Identity documents

  • Real IDDHS: No extension to next January’s REAL ID deadline

    DHS tells Congress that the department “has no plans to extend” the REAL ID deadline for state compliance, set as 15 January 2013

  • Medical recordsMedical tattoos – a growing trend

    Forget medical bracelets, a growing number of individuals with special medical needs have taken to tattooing their bodies to warn first responders about critical medical conditions; medical bracelets commonly list a person’s allergies, chronic diseases, and end-of-life wishes, but more and more people have started tattooing that information on their bodies

    • Counter Terror Expo 2012, May, Washington, DC
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  • Border controlGlobal Entry program expands to four additional airports

    CBP announced the expansion of the Global Entry program to four additional airports; the expansion will make the program available at airports serving 97 percent of international travelers arriving in the United States

  • Real IDReal ID deadlines looms

    More and more states have adapted the driver’s licenses they issue to meet the requirements of the Real ID Act; several states have not – and they have until 15 January 2013 to do so, or receive an extension from DHS; if these states do not change their driver’s license or receive an extension, their residents will need to start getting passports in order to board commercial airlines

  • BiometricsFacial recognition tech helps California police nab two thieves

    With the help of facial recognition technology, police in Lancaster, California were able to apprehend two individuals thought to be behind a string of armed robberies

  • China syndromeChina to fingerprint all foreigners

    Chinese lawmakers are currently considering new visa rules that would require all visitors working and studying in the country to have their fingerprints scanned as they enter and exit

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  • Biometric IDsDNC seeks hi-tech credentials and tickets for convention

    For the upcoming Democratic National Convention, event organizers are currently seeking companies that can create highly-sophisticated security badges and tickets that are not easily forged or copied

  • Biometric passports rapidly becoming the norm

    A new report indicates that biometric passports will soon become ubiquitous around the world; within the next five years, 90 percent of passports will contain integrated smart card IC chips that will hold the carrier’s biometric data

  • Aviation securityDHS report: gap in TSA badging process poses threats

    A new government report revealed that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is unable to accurately account for its employees who have access to secure areas in airports, resulting in a significant security gap

  • China syndromeSenator Schumer targets fake IDs from China

    Fake IDs have long been a problem for law enforcement agencies, but the recent discovery of counterfeit IDs from China that appear nearly identical to the real thing have lawmakers particularly concerned

  • REAL IDOklahoma woman battles against REAL ID

    An Oklahoma woman has sparked a federal controversy after she refused to renew her driver’s license; in February Beach was pulled over by law enforcement officials in Norman, Oklahoma and ticketed for driving with an expired license and she is now fighting that ticket as part of a larger campaign against REAL ID

  • U.K. airports install biometric passport readers

    Individuals with biometric passports from the United Kingdom or the European Union will now be able to use sophisticated automated e-Passport scanners at every major U.K. airport

  • Identity theftGrowing problem in Canada: stolen passports

    On average, 1,000 Canadian passports are stolen across Canada every month; in FY2009-10, 13,077 passports were stolen in Canada; by comparison, only 631 were swiped overseas; another 47,704 passports were reported lost in Canada; late next year, Passport Canada will begin distributing e-Passports to the general public

  • Biometric CCTV market to hit $3.2 billion in 2016

    Analysts project that the biometric CCTV market will be a $3.2 billion industry by 2016, with an annual growth rate of 33 percent; the security camera industry has already seen rapid growth as the private and public sector have installed surveillance systems to help combat crime and provide real-time information; over the next decade, analysts from the Homeland Security Research Corporation (HSRC) project that the next trend in this field will be the increasing integration of biometric technology into surveillance cameras; HSRC’s report projects that these technological developments will help drive the CCTV market and create significant growth opportunities for the security camera industry, biometric and IT systems manufacturers, and security systems integrators

  • New York proposes biometric IDs to combat Medicaid fraud

    New York lawmakers are currently considering a bill that is aimed at reducing Medicaid fraud by requiring all patients to carry biometric ID cards; under the proposed law all Medicaid recipients would receive a special card that contains their biometric data from a palm scan that must be presented to receive service; installing the card readers and issuing the identity cards would cost an estimated $20 million, but could result in as much as a $5 billion reduction in Medicaid fraud each year; the legislation could set off a debate about privacy concerns