• Passwords may be passé, but biometrics is not yet viable for portable devices

    Passwords may be heading toward extinction, but biometric identification is not yet a viable means of authentication for mobile devices; smart phones and other portable devices do not currently have the sophistication to be adapted easily for biometric technology, and users are likely to be reluctant to carry yet another device and its electrical charger along with their smart phone simply to login to their bank account when not at their desktop computer

  • Critics: A U.S. national work ID would not solve the illegal immigration problem

    Senators Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham have proposed a mandatory Work ID for all working Americans; the bill they are proposing would require “all U.S. citizens and legal immigrants who want jobs to obtain a high-tech, fraud-proof Social Security card.”; critics say the scheme is too expensive and will be ineffective in curbing illegal immigration

  • Australia's Biometrics Institute launches privacy awareness checklist

    Australia’s Biometric Institute will release its Biometrics Institute Privacy Awareness Checklist (PAC) to its member organizations to promote good privacy practices; the Biometrics Institute Privacy Code already is at a higher level than the Australian Privacy Act 1988

  • More counties join Secure Communities

    Across the United States, 135 jurisdictions in 17 states have joined DHS’s (and DOJ’s) Secure Communities project; Secure Communities offers local jurisdiction an information-sharing capability: if an individual is arrested, his or her fingerprint information will now be simultaneously checked against both FBI criminal history records and the biometrics-based immigration records maintained by DHS, meaning that both criminal and immigration records of all local arrestees will be checked

  • A new U.S. biometrics agency created to manage DoD-wide responsibilities

    The role of biometric information in U.S. national security is increasing, and the U.S. government creates the Biometrics Identity Management Agency (BIMA); BIMA, a component of the U.S. Army, will lead Department of Defense activities “to prioritize, integrate, and synchronize biometrics technologies and capabilities and to manage the Department of Defense’s authoritative biometrics database to support the National Security Strategy”; DoD says: “Biometrics is an important enabler that shall be fully integrated into the conduct of DoD activities to support the full range of military operations”

  • One frequent flyer finds himself on TSA's selectee list

    Ray Davis from Mansfield, Michigan — he describes himself as “just a Mansfield nobody” — was placed on TSA’s selectee list for no reason he can fathom; the list contains some 18,000 people deemed suspect by TSA, but not suspect enough to stay permanently grounded; the selectees are subjected to third and fourth once-overs of passports, hand inspection of luggage, and the like

  • Florida's new fingerprint technology helps law enforcement

    Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrests 3,000 people every day; checking their fingerprints against Florida’s bank of 16.5 million prints on file was becoming a problem; a new FALCON fingerprinting system, installed at a cost of $7.4 million and in use since last June, has solved these problems

  • How accurate is E-Verify? Cont.

    A top DHS official says that E-Verify, the program set by DHA to allow employers to verify the legal status of employees and job applicants, is accurate and reliable; she writes that the famous Westat study “concluded that E-Verify was accurate 96 percent of the time” and that, “Since then, the Obama administration has taken steps further to improve E-Verify”

  • New biometric identifier: hand bacteria

    Each individual has a “personal” bacteria communities living on the fingers and palms of individual computer users; members of these communities are deposited on keyboards, mice and other things we touch; the link between the bacterial communities and the bacterial DNA signatures of individuals may soon become a tool in forensic identification

  • Proposed bill calls for ID card for U.S. workers to curb illegal immigration

    Advocates of immigration reform are pushing for a bill in the Senate which would create a national biometric identification card all American workers would eventually be required to obtain; the biometric data would likely be either fingerprints or a scan of the veins in the top of the hand; employers will not be able to hire applicants who do not present a valid ID

  • Canadian government says it is committed to biometric passports

    The Canadian government first introduced the idea of a biometric passport in its 2008 budget, but implementation was delayed by questions over logistics, and how to cover costs; the government now say it is determined to move forward

  • Canada to use DHS's Secure Flight rules

    Starting in December, passengers on Canadian airlines flying to, from, or even over the United States without ever landing there, will only be allowed to board the aircraft once the U.S. DHS has determined they are not terrorists

  • New identity authentication method: nose biometrics

    Unlike other facial features used for biometrics, such as eyes or ears, noses are difficult to conceal and also are not changed much by facial expression; researchers find that nose scanning showed good potential for use as a biometric, with a good recognition rate and a faster rate of image processing than whole face recognition

  • U.K. national ID czar: plan on target

    Sir Joseph Pilling, who is in charge of implementing the U.K. national biometric ID scheme, says in a report to Parliament: “A lot of work remains to be done and some tricky issues are not yet resolved”

  • Aussies to require citizens of yet-unnamed 10 countries to submit biometric info

    The Australian government has launched a $69 million plan which will require citizens of ten countries — not named yet — to submit fingerprint and facial images to apply for electronic visas to enter Australia; Foreign Minister Stephen Smith: “there may well be a diplomatic effort required in respect of some of those countries as you would expect”