Biometrics

New York State DMV shows off new equipment
The storm over Governor Elliot Spitzer’s plan to offer driver licenses to illegal aliens notwithstanding, New York state is moving forward on making the process of getting a driver license more secure
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TWIC inches forward, but legislators criticize missed deadlines
Employees at Wilmington, Delaware port were the first to enroll in TWIC last month; this month, employees in eleven additional ports will begin enrollment; still, program delays are met with a bipartisan chorus of criticism on the Hill
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New approach to authentication promises security, simplicity
A U.S. start-up offers a simple but effective way to authenticate individuals: Labeled squares on a grid; each time the user is required to authenticate, they would be presented with the grid in which each square was labeled
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China to become world's largest electronic authentication service market
China’s electronic authentication service industry is a late comer to the space, but as is the case with many other components of the Chinese economy, the industry will soon become world leader
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Biometrics put new eye on terrorists
U.S. military develops portable, light-weight biometric tool set allowing for collecting biometric information from suspects on the fly — and quickly comparing it to existing database
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Japan begins to fingerprint, take pictures of foreigners entering country
As of 20 November, all foreigners entering Japan will be fingerprinted and their photographs taken and stored; resident foreigners will also be subject to the new requirement
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Government increases spending on identity verification; start-ups to benefit
The U.S. government is well behind several deadlines and security goals regarding identity verification, and it will outsource much of the work to contractors; these contractors will be looking to acquire start-ups in areas such as smart cards, biometrics, RFID, and speech recognition
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Fingerprint system fails to identify black-listed soccer fans
Dutch researchers test the reliability of finger print biometrics by placing finger print scanner at three Dutch soccer stadiums for the purpose of identifying more than 6,000 “black listed” volunteers; the fingerprint system failed to spot 15 percent to 20 percent of those on a volunteer black-list
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SAIC, UKBI in collaborative R&D effort
U.S. government contractor signs a collaboration agreement with a U.K. academic biometric institute; purpose: “develop the next generation of industry-ready students from UK universities”
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New, detailed study of identity theft
An academic center for identity management issues a study which benefits from the U.S. Secret Service allowing, for the first time, review of its closed case files on identity theft and fraud
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Hitachi begins sale of finger vein authentication device in China
In Japan, Hitachi’s finger vein authentication technology is the de facto standard in the financial sector, with about 80 percent of Japanese financial institutions adopting it; the company believes it is now to conquer the rest of the world
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Debate over usefulness, pitfalls of biometrics intensifies
As the use of biometric technologies increases, the debate over its efficacy and usefulness intensifies
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U.S.-European differences on U.S. 10-digit fingerprints requirement
The U.S. will demand ten-digit finger prints from visitors, and not everyone thinks it is such a good idea
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U.S. military expands, deepens use of biometrics
Last year DoD set up a Biometrics Task Force; the promise of scope of biometric technology in the military was such that DoD has now created a permanent entity called Biometrics Defense Agency
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Biometrics poses no hygienic risks
The proliferation of biometric technology has been accompanied by growing concerns about whether it posed hygienic risks; Purdue University study should alleviate such concerns
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