Biometric Update: most popular news for week ending October 19

Here’s a recap of most popular and noteworthy biometrics industry news that appeared on BiometricUpdate.com this past week.

Biometrics Week in Review: biometrics the future of traveller screening, White House talks biometrics over passwords, Icahn optimistic on Apple Pay, biometric tech usage protocals, Bionym shipping Nymi band, financial institutions embracing biometrics, fingerprint authenticated payment card, Bill Gates talks biometric ID and banking, privacy advocates concerned about voiceprints and a special report on Port security.

Biometrics could be the future of U.S. Customs and Border Protection traveller screening – CBP Director Tanciar noted that biometrics will play a core role in future improvements to the CBP’s checkpoint procedures, but such iterations need to be proven effective and not undermine privacy.

White House official says biometric authentication should replace passwords – Michael Daniel, the White House’s cybersecurity coordinator, recently spoke out against passwords as a security measure, and in favor of more sophisticated identification technology like biometrics.

Apple Pay to debut this week; Icahn optimistic; PayPal skeptical about security – In an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, activist investor Carl Icahn predicted that Apple Pay will generate revenues of $2.5 billion in 2017 in the US alone.

Biometric tech usage protocols should be evaluated during Ebola airport screenings – Due to the dangers that the Ebola epidemic represents to the United States, health protocols focused on airport screening should consider when biometric technologies should be employed at airports.

Bionym begins shipping biometric wearable Nymi Band to developer community – Bionym announced it has begun shipping its biometric wristband, Nymi Band, to the developer community. Nymi Band is a wearable device that authenticates a person’s identity by analyzing their heartbeat, or unique electrocardiography.

Financial institutions are embracing biometrics … but with due caution – More than 30 banks are now registered to attend an upcoming seminar discussing biometric technology and implementations in the European financial sector organized by the European Association for Biometrics.

Mastercard, Zwipe unveil fingerprint authenticated contactless payment card – Using a fingerprint sensor, the Zwipe MasterCard card authenticates contactless payments and can be easily integrated with other payment technologies.

Bill Gates talks biometric identification, banking for emerging countries – Bill Gates recently said his foundation was ready to partner with the banking industry to develop affordable digital payments and biometric identity authorization services via mobile phones to individuals in emerging countries.

Collection of voiceprint data has privacy advocates concerned – Voice biometrics are increasingly being used as an authentication tool, and while it can potentially be a means of identification and replace passwords, the massive stores of voiceprints have some privacy advocates worried.

Special Report: Port Security – This report by Biometrics Research Group, Inc. examines biometric credentialing of transportation workers at U.S. seaports along with the security challenges caused by lack of holistic biometric access control options.

Stay current on BiometricUpdate.com’s biometrics industry news by subscribing to our RSS feed and daily e-mail updates, or by following us on Twitter or Facebook or follow our LinkedIn Company Page.

Article Topics

Apple Pay  |  banking  |  biometric authentication  |  Bionym  |  border control  |  CBP  |  European Association for Biometrics  |  Mobile Payments  |  port security  |  privacy  |  voiceprints