Biometric Update

A company that focuses on making the web a safer place for children wants to build relationships with social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.The company, safeTspace, creates social networking sites for children to chat safely.

Chris Hagenbuch is one of safeTspace’s three founders, along with Randy Herold and Andrew Razumovsky.

All three are parents who worked together for the Department of Homeland Security.

“Many social networking sites allow users to enter their own ages, effectively relying on the honor system,” Hagenbuch said in a statement Jan. 28. “Our solution is the first and only one available today that verifies a user’s identity in-person and continues to check the user through biometrics.”

To join safeTspace, a child must have parental permission, register in person and have fingerprints taken. Representatives who register the children go through background checks before being hired.

When a child wants to enter one of safeTspace’s sites, the child places his or her index finger on a fingerprint reader attached to a computer.

Former U.S. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft will discuss the critical need for innovative security technologies that strike a balance between access, privacy and usability in a keynote address at InfoSec World 2008 sponsored by Ceelox, an industry leader in biometric software and encryption solutions.“Personal and corporate data continues to be compromised at an alarming rate, in part because people are reluctant to use security tools that are too cumbersome to incorporate into their regular routines,” said Gerry Euston, CEO, Ceelox. “But effective security solutions do exist that strike a balance between convenience, security and privacy. Biometrics in particular allow virtually anyone or any business, with little or no inconvenience, to protect their proprietary information to a greater degree than ever before.”

Ashcroft will deliver “Defending Liberty: The Inescapable Imperative for Technology Innovation” at InfoSec, which takes place in Orlando, Fla. March 11-12. His address will touch on a number of critical areas, including the relationship between security and liberty, the fundamental right of individuals and businesses to protect both their information and privacy and the emergence of biometrics as a solution to the most pressing information security issues.

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CIO - Asia is reporting tha getting the maximum value out of IT infrastructure  and resources will become the top IT trend in the government sector in Asia Pacific this year, predicted Government Insights in a report.The annual report, covering the top 10 predictions for the government sector in 2008 in the Asia/Pacific region excluding Japan (APEJ), is called Asia/Pacific Government 2008 Top 10 Predictions, January 2008. The economic benefits from technology are driving governments to further optimise the value of IT investments, said Raphael Phang, research director of Government Insights Asia/Pacific, a research and advisory firm. 

“In 2008, upcoming next-generation technologies, such as Web 2.0, virtualisation, mobile technologies and biometrics, will take centre stage,” he added.

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Telisma, a leader in network speech recognition technology, announces a partnership with PerSay, the leading provider of advanced voice biometric solutions that integrates offerings from the two companies to provide more comprehensive voice solutions for customers.Voice biometric technologies take advantage of the fact that each person’s voice is a unique and unobtrusive identifier, like a fingerprint. For contact centers that support banking, telecommunications and other industries, voice biometrics proves to be a cost-effective way to enhance security and improve customer convenience.

Telisma makes it easier for partners and customers to deploy speech technologies in multiple languages across various countries via its speech recognition software, teliSpeech. “Our partnership with PerSay will enable us to broaden the availability of our speech recognition solutions worldwide, and provide customers with the most accurate and cost-effective speaker verification technology available, “said Laurent Balaine, CEO of telisma. “We’re pleased to announce this relationship with PerSay, and confident that it will create mutual advantages for both companies and their customers.”

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AOptix Technologies, Inc., a leading edge developer of advanced iris recognition and ultra-high bandwidth laser communication systems, announces the hiring of Doug McNeil as Vice President of Operations.

Prior to joining AOptix, Doug was VP of Engineering for Visyx, where he served since its formation in 2006. He was responsible for managing the product development team and disciplined process implementation to advance R&D sensor platforms into highly engineered commercial products.

In 2005 Doug was Director of Engineering and Manufacturing Operations for Symyx Technologies where he helped develop a multi-parametric sensor to support automotive, instrument and process control measurement technologies.

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