Biometrics

TSA approves biometric security for flight crews
The Transportation Security Administration launches a pilot program that accelerates flight crew security screening in airports
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U.K. MPs have doubts about a biometrics IT system for screening students
The Home Affairs Committee looked at the role of the National Biometric Identity Service (NBIS) in student visa applications as part of a report into migration processes; universities have already voiced their concerns that the enrollment of students will depend on the untested NBIS, and the MPs say they share this concern
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New technology locks up Biometrics
Communication encryption relies on authentication being symmetric to work: the user’s password or PIN must match the password or PIN stored by the recipient (online shop, bank, etc.) to lock and unlock the data; biometric may be used for encryption — but biometrics is not a symmetric process; South African researchers now show how biometrics can nevertheless be used to make a consistent secret key for encryption
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Biometrics tunnel helps identify individuals' unique walking patterns
The University of Southampton’s biometric tunnel provides the technology to analyze the way people walk as a unique identifier; university researchers have developed a technology which captures the unique walking patterns, and then characterizes and records them to a database
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Opponents of Israeli Biometric Law: "It's a Step to a True Police State"
Debate heats up in Israel over the creation of a national biometric database; the law empowers the Interior Ministry to set up a database that would include biometric identification information on every Israeli citizen
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Napolitano highlights differences between Real ID and PASS ID
DHS secretary Napolitano, in her previous post a governor of Arizona, opposed the Real ID Act and the mandates it imposes on states; now, as DHS secretary, she is charge of implementing the act; Napolitano offers the PASS ID program as a compromise
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Investment in R&D sees thriving biometric markets
With security remaining a top priority at all levels of U.S. government, the biometrics market is seeing market stability and returns on their investments in R&D
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RFID-enabled official IDs raise privacy fears
More and more government documents which U.S. citizens are now required to present at border crossings and entry points — e-passports, electronic PASS cards, enhanced driver’s licenses — are equipped with RFID tags so they can easily be scanned by readers; trouble is, they can be scanned through a pocket, backpack, or purse from thirty feet, opening the door for a digital identity pickpocketing
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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
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IBM signs U.K. biometric passport deal
IBM signs a £265 million contract with the U.K. Border Agency’s (UKBA) to provide UKBA with fingerprinting capabilities and run the database that will store the facial images and fingerprints needed to keep the passport in line with international standards
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Breakthrough: Face recognition computers can see through disguise
Powerful face recognition techniques have so far required powerful computers; researchers have applied a one-dimensional filter to the two-dimensional data from conventional analyses, allowing them to reduce significantly the amount of computer power required without compromising accuracy
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The Obama administration would require federal contractors to use E-Verify
The Obama administration said it would support a George Bush administration regulation that would only award federal contracts to employers who use E-Verify to check employee work authorization
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Criminals can figure out an individual's Social Security number
Researchers show that statistical techniques can be used to determine an individual’s Social Security number, based on the person’s birth date and birth location
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KISS helps winnow biometric technologies
Fingerprints still appear to have the edge among biometric technologies; standardization drives down prices and increases choice of vendors, but it reduces the variety of metrics and the languages by which they are described
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U.K. Home Office makes ID card trial voluntary
Bowing to pressure, the Home Office has abandoned attempts to force workers at Manchester and London City airports to carry ID cards, opting to make the trial voluntary
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