, British passports have contained biometric information in the form of facial recognition technology since 2006. There are no plans to introduce a second biometric, such as fingerprints, into passports.
Lord Dubs: First, given that many countries have said that they expect visitors to have full biometric data in their passports, will that not make it much more difficult for British people to travel in the future, especially to the United States? Secondly, will the Minister confirm that forged passports have been involved in almost every known case of terrorism? Surely biometric passports are much harder to forge than the ones that we have at the moment.
Damian Green, UK Minister of State (Immigration) announced the termination of the e-Borders contract with Raytheon and its consortium. Green said that over recent weeks they had been examining the progress of the programme and it had been extremely disappointing. He said: "While some elements have been delivered, they have not been delivered on time. Delivery of the next critical parts of the programme are already running at least 12 months late.
On top of this there remain risks of further delays, and there is no confidence in the current prime supplier-Raytheon Systems Limited-being able to address this situation." To date and since the project was started in 2007, the Government have spent £188 million on supplier costs against a total contract cost of around £750 million. Going forward, the e-Borders programme remains a priority. The termination of this contract does not change this, said Green.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has redesigned the Permanent Resident Card - commonly known as the "Green Card" - to incorporate several major new security features. The Green Card redesign is the latest advance in USCIS's ongoing efforts to deter immigration fraud. State-of-the-art technology incorporated into the new card prevents counterfeiting, obstructs tampering, and facilitates quick and accurate authentication. Beginning today, USCIS will issue all Green Cards in the new, more secure format. "Redesigning the Green Card is a major achievement for USCIS," said Director Alejandro Mayorkas.
Here a nice article on the history of the British Passports including all the contemporary UK passports valid at this moment. Every Channel Island and all the British overseas territories have their own Passport.
A special case is the Queen’s Messenger passport. He (or she) has at least two passports. The safe passage of diplomatic baggage is guaranteed by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and for reasons of state secrecy, the diplomatic bag does not go through the normal airport baggage checks and must not be opened, x-rayed, weighed or otherwise investigated by customs or airline security staff (or anyone else for that matter). The bag is closed with a tamper-proof seal and has its own diplomatic passport.
In the future, persons wanting to enter the Kadena air base will have to register their identification cards. The 18th Wing announced Wednesday that more than 60,000 people across Okinawa currently access Kadena. However, for increased security, they all must now register with the Defense Biometrics Identification System. That includes all active-duty military personnel, civilian Department of Defense employees, family members, Master Labor Contractors, Indirect Hire Employees, local national contractors and retirees.
It wouldn’t be DefCon without a noted lock hacking team demonstrating the gross insecurity of some of the latest security locks, such as a biometric lock that could be easily cracked with a paper clip. This year the three-member team of lock hackers, Marc Weber Tobias, Toby Bluzmanis and Matt Fiddler who have been cracking locks at DefCon for several years, also defeated an electro-mechanical lock, two deadbolts, and an electronic safe.
The researchers gave Wired.com a sneak peek at their cracks and provided videos, which you can see below. The lock that would seem to have thwarted them the most was actually one of the easiest to crack.
Watch the video’s on:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/lock-cracks/
The government’s unique identification (UID) project aims to embrace nearly 1.4 billion people, but the task of covering children, up to 15 years, who form a good part of the population is tinged with uncertainty.
Absence of what is delicately called stable biometric features in children (nearly 35% of the population) is proving to be a huge challenge for the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Children up to 15 years do not have sharp patterns of fingerprints, the metric used to uniquely identify each one of them and more importantly, for authentication.
DNA is not viable as an identity verification biometric, says a June research paper from Rand Corp. Even as the Defense Department must keep track of a large and ever-growing number of people, writes Rand's Douglas Shontz, DNA presents too many legal and technical issues for use as an access control identifier. DNA has an advantage of being totally unique and unalterable (by today's technology standards). And a legal challenge to DNA as a biometric wouldn't necessarily succeed since "courts are generally willing to accept the government's assertion of what constitutes a compelling need to enhance or maintain security," Shontz writes.
For more:
Download the Rand report, "DNA as Part of Identity Management for the Department of Defense" (.pdf)
Hybrid Biometrics(TM) Solution Offers Choice of Fingerprint, Finger Vein, Palm Vein and Iris Recognition from a Single Biometric Software Integration
Hybrid Biometric Platform(TM) is a client/server biometric recognition system that supports fingerprint, finger vein, palm vein, and iris biometrics. After a single integration with Hybrid Biometric Platform(TM), developers can immediately utilize any of these biometric modalities. This flexibility ensures that customers are never locked into a single biometric technology or biometric device that might not reliably work for all users.
Bio-Plugin(TM), M2SYS’ patent-pending biometric middleware technology, enables companies to rapidly integrate Hybrid Biometric Platform(TM) without the costs that are typically associated with low-level biometric SDK development and support.
Download the product brochure on: http://www.biometricnews.net/M2SYS/Hybrid_Biometric_Platform_Brochure.pdf
Suprema, Inc. , a global leader in biometrics and identification solutions, announced today that the company’s latest RealScan-F palm-print live scanner received certification from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the agency’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) Image Quality Specification (IQS) Appendix F standards.
FBI IQS standard certification for live scan devices and systems is mandatory for the purpose of FBI, US Ministry of Justice and most other countries’ government procurements.
The RealScan-F features fast image processing, clear image quality and suitability for integration to Police and Criminal booking stations as well as in mobile operations. The company claims that the RealScan-F has the world’s fastest image scan rate using powerful internal DSP and image processing software. The device is also the world’s lightest weight and smallest footprint palm-print Llivescan device to- date and it is designed for capturing different formats such as palm-print, writers’ palm, four-finger slaps, two & single finger flats and single rolls.
Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller announced the introduction of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 on Friday, a measure to fund science, technology and engineering education and R&D. After the companion bill passed the House in May, the bill's main proponent, House Science Chairman Bart Gordon, called for final passage before the August recess, a possibility that now looks next to impossible. The Commerce Committee will mark up the bill this Thursday.
The COMPETES act has meaningful private sector support, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable each throwing their weight behind the measure.
Jay Rockefeller
The bill authorizes funding increases for the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the next three years; funds education programs and student grants at the high school, undergraduate and graduate levels; and creates an "Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship" to push new technologies toward commercialization.
Try applying for a U.S. passport using a counterfeit birth certificate. Give one location as a home address, and another as a permanent residence. Use someone else’s picture and a Social Security number that was issued just last year. Then, for good measure, use the name of someone who’s already dead. What do you think your chances of getting a valid passport would be? If the results of an undercover sting operation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) are any indication, your chances would be at least 3 in 7. Not bad odds.
As a way to check up on the State Department, the GAO used all these shady practices to apply for seven passports in different places. Three of the passports were issued, two were caught and recovered by the Passport Office after they were mailed out, and two were denied. In a classic understatement, GAO Managing Director Gregory Kutz said of the phony information given, “These were fraud indicators that should have been identified and questioned by State.” One would think.
In response to the GAO report, State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley said they still have work to do but points out it issues 13 million passports a year and says there will be human error. All of this was aired in public Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee chaired by Senator Ben Cardin, D-Md. As Cardin put it in his opening statement, “The integrity and security of the passport issuance process is extremely important because it can have a profound impact on the national security of the United States.”
WASHINGTON (AP) - Loan officers at banks will be required to provide their names and fingerprints to a national database as part of an effort to crack down on shady operators who fed the real estate bubble.
The new requirements were mandated by a bill passed by Congress two years ago. Federal bank regulators approved them on Wednesday. The rules apply to employees of banks regulated on the federal and state levels. Mortgage brokers are already required to be licensed by the system.
The registry is expected to start accepting new applications by the end of January. Once registrations start, banks will have 180 days to comply.
During the housing market's boom years, mortgage brokers had weak regulations that varied by states. Unsavory characters were able to jump from state to state without being detected. The licensing system creates a database that banking regulators can use to track down mortgage brokers or lenders who try to work in one state after being banned from another. There is also a public database available to consumers.
NEW YORK-- The Institute for Defense and Government Advancement (IDGA) is pleased to announce its 2nd Annual Identity Management for DoD and Government Summit, scheduled for August 23 - 25, 2010 in Washington, DC. IDGA's Identity Management for DoD and Government brings the identity management community together to gain insight into the difficulties and opportunities shaping the future of identity management. This summit presents innovative biometric data collection techniques and examines the emergence of government-wide electronic authentication and identity management guidelines, mandates, and standards. Specific issues such as the interoperability of credentials and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) adoption will be addressed as they are essential to national security, peacekeeping, and stability operations across the globe.
Inquiries, a provider of personnel security and background screening, and Telos Identity Management Solutions, an integrator of biometric identity application, have created a strategic alliance to roll out a new background screening service called IDVetting.
In a release dated July 20, the Company said IDVetting is focused on delivering non-criminal, fingerprint based background checking services as an authorized FBI channeler through a secure, webbased enrollment and record dissemination service for authorized recipients.
More on ID Vetting you can find here.
http://idvetting.com/index.cfm
The U.S. Permanent Resident Card ('Green Card') supplied by LaserCard Corporation, a leading provider of secure ID solutions, has been judged the world's leading government ID card in terms of technology and user utility in a new report by Frost & Sullivan. Thirteen large government ID programs from around the world are assessed in the report. Rankings were based on a combination of factors including security, durability, utility, range of applications, and demand or adoption by end users.
To receive a copy of the Frost & Sullivan/LaserCard report, please visit http://www.lasercard.com/download-whitepapers/
The Ministry of Home Affairs proposed amendments on the 'Aliens Act' and other related laws in order for the biometric residence permits for foreigners to be introduced in spring 2011. On 1 July 2010, the Ministry decided on the content of the bill and the President of the Republic of Finland is expected to present it to the Parliament on 16 July 2010. The introduction of biometric residence card for foreigners is based on an EC Regulation (No 380/2008) , which lays down the characteristics of the new biometric residence permits.
Regulation 380/2008 in English.
The same regulation in Dutch
The purpose for the issuing of the biometric residence cards is to prevent and combat illegal immigration and illegal residence by creating a reliable link between the residence permit and its holders. Finland has been asking for the fingerprints of people applying for national passports, foreign passports and refugee travel documents since June 2009. For the residence permits the same procedures will be essentially followed as for the biometric passports.
The Migration Department of the Finnish Ministry of the Interior was considering different models of implementing Council Regulation 380/2008 of 18
April 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third-country nationals and asked the different members (countries) to provide any information or steps taken on the matter, resulting in this document:
This document gives a survey of how all the European countries are planning to implement the new regulations.
Halfpenny Technologies, Inc., a leading health information exchange (HIE) solutions provider specializing in laboratory, pathology and physician electronic medical record (EMR) system interoperability, announced that it has reached an agreement with HT Systems to integrate the PatientSecure biometric patient identification system into its health information exchange solutions.
The integration of PatientSecure with Halfpenny's HIE solutions enables patients who have previously visited a lab's patient service center to be instantly identified in the lab's registration system simply by having the palm of their hand scanned. Once the scan is complete, the patient's medical record is automatically retrieved - decreasing the number of steps required to access a record and helping to ensure that the correct patient is matched with the correct record.
Despite a host of challenges, airlines, airports and governments likely will develop more biometric identity programs, according to experts. Travelers, especially those flying from one country to another, could be the prime beneficiaries of expedited check-in, baggage checks, security screening and boarding at departure airports, and passport processing at arrival airports. Passenger convenience is a byproduct of biometric programs being developed for transportation security. "Biometric border management," along with use of passenger data by governments for risk assessment, represent the two parallel developments in airport security, according to Sita biometrics portfolio director Sean Farrell, speaking on a webinar conducted by aviation information technology company Sita and IHS Jane's, an intelligence and consulting firm for the transportation and defense sectors.
Amano, a manufacturer of time recorders, biometrics and other tracking systems, announced recently that it has agreed to become a Certified Platinum Partner of biometric solutions provider MorphoTrak. In a statement, Amano said the integration of its software with MorphoTrak’s biometric technology will allow the company to offer customers a single platform that integrates fingerprint identification and authentication with time and attendance, access control, asset protection, as well as other applications. "This Platinum Partner relationship will allow Amano’s dealers to compete aggressively in markets where biometrics has not delivered the required performance," stated Alan Poulton, president of Amano’s time and security division. "Amano will provide assistance of its extensive sales; marketing, engineering and customer support team to help organizations achieve optimum people and asset protection results."
Add Clark County (NV) to the growing list using U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) new biometric information sharing capability that helps federal immigration officials identify aliens, both lawfully and unlawfully present in the United States, who are booked into local law enforcement custody for a crime.
The capability is part of Secure Communities, ICE's comprehensive strategy to improve and modernize the identification and removal of criminal aliens from the U.S. Previously, fingerprint-based biometric records taken of individuals charged with a crime and booked into local custody were checked for criminal history information against the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). Now, through enhanced information sharing between the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), that fingerprint information will be automatically checked against both the FBI criminal history records in IAFIS and the biometrics-based immigration records in DHSs Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT).
De La Rue Identity Systems announced that Malta's new upgraded ePassport system with Extended Access Control (EAC) capability went live. This new solution delivers a higher level of security and access control, in accordance with the EU regulation for all Schengen Member States, for the addition of a second biometric - two prints - to the data already stored on the chip. Fully integrated with Malta's existing National Identity Management System (NIDMS), EAC capability is being launched initially in Malta and Gozo and will be rolled out across all embassy sites by the end of the year. The new solution delivers a higher level of security and access control.
DigitalPersona, Inc., a global provider of authentication and endpoint protection solutions, announced DigitalPersona® Pro Enterprise, a comprehensive endpoint protection solution for access management, data protection and communication security. DigitalPersona Pro Enterprise helps businesses address three crucial IT security needs for mobile workforces -- full disk encryption (FDE), two-factor virtual private network (VPN) authentication and fingerprint biometrics. The software is integrated with Microsoft Active Directory and provides a single, centrally-managed system that is simpler and more affordable to deploy than individual point security products.
DigitalPersona new product complements protection mechanisms such as desktop firewalls and antivirus software that businesses already have deployed, but which may not be sufficient for today's new generations of threats and compliance regulations. With the DigitalPersona software, organizations can more effectively safeguard critical data, networks and applications for notebook and desktop users. For more information, visit www.digitalpersona.com/pro.
DSX and Integrated Biometrics have collaborated to integrate the TRU650 biometric fingerprint reader seamlessly with the DSX enterprise access-control system. Scott Bennett, DSX National Sales Manager said: "DSX Access Systems has selected Integrated Biometrics' TRU650 as our biometric reader of choice." Integrated Biometrics features light emitting sensor fingerprint imaging technology.
LES has enabled the TRU650 to overcome problems common with competing products, satisfy customers, and deliver profits for DSX dealers. "The ease of use, easy installation and enrolment, virtually non-existent rejection rate, clean aesthetics and great product support, we believe, will provide our dealers with the biometric device that they have been searching for."
Voice biometrics provides a distinctive resolution for call centers looking to advance customer service, secure data storage, and maximize call center agent efficiency. Using a caller's voice to authenticvate and satisfy security requirements eliminates much of the aggravation associated with interactive voice response (IVR) customer service. Voice biometrics uses technology that turns a caller's voice into a "spoken identifier" which leads to more efficient customer service as well as higher levels of data security. Voice biometrics allows for companies to replace paper-based signature processes with real-time voice signatures, to streamline customer verification processes, and to increase fraud protection.
Voice recognition vendor Nuance Communications has acquired Information Technologies Australia (iTa), an automated customer services provider for contact centers. The deal combines Nuance's speech recognition technology and professional services with iTa's contact center solutions. Customers also gain access to mobile services and voice biometrics. Peter Chidiac, managing director at Nuance Australia and New Zealand, said that Nuance's customers asked for a broader range of products and services.
"We've been focusing on speech technologies, text to speech and verification. Customers want us to do more around their in-bound and out-bound contact centre automation. Nuance will rebrand iTa and all its products under the global Nuance Enterprise Services business.
In Nigeria, the nation’s leading computer geeks and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) experts brainstormed on solutions to the nation's electoral system. In a paper titled "A Three-Tier Access Control Mechanism for a Secured E-Voting," delivered by Mba Odim of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Redeemers University.
The case was made for the security of the voting system to make it unbreakable by external influence and assure fidelity of the exercise. Odim in his paper stated that to make e-voting secure, "we need to input the biometrics of the voter. Some biological characteristics are unique, like fingerprints. We therefore adopted the fingerprint minutiae-based matching biometric in conjunction with voters' ID and PIN in our approach to provide a more reliable access control framework to an e-voting system."
Auto theft is one of the biggest problems in the US today. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a vehicle is stolen in the US every 26 seconds. Hawk Systems, Inc. has an innovative solution designed to protect from vehicle theft with the installation of Hawk Systems patented biometric fingerprint technology. Hawk Systems delivered last week the first 28 units of its patented biometric vehicle identification car starter system to 45th Street Auto Sales, Inc. The Hawk Biometric Vehicle Identification Car Starter (SECUREPASS) is a fingerprint-identification security technology device offering automotive security to automobile owners, buyers and dealers alike. SECUREPASS technology is focused on prevention; rather than just the recovery of a vehicle after it has been stolen . SECUREPASS system is a multi-layer live fingerprint-ID security device. The system offers redundant, fail-safe automotive security and once installed it will render the vehicle inoperable to any non-authorized user. The SECUREPASS system supports up to 16 approved users per vehicle.
The Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a science, engineering and technology company, has announced the winner of their self-sponsored Biometric Research Competition hosted by the University of Kent in the UK and the UK Biometrics Institute. The winner is Clemont Creusot, a graduate student and doctoral fellow at the University of York in the UK, whose research paper was titled "Landmark Labeling for 3-D Faces" and focused on new techniques for systems automatically finding key points on a face for face recognition authentication.
Following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 and the ensuing transit attacks in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005, the e-passport idea quickly transformed became a underpinning for worldwide precautions. these days, e-passports have moved from a preference to actuality and in the process created a multi-billion dollar industry ready to essentially transform worldwide travel and border control infrastructure. Based on The Global ePassport and eVisa Industry Report published in May 2010 by Acuity Market Intelligence (http://www.acuity-mi.com).
The e-passport market, made up of hardware, software, and services, will attain sustainable annual revenues of $7 billion by the end of 2014, with a compound annual growth rate of 31.5 percent from 2009 through 2014.
Europe’s market supremacy will shrink as overall market share drops from 49 percent to 20 percent through this phase. simultaneously, the Asian market will experience the most noteworthy market share increase as it goes from 25 percent to nearly 46 percent of annual market revenues with an annual compound annual growth rate of nearly 50 percent. Current International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) requirements dictate the use of a facial biometric on all e-passports. Thirty-seven countries now require fingerprints as a secondary biometric with another 10 countries planning to require fingerprints by 2014.
India’s Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) project will use three consortia to set up and run systems that will guarantee the biometrics-based IDs are not duplicated.The consortia are led by Accenture Ltd and MindTree Ltd; Mahindra Satyam and Sagem Morpho Security Pvt. Ltd; and Hewlett-Packard Co., L-1 Identity Solutions Inc. and 4G Identity Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Rajesh Mashruwala, coordinator of biometrics at UIDAI, said the agency had selected three vendors. The contracts will be announced in a few days, he said, without elaborating. The project, known as Aadhaar, aims to provide unique IDs based on biometric data such as iris scans and fingerprints to all residents of India. The first set of IDs are expected to be rolled out next month. The selected consortia will develop and maintain systems that will crosscheck every new application by filtering the biometrics database, preventing unintentional or fraudulent duplication, and ensuring that each number is the only one of its kind.
Starting in December, long queues for national ID cards will be a thing of the past - if the outsourcing of typing in Dubai and Sharjah happens as planned. The Emirates ID Authority (EIDA) is rolling out a massive outsourcing scheme aimed to enroll hundreds of typing centers across the country to speed up registration.
The authority announced on July 15 that it will increase the number of authorized typing centers from 40 to 100 in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain by the third week of July, while more such centers will be announced for Dubai and the northern emirates by September. This will free up staff at registration centers to focus on taking biometrics (signature, pictures, and fingerprints) in six minutes flat, an EIDA official said.
Authasas, a leader in strong authentication middleware has appointed Partner Data, a Milan based distributor as its new distributor for Italy. Authasas offers middleware for Microsoft Windows® and Citrix Xenapp® environments.
"The Authasas platform offers to our customers an authentication system which is flexible, convenient, fast and cost effective", says Giulio Camagni, President of Partner Data, leader in Italy in IT security. "Security requirements of groups within organizations will differ widely, and the Authasas system will allow each group to implement the one which suites them best, while still ensuring the security standards set are maintained. Groups can use combinations of biometrics, RFID or contact smart cards in an easy and convenient manner, at an affordable price. We look forward to working with our partners and resellers who will be taking this solution with us to market."
The North American Biometrics market provides a comprehensive technology, competition and distribution trend analysis for various biometric technologies such as hand geometry, fingerprint, face recognition, iris recognition, voice verification, signature verification and other emerging technologies. Revenue forecast for all technologies have been provided for total North American region. Various drivers for growth have been analyzed to identify opportunities in the marketplace. The study also provides revenue forecast and vertical market analysis in addition to analyzing application sectors and technology trends.
Acceptance of the technology is crucial. Many end users are still unaware of the technology in terms of the benefits and what the technology does. Moreover, there is still privacy concerns; for example, a connotation to criminal identification for fingerprint biometrics.
Vendors have been trying to show that an actual fingerprint is not taken, but rather key features of the fingerprint are recorded by the biometric reader.
Hitachi ID Systems, Inc., a leading provider of identity and access management solutions has released Password Manager 7.0, said to be the "the market's first true authentication management platform, able to manage any and every authentication factor employed by a corporate user." "Password Manager 7.0 was designed from the ground up to be the most advanced platform for managing authentication factors," said Idan Shoham, Hitachi ID Systems CTO.
"We used our next-generation technology platform to get the best possible scalability, flexibility and reliability. We then added capabilities to support one-stop management of all of a user's authentication factors -- passwords, security questions, OTP tokens, smart cards, voice biometrics, hard disk encryption keys and more."
Howard A. Schmidt, national cybersecurity coordinator and special assistant to the U.S. president, will be a featured speaker at the 2010 IEEE International Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security (HST 10) in November. Dr. Starnes E. Walker and Christopher Doyle of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) will join Schmidt as featured speakers. HST 10 will be held at the Westin Waltham Boston in Waltham, Mass., November 8-10 2010.
In recent years, countries have begun to employ real-time checks against “blacklists,” databases of restricted travelers or wanted individuals, primarily using fingerprint as a biometric modality. However, iris recognition is emerging as a modality of choice for blacklist checks due to the human iris’s uniqueness and the speed with which an encoded iris can be conclusively compared against a national-scale database.
The ease-of-use of AOptix’s InSight iris recognition system is immensely important in blacklist applications due to the diversity of travelers involved in this process. Many travelers are completely non-technical, non-acclimated to the use of biometrics, or simply do not speak the same language as the border officer. The extremely simple instruction set allows what could be a complicated process, requiring manual intervention, to be straightforward and nearly effortless both for travelers and officers.
Beyond ease-of-use, the InSight system’s pristine iris images are vitally important in this application due to the necessity of making conclusive identification decisions. False matches could mean detaining a traveler who has done no wrong. False non-matches could result in allowing an unwanted individual to enter the country. Both outcomes are highly undesirable at the border, and should be avoided.
Watch the Video here:
People entering Schriever Air Force Base, CO are about to experience a significant change. Starting Monday, the 50th Space Wing will begin implementation of the Defense Biometric Identification System. The system, known as DBIDS, is a Department of Defense initiative designed to improve security at U.S. military bases around the globe. Schriever is the latest base to implement the enhanced security system, which uses biometrics to monitor entry control points to installations. Biometric data includes both physical and non physical characteristics. Most Active Duty personnel will have basic information transferred by the DEERS system and require limited keystrokes for entry, while contractors and family members will endure a more lengthy registration (roughly 10 minutes).
Since a few weeks a new Linkedin Group exists on ICAO e-Passports and NIST / PIV e-ID Cards Kiosks & Systems.
LinkedIn Groups allow you to:
·
Quickly discover the most popular discussions in your professional groups.
· Have an active part in determining the top discussions by liking and commenting.
· Follow the most influential people in your groups by checking the Top Influencers board or clicking their profile image to see all their group activity.
· See both member-generated discussions and news in one setting.
· Easily browse previews of the last three comments in a discussion.
· Find interesting discussions by seeing who liked a discussion and how many people commented.
There are some interesting discussions going on right now.
The group has 174 members at this moment. So also a good opportunity to meet some professionals in the field.
Why are biometric solutions good for business? Bruce Lyman, CEO at Argus Global, offers his views. What are the real reasons as to why biometric solutions are good for your business? Bruce Lyman offers his views on the matter.
Good technology underpins many processes, both inside and without the business and, as many end users will know, understanding how technology works is rarely integral to its usefulness.
Indeed, technological excellence can in some part be measured by how little we need to know about a product to be able to use it. Such is the case with biometric technology, where the biometric itself is only part of the story.
Our real interest concerns (a) how easy it is to use on a daily basis, and by staff of varying technical aptitude and (b) what are the possible outcomes of using this technology?
For the latter we want to know the answers to further questions… How can the application of biometrics improve business processes? How might it protect us from litigation? How can it keep us secure and reduce risk? How can it cut unnecessary expense?
For one thing, Perception plays a key role when it comes to public relations. In other words, it is not worth their attention to place biometrics into the security matrix, but it was worth them investing in this technology to be able to say to their partners and clients: "Look at how seriously we take our security.
" For example, in one Australian bank biometric solutions were implemented to demonstrate compliance and improve the customer perception of banking security rather than to prevent fraud.
With India's economy is on the increase, experts there say biometrics is the only means to store data in a safe manner in that vast country "As the Indian economy grows, there is a necessity for some kind of a system through which information about an individual can be known and the unique identity numbers will provide that", said Rajesh Mashruwala, Member, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). James Herman, Consul General, US Embassy New Delhi said, "Biometrics is an indispensable way to store information in these times, it helps to store better and timely information."
Diebold, Incorporated has signed a value-added reseller (VAR) agreement to resell Daon's biometrics and identity management software. Daon provides a centralized platform and client biometric infrastructure for a variety of uses including employee credentialing, government benefits programs, trusted identity services, border management, national ID, airport e-gate systems and immigration control. Daon's Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) software, industry recognized expertise and large scale program experience enables the delivery of solutions that reduce risk, schedule and cost.
According to Tony Damalas, vice president, technology, security solutions, Diebold, "We believe Daon products give us a tremendous advantage in a variety of markets especially the federal HSPD-12 arena.
Ideco Group, a South African-based developer of biometric technology, has begun a campaign with the intention of raising awareness of biometric technology as well as the benefits of its use, specifically focusing on economic crime prevention such as in cases of identity fraud, insider fraud and shared identities. Besides educating people on the positive benefits of biometrics, the campaign also focuses on the flaws in a system that uses PINs, passwords or cards for personal identity authentication.
Trying to communicate the essential role that standards play in everyday life, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will publish, on a continuing basis, a series of snapshots of the diverse standards initiatives undertaken in the global and national standards arena, many of which are performed by ANSI members and ANSI-accredited standards developers. One of the latest selections focuses on biometrics. ANSI X9.84-2010, Biometric Information Management and Security for the Financial Services Industry, is a recently published standard from Accredited Standards Committee X9 Financial Services (ASC X9).
It was developed to provide guidance on the use of biometrics in transaction-based systems. ANSI X9.84-2010 also defines a method for disparate systems to communicate biometric information in a common format.
This new standard can be downloaded here for $ 100,-
In Luck now India taking a child out of school now requires biometric proof. With the increasing number of cases of kidnapping of school students coming to the fore in the past few years, Bright Way College of Jankipuram has installed a guardian verification system to ensure children head back to home only with the right person. The software developed by Wajahat H Naqvi and Amit Kaushal of GI Biometrics Solution Pvt Ltd. at first, thumb impressions of two guardians of a student were taken and recorded along with photographs of the three.
The data was then uploaded through the new software. A scanner and a computer is all that is needed for installing the system. Any of the two guardians whose data had been stored, could take their ward. On one side, picture of the student along with the class and section would be visible while on the other side, photograph of the person whose thumb impression has been put on scanner would be visible to the staff.
BIO-key, a developer of advanced identification solutions to commercial and government enterprises has claimed it is going to release the first mobile biometric identification and authentication platform. Smartphone application developers can integrate a strong authentication feature into their apps by utilizing the new platform from BIO-key. The platform also enables enterprises to capture and transmit fingerprint biometric data to a secure server for identity and authentication of smartphone, laptop, tablet, and desktop users. BIO-key has asserted that its fingerprint biometrics solutions give clients the ability to identify individuals positively before granting access to valuable corporate resources, Web portals, or applications in seconds. Powered by patented technology their fingerprint biometric solutions provide true interoperability with all major reader manufacturers, enabling developers to integrate fingerprint biometrics seamlessly into smartphone applications.
Recently, BIO-key unveiled TruDonor ID and enhanced biometric support for various platforms.
The Centricity electronic medical record Advanced ePrescribing solution that uses biometrics to authenticate physicians ordering patient medications has been approved by the Ohio Pharmacy Board. GE Healthcare's ePrescribing solution, which uses fingerprint-scanning technology to verify a doctor's identity before they order medications, has been approved by the Ohio Pharmacy Board for use by the state's physicians.
Announced on Monday, GE executives said the technology met Ohio's stringent ePrescribing requirements by successfully integrating biometrics technology into its Centricity Electronic Medical Record solution. By adding an external scanner, the technology calls for physicians to identify themselves by providing their fingerprint before ordering a patient's prescription.
As the healthcare industry becomes increasingly concerned about medical fraud, GE executives predict that many states will replicate Ohio's pharmacy law. The Centricity EMR's Advanced ePrescribing solution provides an extra layer of authentication and documentation required by the Ohio law and which helps prevent forgery.
Aware Inc., a provider of imaging and biometrics software announced that it has supplied client- and server-based software products for Personal Identity Verification (PIV) employee credentialing system of ICF International subsidiary Jacob & Sundstrom, an IT services company specializing in PIV systems. This system is capable of providing enterprise-wide enrollment of federal employees besides offering centralized data structuring and workflow for issuance of PIV credentials.
Aware's Universal Registration Client (URC) is a software application which can perform assisted enrollment of biographic data, facial images, fingerprints, identity documents, and digital written signatures. Company sources explained that the URC is a biometric enrollment application that can firstly search the agency's identity management system or IDMS for pre-enrolled biographic data records. It leverages Aware's biometric SDKs to perform auto capture of facial images and fingerprints, amend these records with the images, and fingerprint minutiae templates.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began using a new biometric information sharing capability in 16 additional southeast Texas counties that assists federal immigration
officials to identify aliens, both lawfully and unlawfully present in the United States, who are booked into local law enforcement's custody for a crime. (Western North Carolina Counties is also joining the ICE Secure Communities program).
This capability is part of Secure Communities - ICE's comprehensive strategy to improve and modernize the identification and removal of criminal aliens from the United States.
Previously, fingerprint-based biometric records were taken of individuals charged with a crime, booked into custody, and checked for criminal history information against the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS).
Now, through enhanced information sharing between DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), fingerprint information submitted through the state to the FBI will be simultaneously checked against both the FBI criminal history records in IAFIS and the biometrics-based immigration records in DHS's Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT).
Touch screens such as those found on the iPhone or iPad are the latest form of technology allowing interaction with smart phones, computers and other devices. However, scientists at Fraunhofer FIT has developed the next generation noncontact gesture and finger recognition system.
The novel system detects hand and finger positions in real-time and translates these into appropriate interaction commands. Furthermore, the system does not require special gloves or markers and is capable of supporting multiple users. With touch screens becoming increasingly popular, classic interaction techniques such as a mouse and keyboard are becoming less frequently used. One example of a breakthrough is the Apple iPhone which was released in summer 2007.
Since then many other devices featuring touch screens and similar characteristics have been successfully launched – with more advanced devices even supporting multiple users simultaneously, e.g. the Microsoft Surface table becoming available. This is an entire surface which can be used for input. However, this form of interaction is specifically designed for two-dimensional surfaces.
Fraunhofer FIT has developed the next generation of multi-touch environment, one that requires no physical contact and is entirely gesture-based. This system detects multiple fingers and hands at the same time and allows the user to interact with objects on a display. The users move their hands and fingers in the air and the system automatically recognizes and interprets the gestures accordingly
Despite a host of challenges, airlines, airports and governments likely will develop more biometric identity programs, according to experts. Travelers, especially those flying from one country to another, could be the prime beneficiaries of expedited check-in, baggage checks, security screening and boarding at departure airports, and passport processing at arrival airports.
Travelers could be the prime beneficiaries of expedited check-in, baggage checks, security screening and boarding at departure airports, and passport processing at arrival airports. Passenger convenience is a byproduct of biometric programs being developed for transportation security. Biometric border management along with use of passenger data by governments for risk assessment, represent the two parallel developments in airport security.
M2SYS Technology has released a multi-modal biometric software solution called the Hybrid Biometric Platform. The Hybrid Biometric Platform is a client/server system that supports the use of palm veins, finger veins, fingerprints and iris recognition as a form of biometric authentication with the system designed so that customers are not locked into one biometric mode should they decide to change or add new modes in the future. To assist their customers interested in implementing the Hybrid Biometric Platform, M2SYS is also offering their Bio-Plugin software development kit (SDK) to allow for a cheap and simple integration into their IT systems.
View a demo of Hybrid Biometric Platform™
Additionally, through utilizing the Bio-Plugin SDK, customers are able to have the Hybrid Biometric Platform operate as a server for one mode of biometrics serving one purpose while also being able to utilize other modes for other purposes elsewhere within the facility.
Face First, a product developed by Airborne Biometrics Group of Camarillo, Calif., is used by corporations, government agencies, casinos, transportation companies and other businesses with a need to know when certain individuals are in the area. One server can run one facial comparison against one million faces in one second. In addition, the platform is scalable to an unlimited number of servers. the largest deployment of the Face First system involves scanning a database of 80 million images.
Also, the platform can use cameras already installed as part of an existing surveillance system. The software looks for variations in gray scales. It uses anchor points, like the width of the nose, distance between the eyes and mouth size. Nearly 10,000 regions on the face are analyzed and facial characteristics are used to make a biometrical template.
Watch the demo on: http://www.facefirst.com/demo.html
The Biometrics Institute, in Australia, has released an Information Sheet to help guide licensed premises and clubs about the responsible use of biometrics. Licensed premises and clubs with a turnover greater than $3 million per year which are using or considering biometrics -- voice prints, finger scans, iris scans, or facial scans -- must comply with the National Privacy Principles (NPPs) of the National Privacy Act. "One of the Biometrics Institute's key drivers is to encourage the responsible use and development of biometrics and privacy protection," Isabelle Moeller, the Biometrics Institute's General Manager said.
Download this (12 page) information sheet here.
BAE Systems says its investment in helping innovative small and medium sized businesses accelerate their own technologies is delivering significant advances in face and iris recognition that could benefit national security. An example is the development of a technology demonstrator that integrates biometrics or face and iris recognition into one prototype platform that can recognize subjects when they are on the move. The project combines the biometric capabilities of OmniPerception Ltd and Smart Sensors Ltd, the integration skills of Human Recognition Systems Ltd, and the financial support, expertise and experience of BAE Systems.
Pearson announced that the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has formally approved Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) as fully satisfying the Government´s criteria for English language proficiency tests for student visas under Tier 4 of the Points Based System. Pearson´s new test uses multiple layers of biometric and other cutting-edge technology. This process, which eliminates a paper trail and local marking, includes the capture of three types of biometrics (digital signatures, palm vein scanning and test day digital photographs of applicants) and an online verification database of candidate results and speech samples, to ensure the authenticity of both the individual taking the test and the results.
Automated scoring further provides a secure, standardized assessment of language proficiency to make certain that subjective judgments do not come into play when assessing a candidate´s language ability.
KeyCorp is has purchased fraud detection software from Actimize to be proactive and to "view risk in a holistic instead of a silted manner," The real-time nature of the software KeyCorp has purchased is designed to let it catch suspicious transactions before they're completed, so that the customer can be called or the transaction blocked before fraud actually takes place.
KeyCorp also plans to offer clients other fraud prevention measures such as text alerts for suspicious activity, keystroke measuring tools, and biometrics. It plans to provide some with no fee, others with a small fee.
Geisinger Health System's pharmacy is improving the real-time location and status of medication delivery through the use of Aethon's MedEx system, the first advanced automated tracking and "chain of custody" documentation system. MedEx enhances the functionality of Aethon's TUG robots, automatic robotic delivery devices that move equipment and supplies throughout Geisinger's corridors. These robots reliably and affordably deliver, track and retrieve
medications, supplies, meals and equipment throughout the hospital to increase productivity, enhance safety, and improve healthcare efficiency and patient care.
Through the addition of the MedEx technology, Geisinger's hospital-based pharmacies now have a completely automated chain of custody solutions, which allows them to improve the reliability and accountability of all medication deliveries.
Watch the TUG in action video here:
The logo of Aadhaar, the government’s unique identification project headed by technocrat Nandan Nilekani, shows a part of a thumb impression —a sharp, curving pattern found on the edge of the index finger. In the complex task of uniquely identifying 1.14-billion people that populate this country, the unique patterns on the fingers are Nilekani’s biggest allies.
But the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) the former Infosys boss heads is facing challenges from a strange quarter, challenges that go into the core of its very mission. Scores of people the Aadhaar project will help the most do not have the sharp, curving lines on their fingers as depicted in its logo. Millions of Indians working in agriculture, construction workers and other manual labourers have worn-out fingers due to a lifetime of hard labour, resulting in what is euphemistically referred to in technical literature as ‘low-quality’ fingerprints. This is precisely the demographic that UID aims to help —those that are outside government records and welfare schemes.
More and more parents are asking us for advice about this issue. No one knows how many schools are now using biometric technology like this because it seems that the government is not keeping a record. Some estimates suggest that as many as 30% of all schools in the UK have fingerprinting technology.
This means that millions of children are having their fingerprints taken and retained. This massive expansion of the collection of highly personal data has been allowed to take place without parliamentary scrutiny or public debate.
The ICO states that "it would be a heavy-handed approach for schools not to respect the wishes of those pupils and parents who object". It specifically states that other systems can work just as well and that those who wish to opt out should be offered another means of accessing the same services.
The expansion of biometric systems like this have been allowed without a proper public debate. If we get too hung up on issues about efficiency and modernisation, we will overlook these vital questions. This highly personal information belongs to the individual and it should not be for him or her to tell the state why they should not have it – it is for the state to justify why it should. So far, it has failed to do so.
Cross Match Introduces 1000 ppi Palm Print Livescan System with New XD™ Technology
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. July 8, 2010 – Cross Match Technologies, Inc., a global provider of biometric identity solutions, will unveil its latest livescan solution at the International Association for Identification (IAI) Educational Conference. The event, which brings together local, state and federal law enforcement professionals, runs July 11 – 17 in Spokane, Washington.
The new L SCAN® 1000PX is a compact, high-resolution 1000 ppi fingerprint and palm print scanner for booking criminal suspects into police identification systems. “What makes the 1000PX unique is the combination of extremely rapid capture, real-time preview, very high image resolution and the unique ergonomics of the unit,” explains Roberto Wolfer, Director of Product Management at Cross Match.
This is made possible by Cross Match Extreme Definition (XD™) Technology. A combination of new, proprietary image sensor and image processing technology, XD Technology not only elevates today’s 1000 ppi capture to a new level, but also establishes a foundation for achieving tomorrow’s stringent federal standards.
BOSTON (AP) — Three people were charged yesterday in federal court with conspiracy to conceal illegal aliens from detection through the mutilation or surgical removal of their fingerprints.
U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Boston said criminal complaints were filed against Jose Elias Zaiter-Pou, 61, and Ricky Dario Baez-Cruz, 29, both of the Dominican Republic, and Luz Martinez-Lebron, 41, of Lynn.
It is alleged that Martinez-Lebron coordinated patients to receive the fingerprint removal procedure performed by Zaiter-Pou, a physician with a clinic in the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Zaiter-Pou comes to the United States to perform the procedure for $4,500, prosecutors said.
If you've been procrastinating about getting or renewing your passport, it's time to get going because fees are rising soon.
Adult passport book fees will jump to $135 from $100, while those for minors will increase to $105 from $85 starting July 13.
Renewals fees on adult passports will shoot up to $110 from $75, according to the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs. Twenty-four other fees, ranging from judicial services to reporting the births of American children born abroad, also are changing.
Blame it on technology. The "switch to the e-passport with the chip and the additional security features are what is increasing the costs," said John Echard, a spokesman for the Bureau of Consular Affairs.
"It's a lot more expensive to make passports now than it used to be."
BEDFORD, Mass., July 7 (UPI) -- A European police agency analogous to the FBI has received a biometric services software platform from Aware Inc., the company said Tuesday.
Among the software's application is screening and converting incoming digital fingerprint records from external sources. The Biometric Services Platform also allows access to stored fingerprint records from remote police facilities.
BioSP is a modular, secure and service-oriented application server produce that offers a programmable workflow engine and several independent, off-the-shelf software modules for tasks such as image storage, transaction routing and management, fingerprint and facial image processing, biometric matching and other tasks, the company said.
The system at Doodlebug requires each parent to register with their children. Their fingerprint is scanned and recorded, and they also come up with a unique password.
A child cannot be dropped off, or more importantly, picked up without both identifiers. "The only people that can get through the door are the people that have already registered with us," Assistant Director Erin Higginbotham said.
"Parents that come in to tour are always very appreciative of that, knowing that not just anybody can come in and pick their child up, which shouldn't happen anyway, but they're not going to get buy us as easy," Higginbotham said.
STAMFORD, Conn., Jul 06, 2010 L-1 Identity Solutions , a leading provider of identity solutions and services, was awarded a competitive contract by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, Human Factors Division, to fund the development of next generation technology for use in mobile four finger slap image capture devices.
The L-1 technology is unique and proprietary to the Company and will be used to develop new products with significantly reduced weight and size as compared to other mobile devices in the market today. The technology will ensure the devices can be easily used by individuals with varying levels of technical and physical ability and operate in a wide variety of areas regardless of existing infrastructure and environmental conditions. The innovation will serve to address the challenges facing all next generation fingerprint scanning devices.
"L-1 continues to innovate in all of the modalities we support today to ensure that our solutions solve customer challenges today as well as those they may encounter in the future," said Robert V. LaPenta, Chairman, President and CEO of L-1 Identity Solutions. "This award underscores the trust that DHS places in our technology and we look forward to working on this exciting and important development effort."
A translation of the article [from Portuguese}
Taking advantage of technological advances, even as an ally to combat crime, the Brazilian government is about to implement the Civil Registry of Identity, which aims to unify the RG, the SFC and voter registration. According to the National Institute of Identification, to the end of this year, the first cards will be issued.
The proposal is that all citizens have the new identity document within a maximum of nine years. The institute's director, Elias Claudio de Araujo, said the main benefit of this measure is decreasing or zero, the number of frauds, since the new system will unify some information of the person. "Currently, for example, California has a state-wide database query when someone will ask for the RG. But communication between the states does not exist. With registration only will it end, because everyone will be within the same database.
The Unified Civil Registry will resemble a credit card with chip, which also contain personal information and biometrics of citizens. It is exactly this point that Araujo considered as one of the most positive initiative. "With digital data saved on the card it will be virtually impossible to commit fraud, because only one person will use it."
In addition, the director says that the document will have other purposes, such as being used to vote, make bank withdrawals and receive social benefits from the government. Some experts criticize precisely this possibility, because they say the state will keep a very large amount of information to citizens. However, Araújo explains that there is no basis in this thought, because the Unified Civil Registry is just one form of identification and there is no connection with other databases, such as the financial system. "What will be stored on the person, just as the RG is today. What is in databases, such as the Internal Revenue Service, for example, will remain exactly the same way. We will not make any kind of crossing data, reinforce.
Ceelox, Inc. plans to fill a response to a draft strategy, referred to as the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace. This tactic is in reaction to President Obama's "Cyberspace Policy Review" noting a critical national priority in securing identities in transactions and creating a trusted online environment. Ceelox' says its two factor identity authentication utilizing biometrics can provide the greatest deterrent to identity theft and creates a trusted national cyberspace platform. Ceelox ID Online is a cyberspace software solution that integrates into personal computers as well as government, enterprise, and financial institution's systems.
Plymouth County, Mass., Sheriff Joseph McDonald calls the county's latest crime-fighting tool "an iPhone on steroids." Paid for by a $200,000 federal grant funneled through the Massachusetts Sheriffs' Association, the technology is a sleeve that fits over an iPhone and captures electronic fingerprints, iris scans and photographs.
The biometric data then gets sent to an encrypted and secure cloud-like database. "The technology is a game-changer," McDonald said. "It's going to enable officers to really get a handle on who the bad guys are, and make it more difficult for these bad guys to hide from us."
In Dharwad, India, CCTV cameras and biometric machines have found their way into the deputy commissioner's office in a bid to discipline the government servants, who normally are blamed for taking their work lightly. The members of the staff have to give their thumb impressions on the biometrics on their entry and exit from the working area. There is a single entry and exit point to the working area now, unlike in the past where there used be multiple doors. the biometric attendance system and CCTV cameras have been intended to serve multiple purposes in streamlining the administration. It will register the attendance and movements of caseworkers, office managers, besides keeping a check on the entry of unauthorized people into the office premises.
Chris Hounsell of Career Development and Experiential Learning encourages anyone thinking of travelling to the U.K. to take advantage of the biometrics service.
A mobile biometrics clinic will visit Memorial University of Newfoundland, (colloquially known as Memorial University or "MUN") for anyone interested in learning more about the process or having it done. In the fall of 2008, the UK Border Agency underwent a complete overhaul of their immigration system at which time they introduced biometrics as part of their visa application process. The clinic involves having digital photos or fingerprints taken as part of the visa application process, if a person intends to work or study in the UK. The Acting Manager for the Cooperative Education Services Centre at Memorial, Chris Hounsell, says the process differs depending on how long a student plans to study abroad.
OmniPerception Ltd, a supplier of computer vision capabilities specializing in facial biometrics and advanced image-processing software, announced the signing of a partnership with MaxVision LLC (www.maxvision.com), a leader in portable biometrics and rugged portable computers, workstations and servers. The partnership will see OmniPerceptions proprietary facial biometric software being integrated into MaxVisions Biometric Portable Acquisition Computer (BPac), a handheld rugged computer with built in biometrics. This rugged Ultra Mobile Personal Computer (UMPC), uses a rugged, drop-proof, IP67 sealed aluminum package that fits in a cargo pocket and that can collect and process biometric and other relevant in-the-field information.
Anakam and Axolotl Corp. are collaborating on a project designed to show how strong user authentication and identity proofing can be implemented successfully within a health information exchange. Powered by Axolotl's Elysium® Exchange, the Santa Cruz Health Information Exchange (HIE) is implementing Anakam Identity Suite® to provide secure access to its community through a flexible, cost-effective, and scalable identity proofing and multi-factor authentication platform. This service eliminates the need for Santa Cruz HIE to issue physical tokens, cards, or special devices to physicians, patients, and others who need secure access to health information. The Anakam Identity Suite is specifically created to deliver NIST Level 3 authentication with an out-of-band (OOB) expiring one-time pass code (OTP) delivered via mobile phone, office phone, email, or voice biometrics.
According to the World Bank in 2009 overseas workers repatriated about 316 billion dollars .
Michael Kramer, CEO of VoiceCash Group knows that there are millions of expatriate workers all over the globe, many illiterate, that are in need of affordable financial services which enable them to transfer money. Because almost all of the workers are mobile phone users, the logical conclusion was to offer mobile banking. This cohesion allows the workers to access financial services in a way that they can afford and understand. Also benefitting from the mobile banking services are the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). VoiceCash gives the MNOs and MVNOs the opportunity to offer their users of mobile banking services highly effective security. There is no need to speak a recognized international language nor is any special level of literacy required. Because everyone possesses a unique personal voice identity.
Therefore by using voice biometrics, If a user wants to transfer money, he can do this by voice control or SMS. Because his voice is registered and stored in conjunction with his mobile phone number, an automatic callback is sufficient to verify that the voice profile matches the phone number.
7 July 2010 - The Philippine Consulate General in Guam has started accepting applications for the new Philippine electronic passport (ePassport) last July 1.
A total of nine ePassport applications were processed on the first full day of its implementation.
This includes the processing of the Consulate General's first infant ePassport applicant, whose biometrics and photo were successfully captured and digitally stored for electronic transmission to the ePassport personalization center in Manila.
Global Rainmakers, Inc. (GRI), an intellectual property holding company and advanced R&D laboratory, recently announced a non-exclusive channel distribution partnership with Arizona-based APL Access & Security Inc. (APL), to resell and integrate Global Rainmakers' biometrics technology into their access control and security business throughout the U.S. Global Rainmakers has created a suite of biometric products.
The Company's biometrics products are designed to recognize humans uniquely based on one or more intrinsic physical or behavioral traits, in this instance iris recognition.
Generally, biometric solutions are often leveraged in identity access management and control systems. GRI's iris platform provides the foundation to service billions of distinctive users across a global scale by leveraging proprietary image capture and matching technologies.
It was on June 30, 2000 that then-President Bill Clinton signed the Electronic Signatures in Global National Commerce (ESIGN) Act. To commemorate the occasion, Docusign, a provider of an e-signature platform, is releasing of Docusign Spring 10, a major upgrade to its service.
Docusign Spring 10 includes new collaboration tools, such as version management - where revisions can be made to a document, signed-off by all parties and show up for final sign-off as a clean copy. It also includes a new voice biometrics feature, which is another layer of identity confirmation. And it has added an "Agent Role," allowing, for example, a real estate agent the ability how to access and review files on behalf of the client, releasing them to the client only when they're truly ready. The company also is announcing a partnership with Box.net to bring DocuSign's eSignature service to finish out the full collaboration process - all the way down to the signing of the docs - to the cloud.
Realtors Property Resource LLC, a subsidiary of the National Association of Realtors that is building a national parcel-based property database, will employ security software that monitors the keystroke patterns of users. RPR has selected Clareity Security's "Scout for SAFEMLS" platform. Clareity claims other security solutions that monitor IP address and login frequency have limited success in detecting unauthorized sharing of user accounts. By monitoring keystroke patterns of users after they log in, Scout for SAFEMLS is able to detect differences between individual users and determine whether an account has been taken over by an unauthorized user or if a login is being shared by multiple users.
David Ting, CTO of Imprivata, speaking to SC Magazine, declared that the banking industry is confronted with a severe password predicament with amplified regulation on data security and auditing such as the Basel Accords, Sarbanes Oxley and EU Data Protection Directive. This is together with the challenges of a ever quickening working environment (often in a customer-facing role) that means users are required to log on/log off from several applications, quite a few times every day.
Asked how biometrics have benefited the healthcare industry, and could move into banking security. He said: "When staff are forced to use complex passwords for each of these applications, they are tempted to cut corners when it comes to password security. This is where jotting down login credentials and password sharing becomes a real issue, meaning that password-only authentication in a banking environment could be viewed as inherently flawed. In the banking industry, strong, or two-factor authentication, where a password is combined with another form of authentication, such as a smartcard, token or biometric, is ideal for user convenience, productivity and security."
Geisinger Health System has selected Aethon's MedEx system, an automated tracking and 'chain of custody' documentation system. MedEx enhances the functionality of Aethon's TUG robots, automatic robotic delivery devices that move equipment and supplies throughout Geisinger's corridors. These robots deliver, track and retrieve medications, supplies, meals and equipment throughout the hospital to improve productivity, safety, healthcare efficiency and patient care. Combining passive radio frequency identification technology and biometrics capabilities built into the TUGs' secure carts, MedEx creates an electronic chain of custody receipt indicating when an item is placed in and removed from the TUG.
The International Biometrics & Identification Association (IBIA) announced that it has expanded its mission to focus on the overall issue of determining identity. This new mandate, one that will see biometric and other technologies play an increasingly important role, has been deemed critical by the IBIA, given the rise of authentication issues facing data security, identity theft, immigration and homeland security. "With mature biometric and other technologies, we can most certainly stem the tide of identity fraud and reverse the overwhelming statistics we continue to see," said Tovah LaDier, IBIA's Managing Director. "With the clear global need for identification and authentication of individuals, IBIA's new mission will help consumers, businesses, and governments find solutions that address business needs and enhance security, privacy, productivity and convenience."
The government of India will provide biometrics identity card to all fishermen of coastal Gujarat before 15th of August in view of national security. Jamnagar based Fisheries office will complete this job by setting up 23 centers and employing extra staff. All active fishermen above the age of 16 will be covered in this scheme. Bharat Electronics Companys representatives will visit the places and feed the data into a computer database. Fishermen will have to produce a ration card, election identity card, fishermen cooperative or village talatis certificate. In post-monsoon fishing season, only those fishermen with biometrics card will be allowed to go into the sea.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has published the Aadhaar Authentication Application Programming Interface (API) specification on its website. It contains details including API data format, protocol, and security specifications. Aadhaar Authentication is the process wherein Aadhaar number, along with other attributes, including biometrics, are submitted online to the Central Identities Data Repository for its verification on the basis of the information or data or documents available with it. Aadhaar authentication service only responds with a yes/no and no personal identity information is returned as a part of the response.
System Includes MorphoTrak’s Secure Credentials Center for Greater Identity Assurance, Improved Customer Service, and Enhanced Security of 3D Photo IDTM
MorphoTrak (Safran Group) received an award notification from the North Carolina Department of Transportation for an enhanced security driver license system in the amount of $47.5M. The system includes MorphoTrak’s Secure Credentials Center (SCC) to increase security validations and privacy protections, while significantly increasing customer service and convenience. The SCC has been implemented worldwide wherever document security, identity assurance and personal privacy protection are critical.
“We are extremely pleased with the award intention announced by the state of North Carolina,” stated Daniel Vassy, President and CEO of MorphoTrak. “The efficiencies delivered through our Secure Credentials Center and our innovative security technology such as 3D Photo IDTM on polycarbonate cards offers the best value and minimal risk for our customers."
Auto theft is one of the biggest problems in the US today. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a vehicle is stolen in the US every 26 seconds. Hawk Systems, Inc.’s has an innovative solution designed to protect from vehicle theft with the installation of Hawk Systems’ patented biometric fingerprint technology.
Hawk Systems www.hawksystemsinc.com delivered last week the first 28 units of its patented biometric vehicle identification car starter system to 45th Street Auto Sales, Inc.
The Hawk Biometric Vehicle Identification Car Starter (SECUREPASSTM) is a fingerprint-identification security technology device offering automotive security to automobile owners, buyers and dealers alike.
Hawk Systems’ goal with the SECUREPASSTM technology is focused on prevention; rather than just the recovery of a vehicle after it has been stolen. The SECUREPASSTM system offers a proactive measure to theft or car-jacking; in contrast, most of the security systems available today are reactive systems, such as: GPS, basic car alarms, and other similar systems, which emit only noise or radio signals while a vehicle is being stolen. Hawk Systems’ SECUREPASSTM system is a true multi-layer live fingerprint-ID security device, not just an optical scan of a fingerprint. The system offers redundant, fail-safe automotive security and once installed it will render the vehicle inoperable to any non-authorized user. The SECUREPASSTM system supports up to 16 approved users per vehicle.
If you are tired of smudges screens and if you take your biometric footprint seriously try this finger protection gear from phone fingers.
It will reduce your biometric data trail , keeps your screens clear and readable . They come in four different sizes and in four different colours: black, blue , pink and white
Read the test review (in Spanish) here., or watch this video
Sagem Identification (Morpho’s subsidiary, Safran group) announced today that it won an international call for tenders from the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. Starting October 1st, 2011, Sagem Identification will produce, personalize and distribute the new designed Dutch travel documents (electronic passports and national identity cards) for a period of 7 years with an extension possibility of 3 years. The yearly volume will be over 3 million documents.“This contract is again an example of the outstanding cooperation and the combination of the strength, knowledge and experience inside Morpho,” said Jean-Paul Jainsky, Chairman and CEO of Morpho.
“We are both proud and honored to earn the trust of the Dutch government,” said Anko Blokzijl, Chairman of the non-executive board of Sagem Identification. “This contract confirms our position as the market leader in high-end biometric passport solutions and our ability to meet the highest demands for secure solutions against competitive pricing.”
Ellington, Connecticut –June 28, 2010 –Time is money in workforce management and every second counts. ATS has revamped its branding to better communicate the company’s commitment to providing highly efficient, robust, and reliable time & attendance and workforce management products. A new company logo, font, tagline, and brand imagery were unveiled at the Society for Human Resource Management Annual Conference in San Diego.
For nearly twenty years ATS has been providing rugged, reliable, precise, and efficient time & attendance and workforce management terminals. In workforce management time equals money. In fact every second counts, as Peter DiMaria, President of ATS, explains, “If an employer has 5,000 employees that clock in and their time recording is off 2 seconds per hour for each employee all day, all week, all year that totals nearly 5,778 hours per year being either under- or over-reported. That’s a lot of hours and a lot of money. And that’s why our new corporate tagline is Every Second Counts.”
More information on:
http://www.accu-time.com/
Dubai-based Simage Technologies has announced the release of its new Secure Contactless Token, a multi-purpose biometric device for secure ID, payments and secure authentication. With the new device, users can securely access their bank accounts online, pay for public transportation or goods at supporting retail locations, access e-government services with secure ID verification and store electronic health records.
The token supports multiple biometric functions, including facial recognition, iris scan, and an on-board Fingerprint ‘Match-On-Device’ application that allows secure user verification in both online and offline modes.
The token uses the open-source OATH standard for generating a single-use 6 digit OTP, which is displayed on the LCD screen along with the value of the payment
The Afghan National Army Air Force (ANAAF) is taking its name change from the Army Air Corps as a fresh start for the quickly expanding youngest branch of the Afghan military.
This means they are getting serious when confronting issues that may have plagued the Air Force in the past, such as accountability of its troops.
“When entering the [United States] military, certain information is gathered in order to make sure you are who you say you are as well as a reference for future use. No real system has been in place for the Afghan Air Force and so, with the Ministry of the Interiors help, we’re changing that” explained Capt. Anita Boone, 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group.
The personal information gathered will be stored digitally with a picture, an iris scan, a thumbprint and cross-referenced for accuracy. When this is done, it means that the Afghan Air Force will have a full inventory of its people, with reliable data to be used should the need present itself.
This is a big step towards creating an environment where the personnel are held accountable for their actions and where it is needed to help confront the issues of absent personnel and drug use, which has had a negative impact on moral and performance.
Along with the biometrics there is a urinalysis that will be testing for marijuana, cocaine, meth-amphetamines and heroin abuse. The results will be tested the same day and will be immediately available.
Skin markings like scars, birthmarks and tattoos are considered soft biometrics, easily measurable physical characteristics that can change. Tattoos are becoming more common with estimates that approximately 36% of people between 18 and 29 have at least one tattoo. Most are specific to the individual, though many social groups adopt tattoos of similar design to designate membership. This is very common among gang members. Tattoos can give information on social characteristics such as time in prison, number of crimes committed and ethnic affiliations.
Tattoos have been used for identifying bodies in mass disasters like 9/11 and homicides. This is often necessary when partial remains are found or other identifying biometrics like fingerprints are removed. Residual markings from tattoos remain in the skin even after burns or decomposition. Tattoos are also used to identify suspects in custody who may be using a false name.
In the past, forensic investigators have kept large notebooks containing tattoo photos, which later gave way to searchable computer databases with tattoo characteristics. Both are unwieldy and require significant search time to find a match.
For more information download this excellent whitepaper on this subject on:
http://www.cse.msu.edu/biometrics/Publications/SoftBiometrics/JainLeeJinTattoo07.pdf
New measure hailed as "a revolution" by Science and Technology C'tee chair
A law to allow the use of electronic signatures online, which was passed Monday night by the Knesset on its second and third (final) readings, was hailed by Science and Technology Committee chairman MK Meir Sheetrit as “a revolution.” As computer and communications technologies have advanced, and the use of the Internet for commerce and a variety of other activities has expanded, so has the need for electronic signatures, which provide the highest level of protection to ensure the user’s identity.Among the items the state can issue as approved electronic documents are biometric identity cards, which can be used in dealings with the state and for state employee ID cards, including those for soldiers, police and prison workers. Biometric ID cards contain data from fingerprint or retina scans.
It sounds like the stuff of Hollywood thrillers: a person entering a building has his face scanned by a computer. Failing to recognize it, an alarm sounds and security comes running.
This, however, is not so much a fictional scenario as a likely outcome, if the latest security wheeze becomes common practice in Beijing. Companies are now being offered facial recognition software by security firms to ensure their employees clock in and out on time. Employees will have their features scanned, and information about their details and arrival will be announced on screen.
Most biometric systems still employ fingerprint identification, but new technologies are poised for growth, driven by increased awareness and lowered costs of the technologies involved, said a Frost & Sullivan analyst. In a Web briefing conducted Friday,
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. The rest of the biometrics market went primarily to facial recognition, iris scanning, palm vein 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.
Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD), Western Recruiting Region, San Diego has implemented the RAPIDGate(R) Program to increase installation security. The patented program, offered by Eid Passport, Inc., is available by installation approval to new and existing vendors, suppliers, service providers and contractors who require routine access to MCRD.
As an added benefit, the program provides streamlined access to the installation, typically resulting in increased efficiency and cost savings for enrolled companies. MCRD has implemented the RAPIDGateProgram in proactive pursuit of efficient installation security.
Juliana Adenike Ogunfuye petitions for review of a final order of removal entered by the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA"). The BIA's order affirmed the Immigration Judge's ("IJ") decision to deny her motion for a continuance and dismiss Ogunfuye's claims for relief from removal as abandoned because she failed to supply biometric information in compliance with the IJ's order.
On appeal, Ogunfuye argues that the IJ did not give her proper notice that she needed to submit biometrics as required by 8 C.F.R. § 1003.47(d). She asserts that the lack of notice resulted in the dismissal of her applications for relief in violation of her due process rights. She further contends that the IJ erred by not granting her a continuance to submit biometrics.
Controlling who enters and leaves the territory of a sovereign nation has evolved from the days when travelers carried a letter from the king to the modern era, when the United States has gone through fits and starts to installing motion sensors along the Mexican border. Technology is a complex mistress that can work for you or make your life more complicated, but it is becoming a bigger part of how America controls its borders and the people who flow through them, panelists at a session on border security said Wednesday at the Aspen Security Forum.
Controlling who enters and leaves the territory of a sovereign nation has evolved from the days when travelers carried a letter from the king to the modern era, when the United States has gone through fits and starts to installing motion sensors along the Mexican border. Technology is a complex mistress that can work for you or make your life more complicated,but it is becoming a bigger part of how America controls its borders and the people who flow through them, panelists at a session on border security said Wednesday at the Aspen Security Forum.
Another government official with the Department of Homeland Security said his agency has had much greater success with biometric technology, which requires the fingerprinting of anyone obtaining a U.S. visa. Robert Mocny, director of the US-VISIT program, said Americans ought to begin contemplating the impacts of “taking a piece of your body and running it through a computer,” because such technology is likely to become more prevalent in everyday life.
Under the guidance of I-79 Development Council president Bob McLaughlin and consultant Ron Basini, a group of “angel” investors have banded together to form the West Virginia Angel Network (WVAN). The WVAN will make high risk, potentially high return investments in West Virginia start-up and early stage companies. The WVAN is looking for additional angel investors. West Virginia-headquartered companies interested in obtaining angel investment can go to www.wvangel.net for additional information and to apply.
I've written on a number of occasions about the fallibility of biometrics as a trusted means to find or identify an individual. Setting aside problems with the mathematics of biometrics and associated false accept / false reject issues, my biggest concern is the human factor: once the authorities have it into their heads that biometrics never lie, common sense and good judgment go out the window.
This is particularly important where biometric evidence is used in a police investigation, since it becomes impossible for defendants to challenge either the accuracy of the original evidence, or of the procedures used to process it within the investigation. High-profile false convictions become inevitable, and it would only take a few such cases to completely undermine the evidential value of biometrics even in apparently 'open and shut' cases.
To eliminate misuse and leakages from its flagship rural employment program, India could introduce biometric-aided identity checks that can be verified remotely. The government’s initiative comes at a time when the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been criticized for leakages. It is the government’s largest social sector spending program with allocation for this fiscal pegged at Rs40,100 crore.
The proposal, which has already been submitted to the government for approval, aims at rolling out a GPS (global positioning system)-enabled plan of biometric attendance for the job-guarantee scheme workers within one year once accepted, said a ministry official who is aware of the matter. He declined to be identified.
A panel with representatives from the ministry of rural development, department of financial services and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has prepared the proposal. It is largely aimed at addressing the problem of ghost workers and misappropriation of job cards.
Anyone who volunteers in a Catholic parish in Las Vegas -- ranging from ushers to those who clean up litter at a church festival -- must be fingerprinted or they cannot volunteer, the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas has decreed.
The Catholic Church has been rocked nationally and internationally by sex and child abuse scandals. And the policy was handed down to "further protect children" in local parishes, according to Rachel Wilkinson, of Rogich Communications, the public relations firm that represents the diocese.
"The newer policy was not the result of a singular event," Wilkinson said, adding that she did not know of any Las Vegas cases of church volunteers abusing children.
Bishop Joseph Pepe, head of the local diocese and author of the policy, was traveling to Germany last week and could not be reached for comment.
In 2002, Wilkinson noted, in the wake of around 11,000 allegations nationwide of priests sexually abusing children, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued the Charter for the Protection of Young People and the Diocese of Las Vegas then issued a policy requiring employees and volunteers who worked directly with children to be fingerprinted.
