• Spam, Q4 Email Threat Trends of 2007

    A steep rise in attacks using social networking techniques which target user psychology and behavior patterns; spammers launched attacks by predicting user behavior patterns, such as looking for easy cash and discounted gifts during the holiday season, and preying on consumer trust to generate interest in cheap pharmaceutical products and stocks

  • Emphasis shifts to analytical tools rather than building sturdier walls

    The $169 million PayPal paid for Israeli on-line security specialist Fraud Sciences is part of a larger trend in security: “Security is less a matter of keeping everyone outside the outer wall and more one of detecting them sneaking through the premises,” as one analyst put it

  • New method dramatically increases accuracy of facial recognition systems

    University of Glasgow researchers develop a method to increase the accuracy of face recognition biometrics: A computer “averages” 20 pictures of an individual into a morphed portrait; tests show that the new method increases accuracy of a facial recognition system from 54 percent to 100 percent

  • RFID technology ever more pervasive, pt. I

    RFID tags are everywhere — on boxed goods, in some computer printers, car keys and tires, on shampoo bottles and department store clothing tags; they are also in library books, contactless payment cards, passports, and travel documents; they introduce efficiency and security to the supply chain, but also allow companies and organizations to track the behavior and shopping patterns of individuals

  • Scottish Tories launch campaign against "ineffective" ID cards

    Scottish Tories launch new criticism of the U.K. government for a national biometric ID; “Despite what Gordon Brown and the Labour government says, ID cards won’t stop terrorist attacks and won’t prevent identity fraud,” leader says.

  • As TWIC is implemented in more ports, hurdles emerge

    Port managers worry that there are still some unresolved issues with TWIC, the port employee credentialing system; one example: Will the card typically be used as a flash pass or will the readers need to be used? If readers have to be used, just think of this: A truck has long mirrors on the outside of the cab, preventing the driver from getting close enough to a reader to submit a fingerprint; moreover, truckers often have dirty hands, which may make it difficult to read the fingerprints; there are other issues

  • Fingerprint scanning pulled from Valley schools

    Arizona school district began to fingerprint students without notifying parents, or asking for the parents’ permission; the parents rebelled, the State Senate is discussing a bill to outlaw such fingerprinting, and the school district retreated: Fingerprinting will stop, and the fingerprint database will be deleted

  • Pakistan launches new, centralized biometric database

    Using $13 million in U.S. aid, and Lockheed Martin’s technology, the Pakistani government launches a new fingerprint database to allow police in the country’s provinces more quickly to identify criminals and terrorists

  • New ID requirement go into effect along U.S. border

    Beginning Thursday, U.S. and Canadian citizens crossing the border between the two countries will have to show a passport, passport card, or enhanced driver’s license before allowing to cross; business leaders worry this will have a chilling effect on local economies along the border

  • Manchester airport installs first-in-U.K. iris scan access control

    The majority of airports around the world use access control cards to regulate the movement of people, but these typically require human presence at each entry point; the 25,000 staff at Manchester airport will now be using iris scans to enter restricted areas; double-door access system governed by iris recognition cameras

  • FBI takes biometrics database proposal to U.K.

    FBI, U.K. National Policing Improvement Agency in talks over the U.K. joining the FBI’s ambitious Server in the Sky database project; new database, in which the FBI plans to invest some $1 billion, will track down the world’s most wanted criminals and terrorists

  • IBG's teleconference on identity fraud and biometrics

    The staggering costs incurred by commercial institutions, governments, and consumers as a result of identity fraud have led to an increased emphasis on secure authentication and identification solutions; this means more opportunities — but also more obstacles

  • Fingerprint leads biometric technologies among the security-conscious

    New biometric technologies emerge, but fingerprint biometrics is quickly becoming a data security ‘must have’ across multiple vertical markets as the convenience, power, and versatility of the technology become apparent

  • Airport screeners use black lights to inspect ID cards

    TSA screeners at about 400 U.S. airports have began checking IDs with hand-held black lights; black lights help screeners inspect ID cards by illuminating holograms, typically of government seals, which are found in licenses and passports

  • Unisys awarded CBP $62 million RFID reader contract

    This year, various forms of U.S. IDs will be equipped with vicinity RFID technology; DHS selects Unisys to install RFID readers at the 39 busiest U.S. land border ports of entry