• Largest Moscow airport testing of facial biometric system

    Moscow’s busy Sheremetyevo International Airport recently concluded initial tests of a new facial biometric security system; the system, BROADWAY 3D, relies on a three dimensional surface scan of an individual’s face; the system is highly automated and minimizes the need for human supervision; during its one month of testing, 3,500 people were automatically screened with 100 percent accuracy; BROADWAY 3D is manufactured by Artec Ventures; Sheremetyevo International is Moscow’s largest airport and has seen rapid increases in passenger traffic; last year more than nineteen million people traveled through the airport

  • Biometric scans at Aussie bars spark privacy law controversy

    Bars and nightclubs in Australia are implementing more stringent verification procedures by requiring prospective patrons to submit to fingerprint scans, photos, and ID inspections; government officials are concerned with the new trend; Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner says that he lacks the authority to audit the system and that there are no regulations in the industry that govern how the data is collected, stored, used, or shared

  • Clothes as silent witnesses

    New research seeks to recover fingerprint ridge detail and impressions from fabrics — a technique that has up until now proved difficult; it is the first time in more than thirty years that fingerprints on fabrics have been a major focus for research and the team has already had a number of successes; the technique, known as vacuum metal deposition (VMD), uses gold and zinc to recover the fingerprint

  • Obama pushing for Internet ID for Americans

    The Obama administration is currently drafting what it is calling the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, which will give the Commerce Department the authority over a forthcoming cybersecurity effort to create an Internet ID for Americans

  • Portable device helps officers ID uncooperative suspects

    A portable fingerprint scanner helps police in a Florida town to identify people who refuse to identify themselves; the portable device searches the database of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which has more than 5.5 million criminal records; it also crosschecks a FBI database of wanted persons, sex offender registry and known or suspected terrorists

  • Face recognition on the go

    New mobile phone software recognizes friends in real time; the smart phone’s camera picks out faces in the crowd and tags them with names — so that their latest entries in Facebook, LinkedIn, or tweet appears on the smart phone’s screen

  • Hoyos shows cheap, dollar bill-size iris scanner

    Hoyos shows a small iris scanner which will allow scanning on the go; at just 5.5 inches wide, 4 inches tall, and 3 inches deep, the company’s latest iris scanner is not only a quarter of the size of the device’s previous iteration, the EyeSwipe Mini, but a quarter of its cost: the unit’s price is just $1,499

  • Biometric technologies save lives in the field

    This is not your father’s military: Within minutes of knocking down the door of a suspected bomb maker in the Middle East, U.S. troops can fingerprint everyone they find inside, send scans across a satellite link, and find out if the subjects are suspected terrorists

  • Aussies mull use of biometrics for gambling machines

    The Australian government wants to keep an eye on who uses poker and gambling machines installed in pubs, clubs, and casinos; many see biometrics as a solution — but agree that the Australian Privacy Act has to be modified, and standards set, to make sure the biometric information collected is not misused; there are worries about users stealing and reusing fingerprints from the readers, thus allowing gamblers to sign in as another, and bypass the financial controls

  • Arizona County to fingerprint employees with access to sensitive facilities

    Pima County, Arizona, is moving to fingerprint more employees who work with kids and populations who need special assistance, who deal with sensitive data, or who have access to critical infrastructure facilities such as wastewater treatment plants; “We don’t want guys with criminal backgrounds knowing how our radio system is constructed. The same with wastewater, which could be compromised,” John Moffatt, the county’s director of Strategic Technology Planning, said

  • Adding biometrics to E-Verify would reduce illegal immigration

    A new white paper argues that adding biometric technology to E-Verify would bolster DHS’s legal employment verification system; the paper author, former senior FBI official, says that better verification of employment credentials would significantly reduce the flow of illegal immigrants because it will make that much harder for illegals to find a job

  • Rhode Island prison deploys new inmate eye scanners

    This summer a Rhode Island prison inmate was able to walk out of prison by posing as another inmate who was up for parole; the state Department of Corrections has deployed an eye scanner in the prison that checks inmates’ eyes to ensure identity

  • Doubts cast on fingerprint security for online banking

    A new fingerprint security system could offer an alternative to remembering multiple online account passwords; some argue, however, that such a system is open to error and would face opposition in developed countries where it is seen as socially unacceptable

  • Critics: Trusted Traveler will allow Mexican cartels to bypass airport security

    Two weeks ago DHS announced plans the roll out of Trusted Traveler program with Mexico; under the program, Mexicans who have undergone background checks and are deemed low security risks will be able to fly into major U.S. cities and breeze through customs without being questioned by U.S. Customs agents; critics say Mexico’s drug cartels will quickly learn how to exploit loopholes in the plan by recruiting Mexicans with clean backgrounds to attain trusted traveler status, and then use them to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the United States; Mexican citizens are already eligible for expedited land border crossings through another trusted traveler program, Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI); last week, two SENTRI trusted travelers were caught trying to bring contraband across the border into the U.S. through the SENTRI-only express border passage

  • TSA approves for-pay faster security lines at airports

    TSA has given the green light to a “trusted traveler” lane at another one of the U.S. busiest airports; the lane at Denver International Airport is operated by New York-based Alclear LLC, a company that pre-screens fliers, giving them quicker access to security checkpoints