• Biometrics 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

  • Minority 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”

  • 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

  • VoiceKeyID from Porticus

    Relative to other biometric technologies, the pace of adoption of voice biometrics has been rather slow; this may now change owing to an innovative solution from a Massachusetts-based company; Porticus offers a voice biometric authentication application which is not only robust and inexpensive, but which is uniquely suitable to an economy - and society - in which reliance on mobile devices is growing; there are some twelve vendors — none of them American — who offer voice identification software; Porticus, however, is the only company that has developed voice identification software that resides in the device itself rather than on the network; the solution also has intriguing military and intelligence applications

  • Aging irises would hobble biometric identity checks based on iris recognition

    Confirming someone;s identity through iris recognition involves matching a new scan of their iris — done, say, at an airport check point — against templates in a library. The systems are designed to cope with the fact that the scanning process is slightly variable, so two scans of the same eye will be slightly different; researchers have evidence that the degree of difference between any two scans — called the Hamming distance — increases over time for scans of the same eye

  • Elephant Talk launches ValidSoft voice-biometric solution for secure authentication

    Dutch company Elephant Talk launches a speaker verification platform to improve secure authentication; Elephant Talk’s CEO Patrick Carrol: “The ongoing maturity of the voice biometric market will result in the greater uptake of solutions that seamlessly integrate voice biometrics for remote verification”

  • BIO-key shows mobile biometric identification and authentication platform

    BIO-key believes that the world now is a place with 24/7 access to information from mobile devices; application providers and enterprise IT professionals have been struggling with how they can quickly, conveniently, and accurately establish the identity of remote users looking to access their sites and applications; the company offers a mobile fingerprint identification solution

  • U.S. Army in $7.9 million contracts for biometrics help

    Virginia-based Stanley has been awarded two contracts worth $7.9 million to support of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center Language Technology Office at Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Stanley will provide expertise for a range of programs related to the development of biometric and forensic-related applications, management, maintenance, and operation of government-owned network equipment

  • U.K. Border Agency approves Pearson's test security methods

    Students who want to study in the United Kingdom must prove their proficiency in English before being granted a student visa; Pearson, the authors of the Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic), relies on multiple layers of biometrics — palm vein scanning, digital signatures, and test day digital photographs of applicants — to ensure that those who take the test are who they say they are

  • U.K. removes lead contractor Raytheon from e-Borders program

    The U.K. hits out at Raytheon, removing the company from the £1.2 billion e-Borders program; the immigration minister Damian Green said earlier today that the program was running at least twelve months late and that Raytheon had been in breach of contract since July last year; Home Office says it has “no confidence” in the company; Raytheon was the lead contractor of the Trusted Borders consortium, which won a £650 million deal in 2007 to build the e-Borders system; other members of the consortium, including Serco, Detica, Accenture, and Qinetiq will keep their contracts; Raytheon was responsible for systems integration, travel services, and overall project management

  • Safran in Talks to acquire most of L-1 Identity Solutions Inc.

    Paris-based Safran SA is exploring the acquisition of Connecticut-based L-1 Identity Solution; L-1 is likely to be split up, with another buyer acquiring a separate unit that sells consulting services to U.S. intelligence agencies; L-1 had a stock market value of about $670 million as of last Thursday; L-1’s CEO, Robert LaPenta, formed the company after serving as president and chief financial officer of L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. from 1997 to 2005; LaPenta helped start L-3 with co-founder Frank Lanza after both men left Lockheed Martin Corp

  • Facial-recognition solution offers surveillance new edge

    When the new facial-recognition solution finds a match in a database for someone who may be on a watch list, the client may be notified in multiple ways, including text message or e-mail alerts; biographical information such as criminal records are added and the images and made available to the client from any Web browser, including Web-ready mobile phones

  • EU biometric passports not that safe, experts say

    The EU’s e-passports were supposed to be fool-proof, even impossible to counterfeit; Europol has warned, though, that despite the biometric changes to passports, counterfeiting still remains a major problem for criminals or others “who are determined to do so,” with the provision of documents for irregular immigrants being the main driver of the activity

  • Here's looking at you: Tokyo digital billboards scan passers-by

    Billboards in Tokyo “look” at passers by, identify their age and gender, and then flash advertisements which are tailored to these people; a consortium of eleven railway companies launched the one-year pilot project last month, and has set up twenty-seven of the high-tech advertising displays in subway commuter stations around Tokyo