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Biometrics in border security, fingerprint technology and mobile authentication top this week’s news

 

Here is a recap of the most popular biometrics industry news that appeared on BiometricUpdate.com this past week.

Biometrics and border security

United States and United Kingdom officials have been assuring their respective countries that refugees scheduled to arrive from Syria will have undergone a comprehensive background screening process, including biometric registration. Individuals will be double checked using fingerprints, face photos and other biometric identifiers, first by the UNHCR then by the country they are applying to enter.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted an official notice that it will soon conduct a test to collect biometrics data at the Otay Mesa, California land border port-of-entry from certain aliens entering and departing the United States. The pilot program will begin no earlier than December 7, 2015 and will end on or before June 30, 2016.

Dermalog Identification Systems has developed VF1, a full color passport and fingerprint scanner in one that adheres to international fingerprint standards for AFIS and biometric identification. The combined scanner is the ideal solution for electronic gates, kiosks, border control and national registration. There is also a module for automatic detection of fake passports available.
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Acting Deputy Chief Mr. Lee Bowes with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is developing strategies that focus on more person-centric aspects of identity management and data usage. In this interview he gives his perspective on the USCIS biometrics division, which has – just this year alone – collected biometrics on 3.8 million individuals across 138 domestic sites and many international locations.

Fingerprint technology

Samsung is reportedly planning to integrate fingerprint sensors and Samsung Pay in all its budget smartphone models and there is speculation that the company could decide to release a completely new line of budget products that features NFC and biometrics, allowing the new line of devices to exist alongside the inexpensive ‘no frills” models.

Synaptics last week announced the sampling and a live demonstration of its Natural ID fingerprint authentication technology under greater than 200μm cover glass, providing smartphone manufacturers with an option of button-free industrial designs. The company demonstrated the new technology at its analyst and investor meeting on November 17, and will again at CES in January 2016.

Two new Android smartphones introduced in China last week feature Precise Biometrics’ BioMatch Mobile and Fingerprint Cards touch fingerprint sensor FPC1025. Jörgen Lantto, CEO of FPC, said, “Lenovo is a leading global smartphone manufacturer and we are proud that Lenovo selected FPC1025 for X3 and X3 Youth. FPC1025 supports 360 degree finger rotation capability, fast response time and industry leading 3D image quality.”

Vkansee president Jason Chaikin recently spoke with BiometricUpdate.com about the company’s new optical fingerprint sensors, the spoofing method that successfully hacked the capacitive fingerprint sensors embedded in Apple and Samsung devices and the future of fingerprint recognition in the biometrics market.

In a guest post, Francis Mather, Director of Computer Vision at Hoyos Labs, discusses their new, proprietary technology that is capable of collecting four fingerprints in a matter of seconds using only a person’s smartphone. 4F ID uses the phone’s rear camera and LED flashlight – thus, combatting lighting issues – to capture four fingerprints and ridges on the fingers at the same time for a higher degree of reliability.

Egis Technology exhibited its new lineup of fingerprint IC sensors, authentication solutions, mobile payment solutions based on FIDO specifications and PKI as well as their FIDO Certified UAF and U2F products at CARTES 2015, held in Paris last week.

Biometric authentication

Several major banks have said that PINs are a flawed security measure that is inadequate in protecting customers against identity fraud and financial technology experts are predicting that the PIN number will be obsolete within the next five years as banks turn to biometric authentication technology – such as fingerprint, vein pattern and voice recognition – to verify a customer’s identity.

A new report examines the growing drivers for mobile biometric authentication and modes of biometric standardization. The report finds that the inclusion of biometrics in mobile devices will generate approximately US$9 billion worth of revenue by 2018 for the biometrics industry, not just through unlocking mobile devices through security applications, but also through multi-factor authentication services and the approval of instant electronic payments.

Airport security

HID Global VP of sales Bill Spence makes his case for how the combination of smart cards, PIN and biometrics technology with liveness detection and spoof-prevention techniques can greatly enhance an airport’s security measures and bring the possibility of fraud and identity theft close to zero.

Facial recognition

Cognitec released a new version of its facial recognition FaceVACS technology, improving the recognition performance on difficult image material for the new matching algorithms, particularly in facial images with non-frontal poses or strong illumination artifacts that are typically found in video surveillance applications resulting in better matching results for subjects under the age of 18, and for images, most notably passport photos, with specific types of image noise.

Identity management

Chris Onyemenam, the CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), said that Nigeria aims to enroll over 80 million Nigerians in its national biometrics database by 2016.

Morpho (Safran) is integrating civil registries and vital statistics in its MorphoCivis identity management and registration system in support of the new United Nations-approved sustainable development objectives. MorphoCivis is a software suite that allows governments to more effectively manage the identity of their citizens in a range of fields, such as ID cards, passports, driver’s license, health and welfare, and voting.

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