Authentication / Biometrics

  • U.K. government looking for identity verification solutions

    The U.K. government is soliciting ideas on potential requirements for the public sector on all aspects of identity verification and authentication; this is particularly relevant to online and telephone channels, and the notice says the services include the provision of related software and computer services

  • Biometrics -- facial recognitionIdentifying faces in a crowd in real-time

    U.K. company develops a face recognition technology that can recognize individual faces in a crowd -- and do so in seconds, even when they are moving, at a wide angle, or in poor light; the system captures and analyzes images and compares them to a database, and alerts security personnel if a match is made

  • Free admission to Law Enforcement/Military Appreciation Day October 14 – ASIS an

  • Biometric business3M acquires biometric specialist Cogent for $943 million

    Cogent Systems participates in the $4 billion global biometric market, which is projected to grow at a rate greater than 20 percent per year; identification and authentication solutions from 3M include border management products; document manufacturing and issuance systems for IDs, passports, and visas; document readers and verification products; and security materials, such as laminates, to protect against counterfeiting and tampering; Cogent Systems provides finger, palm, face, and iris biometric systems for governments, law enforcement agencies, and commercial enterprises

  • Iris scan biometrics ideal for Minority Report-like project

    Leon, Mexico has began implementing an iris scan biometric system from New York-based Global Rainmakers; the system, rolled out across the city, will see the eyes of anyone taking money out of an ATM, paying for items in a store, or simply catching a bus scanned by hi-tech sensors; Global Rainmaker's CEO says the company has chosen iris scan for its project because "With iris, you have over 2,000 points-- With those 2,000 points, you can create a unique 16,000 bit stream of numbers that represents every human on the planet. That provides a reference point that can connect everything you do in all aspects of life, for the first time ever"

  • Automatic heart-beat recognition authentication for iPhone users?

    To make iPhones and iPads more secure, Apple is considering implementing automatic biometric authentication technologies on the devices; the authentication procedure will lock the device and wipe all data on it in the event an unauthorized user tries to operate it; the technology may also report back to Apple in the event customers have jailbroken or unlocked the device, allowing the company to deny services to these customers

  • Online Groomers: Profiling, Policing & Prevention – a new book from Russell Hous

  • In the trenchesU.S. military personnel increasingly using biometric technology

    Since the Department of Defense implemented biometric identification technology, military personnel have seen benefits such as quickly identifying known terrorists, collecting intelligence on insurgent activities, and identifying former detainees the military had released

  • TrendBiometrics replaces traditional means of identification

    Access cards, PINs, and passwords, designed to protect end-users, are not only ineffective against modern day threats, but often end up being used to perpetrate crime; card-based systems will only control the access of authorized pieces of plastic, but not who is in possession of the card; 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

  • Pervasive surveillanceMinority Report comes to Leon, Mexico

    Leon, Mexico, a city of one million, has began implementing an iris scan biometric system from New York-based Global Rainmakers; the system, rolled out across the city; anyone taking money out of an ATM, paying for items in a store, or simply catching a bus will have their eyes scanned by hi-tech sensors; criminals will automatically be enrolled, their irises scanned once convicted; law-abiding citizens will have the option to opt-in; the company's CEO believes people will choose to opt-in: "When you get masses of people opting-in, opting out does not help. Opting out actually puts more of a flag on you than just being part of the system. We believe everyone will opt-in"

  • Shop Shield privacy protection expanded to IE browser

    Experts say that the best way to assure the safety of financial and personal identifying information (PII) transmitted on the Internet, and prevent it from being lost, stolen, or misused, is to keep it private by not transmitting it to Web sites in the first place; Shop Shield allows consumers to engage in commercial transactions on the Web without giving these Web sites information such as e-mail addresses, passwords, usernames, phone numbers, billing addresses, credit card numbers, or other user payment information; Shop Shield even allows consumers to do business on the Web without giving out their names

  • TrendToward a national strategy for online identification

    President Obama has launched an ambitious project -- National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace -- the primary goal of which is to build a cybersecurity-based identity management vision and strategy that addresses privacy and civil liberties interests, leveraging privacy-enhancing technologies for the nation; offline, there are already dozens of identification technologies in play that go beyond the simplicity of Social Security numbers, birth certificates, drivers licenses, and passports; these include smart cards, mobile phones, biometrics -- but they do not follow a consistent standard; this, too, may soon change

  • Angel offers voice identification solution for the health care industry

    With its Customer Experience Platform, Angel aims to authenticate phone conversations for doctors, patients, and pharmaceutical sales reps using voice biometrics; the software-as-a-service technology is used by pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and AstraZeneca, companies in the financial industry such as Bank of America

  • Biometrics in the trenchesDistinguishing friend from foe: Afghani biometrics database expanded

    In 2009 there were more than 200,000 biometric enrollments put into the biometric identification system operated by Coalition forces in Afghanistan -- a system aiming to determine whether members of the Afghan population are insurgents or innocent; 210,000 have been added already in 2010; the military's goal is to get to 1.65 million enrollments; the Coalition is currently in the process of contracting out an Afghan company to provide Afghan enrollers to go around the country and work at border crossing points, international airports, district headquarters and district jails

  • AOptix unveils InSight VM iris recognition system

    InSight VM from AOptix Technologies features what the company describes as "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

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More Headlines

  • L-1 Identity Solutions unveils PIV-TWIC access control reader device designed for extreme outdoor operating conditions

    An order has already been placed for the 4G PIV-TWIC Station Extreme, designed to meet the specialized needs of ports, military bases and airports. All of the products are being demonstrated this week concurrent with the ASIS International Conference in Anaheim, California and at the Biometrics Consortium Conference in Tampa, Florida

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  • DHS to fund $20 million biometric surveillance checkpoint program

    Draper Laboratory, along with other companies, are working together to implement the program which will better detect irregular physiological and behavioral biometrics an individual being screened. The technology will focus on behaviors such as an individual’s heart rate, blink rate, and even fidgeting. This technology will allow officials, especialy at airports determine which individuals would be warrant a secondary screening.

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  • Kiwi parliament enters debate of biometrics gathering

    Biometrics technology, helpful in determing a person is who they say they are, is at the center of a debate in the New Zealand parliament. The government is planning to use biometric information to prevent identity fraud to prevent illegal border crossings. However, there is concern that this effort may extend beyond the realm of immigration control

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The Long View

  • TrendToward a national strategy for online identification

    President Obama has launched an ambitious project -- National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace -- the primary goal of which is to build a cybersecurity-based identity management vision and strategy that addresses privacy and civil liberties interests, leveraging privacy-enhancing technologies for the nation; offline, there are already dozens of identification technologies in play that go beyond the simplicity of Social Security numbers, birth certificates, drivers licenses, and passports; these include smart cards, mobile phones, biometrics -- but they do not follow a consistent standard; this, too, may soon change

  • U.S. secret service forms three new task forces

    New task forces will deal with electronic crimes, and the agency says the partnerships will bring together law enforcement, academia, and private sector

  • TrendConsumer-driven face recognition changes public debate

    New photo programs from Apple and Google include revolutionary face-spotting technology; trouble is, Google's Picasa would allow tagged photos from all its Picasa users to create a global database matching photos to e-mail addresses

  • TrendGingrich says biometric ID part of a solution to the Medicare problem

    States ask Congress for $100 billion to help them cope with Medicare costs; Gingrich says that each state must include at least four elements in its plan to address the Medicare crisis before it will be entitled to federal funds; one of these elements are biometric IDs for Medicare recipients

  • TrendIndia to see a large, broad growth in expenditures on domestic security

    A series of terrorist attacks, culminating in the coordinated attack in Mumbai last month, convinced both government and industry in India that more security -- much more security -- is required to cope with mounting threats to domestic peace; business opportunities abound for companies in IT security, biometric, surveillance, detection, situational awareness, and more

  • Not yet ready for prime time: RFID technology

    RFID technology is incorporated into more and more documents (e-passports, enhanced driver's licenses); trouble is, the technology still suffers from privacy and security vulnerabilities

  • AnalysisEven in tough times, IT security should not be short changed

    In tough economic times, IT managers -- as do other managers -- look for ways to cut costs and expenses; they should realize, though, that in tough economic times IT security may become even more important than during more normal times