BT/ Apple patents hint at wrist biometrics in MacBooks, under-display sensors for iPhones
Biometrics biweekly vol. 42, 20th June — 4th July
TL;DR
- Apple has been granted a pair of new patents by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for novel biometrics integrations into laptops and smartphones
- Amazon trains retail systems with a synthetic palm biometric database
- Yoti brings selfie age verification to Instagram in US pilot
- Mastercard’s new study reveals a lack of respect towards non-binary customers in financial services
- Mastercard’s Digital First program expands secure payment options, in partnership with Thales
- Microsoft restricts facial recognition services, sunsets facial analysis
- Hyundai Mobis has unveiled a new Smart Cabin solution that essentially turns a car into a health tracker on wheels
- US government committee gather evidence on biometric privacy-enhancing technologies
- iBeta report compares ISO and FIDO standards for biometric presentation attack testing
- Mantra’s dual iris biometric scanner certified for use with India’s Aadhaar
- Pangea combines AI analytics, computer vision for border control, workplace safety solutions
- Neurotechnology integrates MOSIP to serve open-source biometrics, digital ID projects
- Sentry Enterprises, ID.me, authID.ai receive authentication, data security certifications
- Liquid Avatar upgrades SSI consumer app as staggering growth forecast for decentralized ID
- IQE and Lumentum sign research and parts deal with 3D sensing, LiDAR, biometric security
- VinCSS launches FIDO2 biometric password manager as Alliance issues security key guidance
- New end-to-end digital ID platform launched by Mitek to give customers more control
- Idemia exec says new innovations could improve biometric data privacy at EU borders
- Ingenium rewrites CPNI Test Standard for biometric access control
- Corsight adds granular privacy controls to Fortify to support ethical facial recognition
- ComplyCube adds biometric authentication to a platform to address emerging fraud trends
- Idex Biometrics and Linxens partner to ease smart card development, adoption
- Smart Engines upgrades face biometrics feature as explosive OCR market growth forecast
- BIO-key focused on expanding distribution for identity-bound biometrics, joins AWS network
- Speechmatics to extend voice biometrics, speech recognition accuracy with $62M funding round
- Zitadel raises $2.5M for open-source digital identity platform
- Digital identity can be ‘highly exclusionary’ for social protection: UN report
- Digital ID, KYC infrastructure critical for digital currency rollout, says IMF
- Belgium unveils virtual digital identity card to extend itsme app functionality
- Switzerland unveils new digital ID credential to expedite service delivery
- Jamaica, Greece advancing digital ID plans with biometrics capture pilot, digital wallet
- Kenya to use biometrics first, ID number second for voter verification in August election
- Idemia paper pitches a framework for a broader consideration of biometrics excellence
- Breath recognition shows promise as a secure chemical biometric identifier
- First look: baby biometrics to tackle swaps, kidnaps and missing children
- Petvation brings biometric access control to the doggy door
- Biometric industry events. And more!
Biometrics Market
The Biometric system market size is projected to grow from USD 36.6 billion in 2020 to USD 68.6 billion by 2025; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.4% during the forecast period. Increasing use of biometrics in consumer electronic devices for authentication and identification purposes, the growing need for surveillance and security with the heightened threat of terrorist attacks, and the surging adoption of biometric technology in automotive applications are the major factors propelling the growth of the biometric system market.
Biometric Research & Development
Latest Research:
Breath recognition shows promise as a secure chemical biometric identifier
Researchers at Kyushu University, in Fukuoka, Japan, have developed a new way to scan and identify people’s breath. The olfactory sensor, created in collaboration with the University of Tokyo, analyzes the compounds in breath samples to create a unique biometric profile, according to a study published in Chemical Communications.
Using a sixteen-sensor array to detect 28 different compounds viable for measurement and identification, the process then feeds the data through a machine learning system that analyzes the data and generates a profile.
In separate sample groups of 6 and 20 people, the system was able to accurately match profiles with individuals about 98 percent of the time. Like face biometrics, accuracy would presumably be affected by mask-wearing.
Biometrics involving human chemical composition is not wholly new. Percutaneous gas emitted from the skin has been explored as an option — but it produces a relatively low percentage of volatile compounds, compared to breath. Researchers in Spain even proposed using body odor as a biometric; experiments they ran in 2014 showed B.O. yielding an accuracy rate of 85 percent, and breath research go back even further.
Chaiyanut Jirayupat, one of the authors of the Kyushu U study, pointed to the security advantages of chemical biometrics.
“Physical characteristics can be copied, or even compromised by injury,” he said, calling scent “a new a new class of biometric authentication, essentially using your unique chemical composition to confirm who you are.”
If this all sounds like a lot of hot air, the researchers are the first to admit that their system is still not blowing at full gale. Their first round of test subjects was made to fast for six hours before giving samples. Theoretically, for now, a buttery slice of garlic bread or a bite of funky kimchi could trick the system, allowing spicy spies to practice a kind of gastronomic subterfuge.
“We’ve developed a good foundation,” said Takeshi Yanagida, who led the study and is hopeful that a larger sensor array will help combat halitosis hocus-pocus. “The next step will be to refine this technique to work regardless of diet.”
U of Nebraska prepares to do whole-body biometric recognition from far-off sensors
Researchers in the U.S. state of Nebraska are preparing for biometric experiments to test facial and whole-body recognition.
The Defense Department-funded project will measure the accuracy of AI systems designed to identify subjects from pictures and video shot by drones and from stationary towers positioned far from groups of subjects.
The goal is to find better ways to recognize individuals in situations that make it impossible to do today.
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, or IARPA, is paying for the research as part of its Biometric Recognition and Identification at Altitude and Range, or Briar, program. Briar is being run in three parts, the first of which will run for 18 months. The entire program is scheduled to run for four years.
Researchers from the University of Nebraska’s Lincoln and Omaha campuses will collaborate on WatchID, a project within Briar. The other participants are the University of Maryland College Park, BlueHalo Co. and Resonant Sciences.
As part of the WatchID research, 200 volunteers will stand and walk in straight lines and circles in an open field, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. If the school’s systems are successful, they could advance to the next phase, where systems have to work with perhaps 600 subjects.
IARPA officials say cameras will be 300 or more meters away from the subjects and at an angle of up to 20 degrees in the sky.
Sensors on simulated watch towers and drones will try to identify and re-identify volunteers through facial recognition and whole-body measurements including gait biometrics, body shape and proportions.
New research on mobile fingerprint biometric scanning, synthetic data presented at eu-LISA summit
Among a series of presentations on technologies that are or could be used on Europe’s border at an eu-LISA Industry Roundtable held last week in France, two biometrics research projects, one involving hardware and another involving software, stood out.
Javier Galbally of eu-LISA chaired the session of industry presentations on ‘Biometric Solutions and Business Processes for Passenger Processing at Land/Sea BCPs,’ which began with a pair of presenters from the French Forensic Police and Isorg sharing their work on mobile biometrics capturing.
French police want mobile fingerprinting capacity in part to collect the biometric data of victims of crime, in order to differentiate it from other data, such as latent fingerprints found at a crime scene. Identification of cadavers, identity and right of residence verification and enrolment in information systems for minor offences also motivated the project.
Isorg Biometric Security and Identity Program Manager Jennifer Aflalo explained Isorg’s organic photodiode sensors, and the implementation of the sensor, and image quality considerations. Used in a scanner that provides a dedicated light source, Isorg’s technology meets the criteria for high-security fingerprint quality, Aflalo says.
Initial prototype design was followed by a larger-area version, and feedback collected from the French forensic authorities, and then a smartphone-sized system designed for final assessment and comparison to other market alternatives.
Good quality images were provided with minimal processing, marking a success for Isorg, according to the presentation, with similar results to other FBI-certified biometric technologies.
As an optical device, the scanner can also capture ID documents and even latent prints, Aflalo says. The tests showed that latent prints could be collected on the device, and then prints from live subjects, without the quality of images from the latter being affected for up to 100 repetitions.
One of the major advantages of the test from Isorg’s perspective was the work to put in place the image processing necessary to meet the requirements of the police.
Marcel Grimmer, a researcher with NTNU, presented a project conducted with eu-LISA to evaluate and improve the synthetic biometric datasets used by the regional agency.
The biometric synthetic datasets were composed to provide the necessary volume of training data without running afoul of data access and privacy challenges.
The test aimed to determine if the synthetic faces have similar characteristics to genuine samples, evaluate their quality and compare the scores obtained with open-source facial recognition systems. To do so, the researchers evaluated synthetic non-mated face images, edited facial attributes to generate synthetic mated samples, and compared the mated faces to real data.
Generative adversarial networks (GANs) were used for modifications like changing apparent facial age.
Grimmer reviewed the rapid progress in the capabilities of these GANs, setting up the finding that the synthetic subsets each have the similar biometric quality to the real reference data.
The mated comparison exhibited a much lower degree of similarity than the non-mated comparisons, particularly with relative extremes in age.
Grimmer concludes that face age modification algorithms appear to be effective for generating training data, in terms of biometric quality. Further experiments on robustness to larger age differences are recommended.
Some challenges must be solved before the synthetic data is fit for purpose as a sole tool for assessing operational systems, despite the encouraging results, Grimmer says.
Main News:
Pair of Apple patents hint at wrist biometrics in MacBooks, under-display sensors for iPhones
Apple has been granted a pair of new patents by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for novel biometrics integrations into laptops and smartphones.
A patent from the USPTO spotted by Patently Apple describes possible future MacBooks that could include, among other features, finger-sensing keys and palm print biometrics.
The patent for a ‘Device having integrated interface system’ describes a sensor to capture palm or wrist biometrics placed under the surface of the palm rest area of notebook computers. This could be palm prints, but it could also mean detecting and analyzing the user’s heart rate and other health-related metrics like blood oxygenation and temperature.
The interface system also includes sensors to allow users to draw over the keyboard with their fingers, and a phone charger built into the bottom left corner of a MacBook, beneath the keyboard.
Apple’s under-display iPhone biometrics development continues, meanwhile, at the research if not product level.
A patent for ‘shortwave infrared optical imaging through an electronic device display’ was likewise granted to Apple by the USPTO this week, and describes an optical sensor embedded “at least partially” under the display of an iPhone, emitting shortwave infrared light to capture fingerprints, iris, face or vein biometrics. The imaging sensor could be a single-element imager, or a multi-element array.
Different kinds of light could be used to read the user’s pulse or blood oxygen. The patent also describes various possible frequencies, and either pulsed or steady light emissions to capture biometric data.
Apple has not included Touch ID since the 2017 launch of iPhone X, when it shifted its focus to face biometrics. Rumors had circulated about the introduction of under-display sensor Touch ID in iPhone 13. With challenges to Face ID presented by masking during the pandemic, some had hoped for the imminent return of Touch ID. Instead, Apple worked on improving Face ID to work with masks.
Although under-screen Touch ID may take years to arrive on iPhone, Apple continues to file patents for advanced under-display sensor technology. Another patent, filed in 2019 and published in March, is for ‘Under-display fingerprint sensing based on off-axis angular light.’ As well, a version of Touch ID is a feature of the latest generation of iPad Air.
Amazon trains retail systems with synthetic palm biometric database
Amazon has been steadily improving its biometric retail systems, according to a presentation by Vice President of Physical Retail and Technology Dilip Kumar at the company’s recent re:MARS 2022 event, with continuing technology development and synthetic data for algorithm training.
Kumar summed up his talk on Amazon’s Just Walk Out, Amazon One and Amazon Dash Cart technologies in a post to a company website.
Ongoing innovation in “sensors, optics, and machine vision algorithms” have enabled the company to reduce the number of cameras used in its Just Walk Out system, Kumar says.
Synthetic data was used to increase the accuracy of Amazon’s AI algorithms, such as for different lighting conditions in stores. Amazon One’s palm biometrics algorithms were also trained and tested to work for customers from different demographics, temperatures, and physical characteristics like calluses and wrinkles.
The potential and limitations of human pose estimation, a technology used in ‘cashierless’ shopping and other applications, are examined in a Forbes Technology Council post from Mobidev Founder and CEO Oleg Lola. Like Kumar, Lola identifies a lack of training data as a potential barrier to widespread adoption of such cutting-edge computer vision technologies, but again like Kumar, he sees increased availability of training data ushering in another leap forward in capabilities, in this case for pose estimation.
Kumar also discussed the encryption technologies Amazon uses to secure the various applications.
Kumar discusses the selection of palm print and vein biometrics at some length in a video produced by the company.
The three criteria Amazon used to select its modality, which was that it must be contactless, it must be private, and it should involve an intentional, intuitive gesture.
“When you look at a palm, you can’t ascertain a person’s physical identity,” unlike face or voice, Kumar says on the second point.
In terms of the natural motion, Kumar says it is a close equivalent to people passing their phone over a surface, such as a QR code; an action people are already used to.
The misidentification rate so far is zero, according to Kumar. The company sets its algorithms to prioritize eliminating false positives over avoiding false negatives, accepting the need for backup forms of identification.
Amazon One also includes liveness detection algorithms.
‘Grammy said I could stay up late!’ Amazon hints at deepfake voices as family bonding
Amazon executives say they want to give their Alexa voice assistant the ability to mimic any voice it is trained on for less than a minute.
The company is hitting hard on emotions, according to reporting by Reuters. A senior vice president is quoted saying Amazon was inspired to write the code because “so many of us have lost someone we love” to the pandemic.
Too much? The company that now wants to “make the memories last” showed promotional video at Amazon’s re:Mars conference of a child who says, “Alexa, can grandma finish reading me the Wizard of Oz?”
Sadly, no video evidence of that heart-warmer could be found online, maybe because more than one news site covering the conference found the development “creepy.”
This is not the first time someone has made news with a voice deepfake.
Someone stole $35 million from a United Arab Emirates banker in 2020 using voice cloning.
Then there was the case of the fraudster in 2019 who swindled a British energy firm out of almost $250,000 the same way.
There also is a startup in this field, Descript, which claims it can make “ultra-realistic voice cloning.” In one example voice, that of a young woman? Ends phrases like questions? So, we can count on hearing? Even more of that annoying affected style?
Interest in being able to call out a faked voice is growing, too.
Microsoft restricts facial recognition services, sunsets facial analysis
Microsoft has released their Responsible AI Standard, a framework to guide the company’s work in artificial intelligence. Calling it “an important step in our journey to develop better, more trustworthy AI,” Natasha Crampton, Microsoft’s chief responsible AI officer, said the framework puts people at the center of system design decisions and aims to steer them toward better and more equitable outcomes. In a post on Microsoft’s website, Crampton said AI development needs to respect values like privacy, inclusiveness and accountability.
To that end, Microsoft said it will retire from its Azure Face recognition service facial analysis software designed to identify age, gender, emotional states, and other qualities, citing concerns about bias and inaccuracy.
Said Crampton, “experts inside and outside the company have highlighted the lack of scientific consensus on the definition of ‘emotions,’ the challenges in how inferences generalize across use cases, regions, and demographics, and the heightened privacy concerns around this type of capability.”
Additional charges will be made to the company’s more traditional biometric systems, including facial recognition, which will now be limited to managed services customers and partners and restricted to use-cases that have been pre-defined as acceptable. Users will be required to adhere to a code of conduct and follow guardrails to prevent misuse.
In its release, Microsoft emphasized the growing belief among AI observers that globally, laws to regulate uses of AI need to keep up with technological development. Crampton said the company recognizes its responsibility to act. “We believe that we need to work towards ensuring AI systems are responsible by design.”
The U.S.-based tech giant also joined others in halting sales of facial recognition to law enforcement agencies in 2020 in the absence of federal regulation.
The potential risks associated with AI have been in the headlines recently, after Blake Lemoine, an AI engineer Google, was put on leave for claiming that the company’s AI language modeling system, LaMDA, had become sentient.
A document with the Responsible AI Standard’s General Guidelines can be accessed here.
Yoti brings selfie age verification to Instagram in US pilot
London-based identity and biometrics firm Yoti has partnered with Instagram to provide face-based age verification for users in the U.S. in certain circumstances as part of a pilot. Vouching has also been added, alongside the existing ID upload route.
Instagram and Facebook have 13 as the minimum age for users, higher in countries where local law requires it. Proving identity has always been a problem and Instagram has been using AI to develop a general understanding of age based on behavior and links to Facebook accounts but admits children get around these.
This new pilot applies only to the U.S. and only to users attempting to edit their date of birth in account settings from currently under 18 to age over 18. This will trigger the need to verify their age through Yoti’s facial analysis, having their age (not necessarily date of birth) vouched by three contacts already confirmed as over 18 and not already vouching for someone else, or via the existing option of uploading identity documents or similar.
The approach is unlikely to appear in Europe where companies cannot collect data on users until they are 16. Yet even the U.S. cut-off of 13 will mean those under that age and already account holders could be undergoing facial analysis if claiming to be 18 or over. For example, German authorities have approved Yoti products for giving access to 16+ web content.
The new facial analysis route for Instagram begins a video selfie process where users are asked to make simple movements to a camera such as turning left or right. An image from the video was shared with Yoti, but no biographic details accompany it. Yoti analyses the facial features and returns an age estimate to Instagram.
There is no mention of parental consent and it is not clear what happens if the age estimate is below 13 or minimum age in the user’s jurisdiction, as the pilot is focused on determining whether a user is over 18.
Yoti deletes the image as soon as it completes the age estimation, the company confirmed to Biometric Update. There are no specifics for the deletion time at the Meta end, but for the ID upload route, any document shared is deleted within 30 days. It is also not clear what if any information is shared back to other Meta-based accounts linked to the holder.
“It’s testament to the robustness of our technology that one of the biggest companies in the world is choosing to use our solutions,” Chris Field, CMO at Yoti told Biometric Update via email. “Hugely exciting!”
Yoti’s May 2022 white paper on its products states its face estimation is performed by a neural network trained for facial age estimation.
“Our technology is accurate for 6 to 12 year olds with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 1.36 years and of 1.52 years for 13 to 19 year olds. These are the two age ranges regulators are most focused upon in order to ensure that under 18s do not have access to age restricted goods and services.”
Its other measure is True Positive Rate (TPR), the probability that an actual positive will test positive, such as an 18-year-old is correctly estimated to be under 23, notes the white paper.
“Our True Positive Rate for 13–17-year-olds being correctly estimated as under 23 is 99.65 percent. This gives regulators a very high level of confidence that nobody underage will be able to access adult content. Our TPR for 6–11 year olds being correctly estimated as under 13 is 98.91 percent.”
There are in the region of 120 million Instagram users in the U.S., according to Statista, predicted to reach 127 million in 2023. Over two thirds of global users are 34 or under, with 8.9 percent in the 13 to 17 category.
There are key differences between Instagram accounts for users above or below 18. For those deemed minors, accounts default to private accounts which means adults who are not followed by the account user cannot send them messages. It also limits what types of advertising can be sent to minors. Account holders registered as adults and want to change their age to below 18 already have to show ID.
As the Wall Street Journal uncovered last year, Facebook (now Meta) already knew how toxic Instagram is for young users, particularly teen girls. The new age verification steps do not tackle the mechanisms which deliver harmful content to young users.
The euCONSENT scheme is trialing a system for embedding age verification — with parental control for children — into users’ web browsers to allow smooth access to websites and counts Yoti among its partners.
Mastercard’s Digital First program expands secure payment options, in partnership with Thales
With cashless being faster and an increasingly more convenient way to pay, the risks of financial crime are ever more looming over customers’ heads when making digital payments.
Mastercard has announced its recently launched ‘Digital First’ programme will give customers more digital payment options with security features that enhance safe and secure transactions.
Research by Mastercard shows customers are adopting a default mindset towards digital finance management, with statistics saying 71% of people in Australia, 77% in India, 73% in China, and 62% in Japan believe contactless payment is the future way to pay.
The programme aims to strengthen digital payment capabilities across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) and help customers opt for their preferred payment method with options expanding, including contactless payment, cryptocurrency, biometrics, contactless, QR code or digital wallets.
Moreover, the scheme and its partners’ solutions assure customers with the ease of making seamless payments, issuance of digital cards, and real-time card management.
Further research shows that e-commerce activities were on the rise by 73% in the Middle East Africa at the start of the pandemic.
The Digital First initiative is boosted by partnerships with Mastercard’s network and end-to end solution partners including Thales, Network International and Verestro.
In a statement, Sandeep Malhotra, Executive Vice President of Products & Innovation, Asia Pacific, said: “Mastercard has been leading the drive into inclusive digital commerce for many years by delivering frictionless and secure payment experiences for the billions of people shopping and managing their finances at their fingertips around the clock and around the world.”
He continued: “Combined with the strengths of Mastercard’s partners, the Digital First programme offers the convenience of fast, transparent payments and maximises consumer choice with everything from digital cards in e-wallets, to QR on Card, to the Pay by Account solution that lets people make payments from a bank account using their financial service provider’s app”.
iBeta report compares ISO and FIDO standards for biometric presentation attack testing
Biometrics test lab iBeta published a new report comparing the effectiveness of the ISO 30107 and FIDO protocols in relation to presentation attack detection (PAD).
The paper begins by describing the company’s two testing services, and how they both require two primary levels of PAD testing.
While both certifications are internationally accepted as conforming with biometric security standards, tests to obtain the ISO 30107 requires performance testing on only one level, and FIDO requires it at both levels.
More specifically, ISO conformance testing’s two modes are ‘liveness-only’ and ‘full-system.’
Both involve the creation of PAIs (presentation attack instruments) such as masks, designed to penetrate the system’s security safeguards, but while liveness-only testing evaluates a biometrics system’s ability to differentiate a living human being and an attack, full-system also tests the biometric system’s ability to identify an individual.
The FIDO Alliance Biometric Component Certification, on the other hand, includes a PAD testing phase, and a performance testing one.
The first sees the biometric system tested in a laboratory setting, and the second makes it undergo mass testing in a population mirroring real-world conditions.
Additional technical details about both certifications are available in the document’s full text, but iBeta included a section at the end of the report aimed at helping companies choose between ISO and FIDO PAD.
“For companies trying to sell their technology to banking or other financial institutions, those institutions will indicate which type of testing they require,” reads the report.
The iBeta Biometrics ISO PAD and FIDO Testing Comparison 2022 report concluded with a FAQ section addressing various matters regarding the company’s biometric testing methods, certification process, and more.
The research comes weeks after an in-depth analysis of PAD testing in an interview with the new deputy director of Biometrics at iBeta, David Yambay.
New end-to-end digital ID platform launched by Mitek to give customers more control
Mitek has launched a new identity verification platform to help organizations protect digital identities and experiences throughout the entire customer journey.
MiVIP, or the Mitek Verified Identity Platform, has been released against a backdrop of spiking fraud rates, with the National Council on Identity Theft Protection noting that nearly half of U.S. citizens experienced identity theft in the past two years, Mitek notes in the announcement.
The MiVIP platform allows organizations to orchestrate its full range of identity verification, KYC and authentication technologies, from document checking to biometrics, geolocation, PEPS and sanctions and bureau checks. Those technologies were increased by Mitek with the recent acquisitions of HooYu and ID R&D, with the company saying when the latter was agreed to just over a year ago that it intended to address the security of the full transaction lifecycle.
“We know that no two companies approach identity verification and KYC compliance in the exact same way, so Mitek’s Verified Identity Platform provides access to a wide range of IDV signals out of the box,” explains Mitek Head of Product Chris Briggs in an email to Biometric Update. “However, the real game changer is that our simplified UI allows our customers to easily configure which signals they want to implement, as well as the order they want to implement them in, through a user-friendly administrative UI.
“Whether it’s database checks, PEPS & Sanctions screens, facial biometrics, liveness detection, ID document validation, geolocation, fraud alerts, digital footprint analysis, or many other types of verification signals, our customers can easily set the checks (and sequence) all in one place just by turning those signals on and off and arranging the order of operations,” Briggs continues. “Clients can then set an identity confidence score (threshold) to help conduct customer due diligence using a risk-based approach.”
“Identity is personal. At Mitek, we are on a mission to protect it,” said Mitek CEO Max Carnecchia. “Mitek’s new platform, MiVIP, is a culmination of our best technologies, our most recent acquisition and our ongoing commitment to putting Mitek’s customers in control of their consumer experiences.”
In addition to providing comprehensive and secure control, Mitek says MiVIP saves client organizations time and money by speeding up identity verification and onboarding, optimizing workflows, and deploying in hours rather than days or weeks, with a low code/no code architecture.
US government committee gather evidence on biometric privacy-enhancing technologies
Biometric privacy-enhancing technologies (BPET) could play a major role in protecting the sensitive information of Americans, experts told a House Subcommittee, but both more research and investment in those technologies, and carefully crafted policies to accompany them are needed.
The Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, which functions under The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Science, Space, & Technology hosted the hearing on ‘Privacy in the Age of Biometrics.’
Deployed at the point of data capture, biometric privacy-enhancing technologies can ensure that features unneeded for identification are obfuscated or otherwise not collected, Chairman Bill Foster (D-IL) said. Obfuscation of biometric data so that it cannot be stolen and used elsewhere, as well as templates protected by encryption, are techniques mentioned in Foster’s introduction.
Foster wants the databases of driver’s license photos held by states to be leveraged as biometric reference data for an American national digital ID system he has co-sponsored legislation for.
Ranking Committee Member Jay Obernolte (R-CA) spoke about the need to maintain the benefits of biometrics use with regulation, without taking on additional privacy or security risk. He also spoke about a number of “misguided” legislative proposals he heard while serving in California’s legislature that would have banned facial recognition outright.
Government Accountability Office Director of Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics Candice Wright reviewed GAO’s recent work uncovering how facial recognition is used by federal agencies. This research yielded a set of recommendations to improve transparency and the vetting of third-party partners to ensure biometric data is properly protected.
National Institute of Standards and Technology Information Technology Laboratory Director Dr. Charles H. Romine presented NIST’s approach to supporting privacy in IT systems, including biometrics. That includes NISTS’s Privacy Framework.
Michigan State University Department of Computer Science and Engineering Professor and NSF Center for Identification Technology Research Site Director Dr. Arun Ross noted the potential value of homomorphic encryption to protect biometric data. Cancelable biometrics was explained, along with “perturbing” facial images to allow their use in identification, but the ability to extract information about characteristics like age, sex, race, or health is obscured. Ross suggested face images could be made more difficult to scrape from public websites and social media profiles, and that cameras could be deployed that capture data uninterpretable by people, and useful only within a given application.
Academic researchers are generally more aware of privacy concerns than before and build such considerations into their technology and evaluations.
“This shift in the research culture is remarkable, and bodes well for the future of the technology,” his addressed concluded.
During the question and answer phase of the hearing, Romine said that enormous strides have been recently made to bring homomorphic encryption into the practical realm, though further work remains on that front.
Ross further explained the use of mathematical functions to transform fingerprint templates in ways that make them cancelable.
Obernolte noted that privacy is not necessarily binary, in terms of presence or absence, and discussed the challenge of scope creep with Romine.
Procurement practices, the importance of the context of use to privacy considerations, the privacy rules government agencies are required to adhere to, and the consistency with which privacy impact assessments are applied were also discussed.
Mantra’s dual iris biometric scanner certified for use with India’s Aadhaar
Mantra Softech announced its iris scanner MATISX has received the Standardization Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) from the Indian government.
The move enables government officials to use biometric devices to enroll individuals into the Aadhaar national digital ID system.
“We are delighted to receive the STQC certification for MATISX,” an official spokesperson from Mantra Softech told Biometric Update. “We strongly believe in our product, and we are very sure that our device will make the [Aadhaar] enrollment process [more] seamless than ever.”
From a technical standpoint, the MATISX scanner makes use of Fingerprint Cards’ touchless iris biometric technology, which allows for auto-capture for dual iris recognition, adjustable interpupillary distance range, and “immunity” to ambient lighting, the company says.
Additionally, the scanner features an iris diameter greater than 210 pixels with progressive scan capabilities and an IP65 ingress protection rating.
Mantra says the certification comes at a perfect time, as the Aadhaar scheme’s numbers are substantially growing.
“With the use of Aadhaar [registry] getting momentum for government-led initiatives nationwide, the biometric-based citizen ID program is witnessing a rise in enrollments. This is the market that we wish to cater [to].”
The STQC certification comes months after Mantra released the first iteration of its handheld biometric point-of-sale (POS) devices for Android in April.
Idemia paper pitches framework for broader consideration of biometrics excellence
Artificial intelligence algorithms should be more broadly evaluated in order to ensure systems deliver results that will inspire confidence in biometrics and other advanced technologies, according to a new position paper from a market leader. Training data and systems configuration could use some work too.
‘Six Key Factors in Algorithm Excellence,’ written by Idemia VP of Innovation and Client Engagement Teresa Wu, sets out criteria for selecting AI technologies for digital identity and biometric applications.
Problems with algorithms go beyond simplistic considerations of accuracy, Wu writes, with algorithmic bias as a ready example of a negative characteristic too often present in AI systems.
She proceeds to make six recommendations for algorithm developers to pursue for “optimum performance,” each one targeted at a specific risk listen in NIST’s AI Risk Management Framework. The recommendations are intended to make up a “qualification framework that extends beyond technical considerations to assess whether an identity and biometrics technology company is pursuing excellence in the development of its AI-based algorithm.”
The need for transparency, performance over time and across multiple tests, “experience and robustness in the field,” security and privacy, and fairness and ethics commitments are each explained. Wu notes that biometric systems used for identification and verification should be tested for both, and lays the blame for the recent wave of legislation restricting facial recognition use by states and municipalities with those algorithms that exhibit bias, and can cause exclusion from services.
Wu also highlights the importance of sourcing training data ethically, and also configuring technology properly in order to avoid introducing bias.
An example of results that reflect bias in an AI system, whether introduced through the algorithm or the implementation, a woman living in Manitoba, Canada, had to have her photo color-corrected by driver’s license authority staff after the system flagged the image as depicting an “unnatural” skin tone, CBC reports.
Manitoba Public Insurance suggested the error could be caused by focus and lighting problems preventing the photo from meeting its “facial recognition software and photo standards.”
Tolu Ilelaboye, an African-Canadian from Winnipeg, is unhappy with the response from the public agency, which says that when image capture problems occur, employees adjust camera settings and other factors. Ilelaboye says that was not done in her case and suggested that better employee training could have resolved the issue. MPI also says skin tone is not a reason for a license photo to be rejected.
It could be worse. A paper presented at the 2022 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency showed that robots trained on “foundational models” used in computer vision, natural language processing, or both adopted bigoted stereotypes about people based on their skin color or gender.
The authors of ‘Robots Enact Malignant Stereotypes’ find that the institutional policies must be put in place to reduce the harms caused by large datasets and ‘Dissolution Models,’ and issue a call for collaborative action to address bias and other harmful behaviors being built into some computing systems.
Neurotechnology integrates MOSIP to serve open-source biometrics, digital ID projects
Neurotechnology has integrated MOSIP with its MegaMatcher Software Development Kit (SDK) and MegaMatcher Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) products to enhance scalability, security, and privacy for users.
The MOSIP integration means that the MegaMatcher SDK and MegaMatcher ABIS can now be used in existing and future MOSIP-based large-scale identity projects, including implementing biometric passports, voter registration and de-duplication, border control, law enforcement, social services, and a wide range of other applications that rely on secure and reliable personal identification.
“Two of the main differentiators of our biometric technology have always been openness to a wide range of standards and the free trials that are easily accessible to everyone from our website,” says Antonello Mincone, business development director for Neurotechnology. “Being a partner with MOSIP, and making our core technology compliant with its API definitions, is simply the natural path to follow to maintain our core principles and further strengthen trust among our thousands of customers worldwide.”
Commenting on the partnership, Sanjith Sundaram, head of biometric ecosystem for MOSIP, said:
“We believe in collaborating with our partners to make available a variety of cutting-edge technology solutions that work seamlessly with MOSIP. This eventually helps adopting countries in achieving their goal of inclusion in a much more efficient and cost-effective way. We look forward to working with Neurotechnology, and leveraging their expertise in the field, contributing to the common goal that we all share.”
Neurotechnology says implementations for MegaMatcher SDK and MegaMatcher ABIS can be requested by government institutions for system integrations and system integrators who aim to test and use the company’s capabilities through this open standard.
Sentry Enterprises, ID.me, authID.ai receive authentication, data security certifications
A number of companies in the biometric space have received new qualifications, with Sentry Enterprises announcing the completion of FIDO2 certification, and both ID.me and authID.ai achieving ISO 27001 compliance.
Corsight adds granular privacy controls to Fortify to support ethical facial recognition
Corsight AI has updated Fortify, its flagship facial recognition software, with privacy enhancements to help protect subjects’ data and address existing and emerging regulations and industry standards.
The upgrade takes the form of a suite of granular privacy settings to ensure Privacy by Design and by Default, according to the announcement, which is a legal stipulation set out in Article 25 of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.
Corsight says it is the first facial recognition technology provider to build tools for meeting these requirements into its software. The granular privacy options increase visibility for better biometric data management, enabling a full understanding of what data is stored, why, and for how long. Data can also be pseudonymized for analyzing data without compromising personal data security.
“Facial recognition technology represents a whole system approach,” Corsight Chief Privacy Officer Tony Porter explained. “That system ranges from the camera at the front end, the software being used, the human operator, policies, processes and even training delivered and undertaken by the operators. The granular system settings are fundamental to this approach. They enable the operator to comply with all data processing principles from minimisation, pseudonymization and lawful retention. They enable lawful use and compliance. They provide confidence and reassurance to the public that the highest adherence to data privacy principles are being adhered to.”
The company notes that the incremental creep of privacy laws in the United States, and the prospect of a Federal Privacy Bill, which appears to indicate the importance of Privacy by Design will only increase.
“Laws and regulations can take many years before they catch up with technology and its implications,” Porter writes. “Organizations using our software are determined to protect their hard-earned integrity by delivering the most accurate and privacy focussed software. The public is right to expect the best. Laws will follow that undoubtedly reflect the highest standards developing within this software industry. Corsight AI will continue to monitor emerging laws, regulations, and standards and reflect those best practices within its solution.”
Along with software upgrades, Corsight is working with data operators to ensure ethical use of its facial recognition, the company says.
ComplyCube adds biometric authentication to platform to address emerging fraud trends
Biometric face authentication has been added to ComplyCube’s all-in-one identity verification platform to help prevent account takeover attacks, fake signups at scale, and synthetic identities.
ComplyCube says it has invested heavily in research and development to create new deep learning models. The new capabilities can be deployed through the company’s APIs and SDKs.
“With the introduction of Biometric Authentication, our award-winning adaptive AI platform continues to evolve to stay ahead of fraudsters and fight new sophisticated techniques employed by increasingly organized criminals,” says Harry Varatharasan, chief data scientist at ComplyCube. “Built on top of our core AI spoof detection engine, the new offering builds complex 3D face maps and scans highly optimized indices of banned faces to ensure only genuine customers get through.”
Account takeovers have risen by 148 percent across all sectors over the past 12 months, according to the announcement, while fake signup requests and ‘Frankenstein IDs’ are growing threat trends. Fake signups often carried out by rotating faces across hundreds of fraud attempts per day, can enable criminals to claim new account bonuses or create mule accounts, ComplyCube notes.
Money mule are a bigger problem than many people realize, according to new research from BioCatch. The behavioral biometrics provider has published new research which accords with ComplyCube’s observations about mule accounts (see below).
Adding strong biometric authentication to ComplyCube’s global KYC checks addresses this altered threat landscape, the company says.
ComplyCube’s presentation attack detection (PAD) system for face biometrics was upgraded in late-2021 to detect spoofs with photos, masks and videos across all channels.
Money mules represent 0.3 percent of all accounts at U.S. financial institutions, at an estimated value of $3 billion in fraudulent transfers, according to BioCatch.
A study co-authored with Aite-Novarica details ‘The Emerging Case for proactive Mule Detection,’ which indicates the problem is also widespread geographically, with some 468,000 mule accounts in the UK accounting for over $700 million in fraudulent transfers. The report also shows that more than 80 percent of fraud executives believe more can and should be done to prevent the risk of mule accounts.
Idex Biometrics and Linxens partner to ease smart card development, adoption
A new partnership between Idex Biometrics and Linxens Holding SAS will make Linxens a global provider of Idex’s biometric smart cards, and integrate technology from both companies into a turnkey biometrics solution for various applications.
“We are delighted to announce this important collaboration with Linxens, the global leader in smart card inlays, NFC antennas, and contact plates,” says Vince Graziani, CEO of Idex Biometrics. “This combined solution allows smart card manufacturers to substantially reduce design time, minimize manufacturing and supply chain challenges, and accelerate time to market, which all contribute to lower costs.”
Customers will be able to customize cards with available elements, to address specific applications. The product includes IDEX Biometrics’ TrustedBio biometric module, which consists of a fingerprint sensor paired with an algorithmic microcontroller — according to Idex, “the highest-performing fingerprint sensor available.” Linxens will bring their BioLAM card inlay for optimized connectivity, and the EMV module, a contact plate that integrates Infineon Technologies’ SLC38 security controller.
The collaboration will allow the two companies to simplify card manufacturing and expedite time to market. Linxens has seven manufacturing plants across Europe and Asia, and has invested 5 million Euros to establish a “global biometric competence center” at its sensor assembly plant in Mantes-la-Jolie, France.
It follows similar collaborative trends across an industry facing rapidly accelerating growth, mostly to support biometric cards for payments. According to a June 2022 report by Grandview Research, the market for biometric payment cards is expected to reach $4.3 billion by 2030.
Smart Engines upgrades face biometrics feature as explosive OCR market growth forecast
Smart Engines has released an update to its catalog of AI-driven Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software, including improvements to its biometric face matching and an expanded library of supported ID documents.
The new Smart ID Engine SDK 1.11.0 supports 1974 ID document types, with a total of 3010 unique supported templates worldwide. This includes 43 new ID documents and 15 new document subtypes that were not previously supported. It also offers refined accuracy in face biometrics, according to the announcement. Smart Code Engine 1.11.0 also improves accuracy for credit cards, and for recognizing characters in video streams. For large-scale business and corporate documents, Smart Document Engine v1.11.0 has added multi-page scanning capability.
All products now benefit from enhanced OCR for Arabic, Armenian, Georgian, Hebrew, and Sinhala scripts.
Improved face biometrics were also among the upgrades in the SDK’s previous update.
The update comes on the heels of a new report from Straits Research showing that increases in productivity and jumps in technology are driving growth in the OCR market. The report cites OCR’s uses in BSFI, healthcare, transportation, and other major industries as drivers for the global OCR market to reach a valuation of US$39.6 billion by 2030.
Founded in 2010, Smart Engines develops state-of-the-art technological platform GreenOCR for secure ID scanning which ensures privacy for companies as well as their customers. The scientific research of the company in the scope of Green AI initiative is aimed to make AI environmentally friendly by reducing the carbon footprint of computation. The company’s international clients include Tessi, Dukascopy Bank, Emirates NBD, Oman Arab Bank, Raiffeisen Bank, iDenfy, Sumsub, Travizory, Twino, and VerifyMyAge.
Bias testing introduced for biometric liveness detection in ID R&D, BixeLab collaboration
A new test protocol to evaluate the demographic differentials, or bias, in biometric liveness detection systems, has been developed by BixeLab in cooperation with ID R&D, which commissioned the pioneering test.
ID R&D President and Founder Alexey Khitrov was joined by BixeLab Managing Director Ted Dunstone for a presentation and discussion on the novel evaluation of bias in liveness detection, in a webinar titled ‘Demographic Bias in Facial Liveness Detection: Impact, Measurement, and Mitigation’.
Khitrov explained the impact of bias in liveness systems, which like increased error rates in biometric matching algorithms, can result in unacceptable error rates among certain groups, often including those people with darker skin.
Dunstone outlined the test methodology and how it was developed, as well as why it focuses on BPCER (bona-fide presentation classification error rate) rather than APCER (attack presentation classification error rate).
BixeLab’s report on the process and an ID R&D white paper on the subject were also briefly summarized.
Both called for other vendors to address the challenge of disparities in performance among different demographics throughout biometric systems, rather than only in matching algorithms, by contributing to the further refinement and adoption of the independent test.
Pangea combines AI analytics, computer vision for border control, workplace safety solutions
Pangea has announced the launch of a pair of AI solutions, one for preventing injuries in the construction industry with computer vision, and the other for pre-arrival background checks with artificial intelligence on people crossing international borders.
The new Border Control system analyzes more than 3,000 open-source data pools to deliver highly-accurate decision-making within a second, according to the announcement. Potential threats are not rejected but rather referred to border agents for investigation. Computer vision can also contribute to the solution, with behavioral and body language analysis.
Pangea is showcasing its new AI passenger vetting system at Identity Week in London on June 28 and 29.
CEO Rafi Kaminer says the solution helps organizations overcome data siloes, gathering insights from various data lakes rather than collecting them in a single database.
Meanwhile at a professional conference in Israel Pangea launched a solution jointly developed with Tidhar Group that combines sophisticated sensors, AI analytics and computer vision to send automatic alerts in real-time if a dangerous load is detected or a worker on scaffolding is not tied on to a lifeline.
These, according to the announcement, are the two main causes of worker falls from construction scaffolding.
Liquid Avatar upgrades SSI consumer app as staggering growth forecast for decentralized ID
Liquid Avatar has updated its digital identity mobile app to provide “Smart Age,” government and health credentials for consumers based on self-sovereign identity principles. Voice recognition as a secondary, biometric authentication method is one of the features introduced.
The company says its Liquid Avatar Mobile App and Liquid Avatar verifiable credentials ecosystem, which it styles as “LAVCE,” can support a wide range of physical and online applications and comply with new and challenging regulatory requirements. An upcoming SDK and APIs will allow integration with third-party apps to allow app and game developers, payment processors, and others to offer identity verification within their own services.
New features in the update include encrypted messaging, machine-readable governance, and the LQID Card, which will be available in the U.S. soon, according to the company announcement. The app’s bank-grade reusable digital identity credentials are suited to over 200 countries. Secondary authentication can now be performed with SMS, PIN, or voice biometrics.
The interface has also been updated, and verifiable credentials are available for the metaverse, restaurant reservations, KYC validation and gaming.
The market for decentralized digital identity, meanwhile, is estimated at $285 million this year by MarketsandMarkets, growing to over $6.8 billion by 2027, for a staggering 88.7 percent compound annual growth rate.
Rising breaches and identity fraud are driving decentralized identity adoption at enterprises, according to the new market report. The BFSI is segment is expected to lead in adoption over the forecast period.
Uncertain regulatory status and fragmented standards could restrain growth, according to MarketsandMarkets.
Liquid Avatar has also partnered with D.A.R.E America to provide 30,000 plots of virtual land through its Aftermath Islands Metaverse-controlled subsidiary.
D.A.R.E is an acronym for Drug Abuse Resistance Education.
The idea is for the organizations to jointly develop new mixed reality and engagement programs to support D.A.R.E. and related brands and communities.
“For more than 20 years, I have been associated with and supported the D.A.R.E. program, its team, and its communities,” says David Lucatch, CEO of Liquid Avatar Technologies, and Managing Director of Oasis Digital Studios Limited and Aftermath Islands Metaverse Limited. “I have seen firsthand the progress that the D.A.R.E. organization continues to make in teaching K-12 students, families, and communities not only about drug and alcohol resistance, but about online safety, opioid avoidance, metal health initiatives, and other programs that will help enhance the wellbeing of students and their communities. From my experience, the interactions students have had with D.A.R.E. officers and the program are remembered fondly as they continue with their life journeys. Our Team is honored to have this opportunity to bring Liquid Avatar Technologies’ innovative and immersive programs to D.A.R.E. America and their communities to help steward that important mission in our increasingly digital world.”
Global ID vein biometrics scanner reaches industrialization with new manufacturing partner
Production of the VenoScanner-F1 from Lausanne, Switzerland — based Global ID has begun at Locatis SA in the Swiss Alps to bring its vein biometrics to market.
The first production batch of VenoScanner-F1 devices will be shipped to integrator partners for sales and technical training, and eventual integration into cybersecurity solutions.
The company pitches its vein biometrics for authentication to support Zero Trust architecture in access control applications, transaction validation, or data encryption, according to the announcement. Global ID says it applies features like pseudonymization, non-replication, end-to-end encryption, and limits biometric data use to a single purpose to support GDPR compliance.
The manufacturing process by Locatis is depicted in a video made by the partners at the launch of production.
Global ID says that prior to selecting its Swiss industrial partner, it has benefitted from joint research and development with Swiss laboratories EPFL Idiap on biometrics, EPFL LASEC for cryptography, HES-SO Valais for prototyping, and CSEM for miniaturization.
VinCSS launches FIDO2 biometric password manager as Alliance issues security key guidance
VinCSS has launched a FIDO2 platform for passwordless password management with biometrics, which the company claims are the first of its kind on the market.
The VinCSS FIDO2 KeyVault uses an HMAC Secret Extension to eliminate the master password from day-to-day uses, according to the announcement, limiting master password exposure.
The company notes common user complaints about the poor experience associated with passwords, as well as security shortcomings, and goes on to review the series of hacks and breaches involving traditional password management solutions.
First-time users or those adding a new vault with the solution name their vault, select a FIDO2 key, such as a VinCSS FIDO2 Authenticator or another biometric hardware or software key. A private instance method is used for key derivation, and the root secret is stored in memory only during the moment when the vault is opened, the company says.
VinCSS launched its FIDO2 cloud service in early 2021.
The FIDO Alliance, meanwhile, has published new guidance for optimizing user experiences with FIDO security keys.
The FIDO Security Key UX Guidelines are intended to help accelerate the adoption of FIDO security keys for multifactor authentication (MFA). They were formed through a collaboration between The FIDO Alliance UX Task Force and Blink UX.
“Having reached widespread support for FIDO Authentication across the web, the FIDO Alliance is increasingly focused on ways to grow and ultimately reach mass adoption. One of our primary areas of focus towards this objective is making FIDO more usable and accessible,” says Andrew Shikiar, executive director and CMO of the FIDO Alliance. “We’ve established a FIDO UX Task Force consisting of UX experts from around the globe to conduct research and provide guidance on how to optimize user journeys as users enroll in, and subsequently sign in, with FIDO in various use cases. Today’s guidelines follow our first set of UX guidelines focused on the desktop authenticator user experience, with more to follow. I strongly encourage service providers to leverage these best practices when rolling out FIDO Authentication.”
Zitadel raises $2.5M for open-source digital identity platform
Switzerland-based firm Zitadel has raised $2.5 million for the development of an open-source identity and access management (IAM) platform focusing on passwordless digital IDs.
The seed funding was led by Nexus Venture Partners, an investment firm known for supporting a number of enterprise technology and consumer internet ventures.
Developed in the Go programming language, the Zitadel solution provides integrations in multiple languages and frameworks.
According to the company, the IAM platform can also be integrated within open-source projects that were not built for a cloud-native and serverless environment.
“Amidst today’s complex software projects, Zitadel provides a turnkey solution that allows developers to get started easily with a secure login, user management, multi-factor authentication, social logins, authorization management, and great APIs,” explains Zitadel CEO Florian Forster.
“With Zitadel, we provide an important component to improve the overall security of a project while reducing your time-to-market.”
The company said it will now use the fresh funds to expand the capabilities of its IAM suite to include multi-tenancy, unlimited audit trails, improved ability to self-host, support for serverless deployments, and the ability to extend Zitadel’s capabilities with WebAssembly bespoke code.
Customers can reportedly create a Zitadel instance in less than five minutes, without the need of a credit card, and with the ability to define the country or geopolitical region in which the platform’s digital identity and other sensitive data will be stored.
“We’re delighted to break new ground partnering with Florian and the Zitadel team, our first-ever investment in a Swiss company,” says Abhishek Sharma, managing director at Nexus Venture Partners.
“We believe the future of digital identities is passwordless. Zitadel takes a developer-first, open-source approach to solving identity management. Its simple and easy-to-integrate building blocks help developers build secure authentication into their applications without requiring deep in-house expertise and resource commitment.”
The Zitadel platform is available in both self-hosted and cloud-hosted plans.
Passwordless digital ID and authentication have been drawing significant investments of late, highlighted by the $100 million picked up earlier in the year by Beyond Identity.
These Weeks’ News by Categories
Access Control:
- Veterans of Zwipe and Fingerprint Cards form biometric access control venture Fuse Identities
- BIO-key focused on expanding distribution for identity-bound biometrics, joins AWS network
- Zitadel raises $2.5M for open-source digital identity platform
- VinCSS launches FIDO2 biometric password manager as Alliance issues security key guidance
- Ingenium rewrites CPNI Test Standard for biometric access control
Consumer Electronics:
- Kick TikTok out of app stores to stop biometric, other sensitive data harvesting says FCC head
- Stakeholders debate legality, efficacy of South Africa’s biometric SIM registry proposal
- ‘Grammy said I could stay up late!’ Amazon hints at deepfake voices as family bonding
- Pair of Apple patents hint at wrist biometrics in MacBooks, under-display sensors for iPhones
- Telco says low Ghana Card issuance major setback in biometric SIM re-registration process
Mobile Biometrics:
- Cloud KYB services from Sumsub, iDenfy expand selfie biometrics applications
- Belgium unveils virtual digital identity card to extend itsme app functionality
- Incode signs up partner to expand biometric ID verification for hospitality industry
- ams Osram and trinamiX unveil behind-screen face biometric authentication tech
- Liquid Avatar upgrades SSI consumer app as staggering growth forecast for decentralized ID
- Flash a QR and your face biometrics and American will put you in a jet seat
- Yoti brings selfie age verification to Instagram in US pilot
- New end-to-end digital ID platform launched by Mitek to give customers more control
- Big little investment: $3M in seed for digital ID startup Allthenticate
- Did Onfido foresee the current economic straits? Biometrics unicorn credentials considered
- Selfie biometrics deployed for fraud prevention, KYB from microfinance to virtual basketball
- ComplyCube adds biometric authentication to a platform to address emerging fraud trends
- Smart Engines upgrades face biometrics feature as explosive OCR market growth forecast
- Shufti Pro enters two US state gambling markets, pockets conference award
Financial Services:
- Cloud KYB services from Sumsub, iDenfy expand selfie biometrics applications
- Digital ID, KYC infrastructure critical for digital currency rollout, says IMF
- Incode signs up partner to expand biometric ID verification for hospitality industry
- Selfie biometrics deployed for fraud prevention, KYB from microfinance to virtual basketball
- Gang spoofing fingerprint biometrics busted by India’s Cyberabad police
Civil / National ID:
- Civil registries are important — but how do you persuade the people?
- Digital ID, KYC infrastructure critical for digital currency rollout, says IMF
- Switzerland unveils new digital ID credential to expedite service delivery
- Kenya to use biometrics first, ID number second for voter verification in August election
- Belgium unveils virtual digital identity card to extend itsme app functionality
- Kuma expands digital identity assessments with Canadian Trustmark certification
- NADRA extends biometric ID-linked health insurance to Punjab
- UNDP launches bids for biometric registration kits for Vanuatu’s planned civil registry
- Digital identity can be ‘highly exclusionary’ for social protection: UN report
- Stakeholders debate legality, efficacy of South Africa’s biometric SIM registry proposal
- National digital ID to be launched by Senegal, legislative foundation proposed for Finland
- Neurotechnology integrates MOSIP to serve open-source biometrics, digital ID projects
- Big decisions for biometrics vendors amid broader market uncertainty
- New biometric passport in India could debut by year-end
- First look: baby biometrics to tackle swaps, kidnaps and missing children
- Togo amends the law on biometric identification to advance digital ID ambitions
- Telco says low Ghana Card issuance major setback in biometric SIM re-registration process
- Overidentification, unobservability and super cookies: privacy issues ahead for EU digital ID
- Ethiopia’s Zemichael on delivery of 70M digital IDs by 2025, lessons drawn from ID4Africa
- ‘Economic identity’: are digital ID schemes a ‘road to Hell?’ asks human rights report
- Common digital health pass for seamless travel to be discussed at ICAO summit
- Maturing MOSIP enjoys ID4Africa limelight as it expands its partnerships and vendors flock
- Jamaica, Greece advancing digital ID plans with biometrics capture pilot, digital wallet
- Government insiders say digital IDs could make massive fraud events rare
Government Services & Elections:
- Facial recognition use increasing at US federal agencies faster than oversight, GAO reports
- US government committee gather evidence on biometric privacy-enhancing technologies
- Switzerland unveils new digital ID credential to expedite service delivery
- Ryder Review calls for biometrics regulation through new, comprehensive legislation
- Socure SVP sees past the migraine of dealing trust with the US government
- Digital identity can be ‘highly exclusionary’ for social protection: UN report
- National digital ID to be launched by Senegal, legislative foundation proposed for Finland
- Togo amends law on biometric identification to advance digital ID ambitions
- Overidentification, unobservability and super cookies: privacy issues ahead for EU digital ID
- Aussie state plies state police with AUS$14M for biometrics
- Scot committee likes Biometrics Commissioner’s data ideas; suggests he expand vision
- Jamaica, Greece advancing digital ID plans with biometrics capture pilot, digital wallet
- Government insiders say digital IDs could make massive fraud events rare
- Kenya to use biometrics first, ID number second for voter verification in August election
- Nigerian courts blocks deadline for biometric voter registration
Facial Recognition:
- Problems with audits for bias in AI systems highlighted in research paper
- Facial recognition use increasing at US federal agencies faster than oversight, GAO reports
- Ryder Review calls for biometrics regulation through new, comprehensive legislation
- New York school districts plan facial recognition security despite ban
- Facial recognition in casinos under scrutiny in Australia after complaint against retailers
- ams Osram and trinamiX unveil behind-screen face biometric authentication tech
- Proposed facial recognition use rules for Irish police hits resistance among slim majority
- US House Democrats resurrect bill to ban body cams paired with facial recognition
- Russia uses its facial recognition system to show reporters who’s the boss
- Biometrics community breaks down details of AI Act proposals in EAB workshop
- Biometric surveillance normalization in China could spread, Brookings warns
- Panel on use of facial recognition by UK police breaks issue down for lawmakers
- Microsoft restricts facial recognition services, sunsets facial analysis
- SITA expands airport biometrics portfolio with new partnership, self-serve solutions
- Adelaide considers CCTV system with facial recognition as calls for regulation intensify
- Corsight adds granular privacy controls to Fortify to support ethical facial recognition
Fingerprint Recognition:
- Veterans of Zwipe and Fingerprint Cards form biometric access control venture Fuse Identities
- UNDP launches bids for biometric registration kits for Vanuatu’s planned civil registry
- Gang spoofing fingerprint biometrics busted by India’s Cyberabad police
Voice Biometrics:
- Speechmatics to extend voice biometrics, speech recognition accuracy with $62M funding round
- Credit union association invests in voice biometrics with Illuma Labs partnership
Liveness Detection:
- Bias testing introduced for biometric liveness detection in ID R&D, BixeLab collaboration
- iBeta report compares ISO and FIDO standards for biometric presentation attack testing
- iProov biometric identity verification sails into Caribbean
Biometrics Industry Events
Identity India 2022: Jul 7, 2022 — Jul 8, 2022
PhilSec 2022: Jul 12, 2022 — Jul 13, 2022
Digital face manipulation and detection workshop: Jul 12, 2022 — Jul 13, 2022
Digital Forensics for National Security Symposium: Jul 27, 2022 — Jul 28, 2022
Security Exhibition & Conference: Aug 17, 2022 — Aug 19, 2022
SPIE Remote Sensing: Sep 5, 2022 — Sep 8, 2022
Identity Week Asia: Sep 6, 2022 — Sep 7, 2022
Future Tech Expo & Summit: Sep 12, 2022 — Sep 13, 2022
BIOSIG 2022–21st International Conference of the Biometrics Special Interest Group: Sep 14, 2022 — Sep 16, 2022
Border Management & Technologies Summit Asia: Sep 20, 2022 — Sep 22, 2022
Biometrics India Expo 2022 co-located with RFID India Expo / SmartCards Expo: Sep 21, 2022 — Sep 23, 2022
Identity Week America: Oct 4, 2022 — Oct 5, 2022
Authenticate 2022: Oct 17, 2022 — Oct 19, 2022
IFINTEC Finance Technologies Conference: Oct 18, 2022 — Oct 19, 2022
Digital Identity and Digital Onboarding for Banking 3rd Annual: Oct 20, 2022 — Oct 21, 2022
Money 20/20 USA: Oct 23, 2022 — Oct 26, 2022
Biometrics Institute Annual Congress: Oct 26, 2022 — Oct 27, 2022
International Face Performance Conference (IFPC) 2022: Nov 15, 2022 — Nov 17, 2022
6th Border Management and Identity Conference (6th BMIC): Dec 7, 2022 — Dec 9, 2022
MISC
- A pet company is trying to apply the access control technology that is typically reserved for humans to the fuzzier members of someone’s family. To that end, Petvation has unveiled a new smart pet door that uses facial recognition to identify dogs, cats, and any other pet that may want to go in and out of the house.
- First look: baby biometrics to tackle swaps, kidnaps, and missing children:
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