Identity authentication

Pentagon maintains a DNA database with 80,000 DNA profiles
The Pentagon has built a DNA database with about 80,000 DNA profiles of suspected terrorists; database has grown dramatically in the last two years (it had only 15,000 profiles in 2006)
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Unisys study shows U.S. public trusts biometrics for data protection
Privacy advocates may be worried about the proliferation of biometrics for identification purposes, but a recent Unisys survey shows that Americans are comfortable with the idea of banks and government agencies asking them for biometric data for identity verification
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Dominican Republic enacts sweeping biometric data measure
Citing concerns about crime and public safety, the Dominican republic enacts sweeping biometric data requirements; as of January 2009, anyone who has not supplied their biometric data will not be able to make any banking transactions or get a firearms permit
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Making facial recognition technology more effective
Facial recognition technology holds the promise of identifying individuals in a crowd — and from distance; in real-world environments, however, the task becomes difficult, if not impossible, when the systems acquire poor facial images; NIST researchers offer a solution
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Briefly noted
Napolitano offers Obama pragmatic take on immigration… Microsoft, ESRI to help improve DHS operations… Inbox: Brits baying for blood over ID
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TSA, American Airlines launch paperless boarding
Paperless boarding pass will allow passengers to receive boarding passes electronically on their cell phones or PDAs
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France drops security database over privacy fears
Criticized for ignoring serious privacy concerns, the French government scraps — for now — the implementation of massive data base; data base was to include information about French men and women as young as 13 years of age and include information on people’s health and sexual orientation
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TWIC deadline for Florida -- and the U.S. -- looms
Florida port workers have until 13 January 2009 to pay the $132 and register for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential card; entry to all U.S. ports will require the TWIC card as of 15 April 2009
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U.K. passports costs rise by 39 percent to pay for biometrics
Fingerprinting and facial scanning are costly procedures, and the Home Office attempts to recoup the cost of adding biometric data onto the document
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Fingerprint "developer" can read a letter from its envelope
U.K. researchers find that disulfur dinitride polymer turned exposed fingerprints brown, as the polymer reaction was initiated from the near-undetectable remaining residues; what is more, traces of inkjet printer ink can also initiate the polymer, allowing detectives to read a letter from the residue it left on the envelope
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Some federal agencies fail to meet secure ID October deadline
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had set 27 October as the deadline for agencies to issue the cards to all federal employees and contractors; 28 percent of the federal employee workforce and 30 percent of contractors who require the cards have received credentials
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Briefly noted
FAA selects avionics manufacturers for nextgen technology… Who will be the next DHS secretary?… Biometrics, interoperability technology help identify criminal aliens
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Briefly noted
Australia opens national tsunami warning center… Document requirements announced for visitors to international peace garden… European data breach laws could land in 2011… Aberdeen: Unified threat management can shave IT costs
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Global Entry arrives in Atlanta
U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents who pre-register for the program may use the Global Entry kiosk as an alternative to the regular passport control line
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Use of cheap RFID chips make new U.S. passports vulnerable
Americans can now apply for the U.S. Passport Card, which is also known as the Pass Card; the RFID chips are cheap Class One Generation Two models, which are vulnerable to cloning
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