New Zealand to make NEC face biometrics available to public, private organizations

The Department of Internal Affairs in New Zealand has signed a contract with U.S. giant DXC Technology to make face biometrics solutions available for public agencies, local councils, or approved private organizations across the country to deploy.

According to RNZ, the deal was signed in December 2018, but the government only recently completed the deployment of the new system.

The platform is running the Neoface biometric software from NEC, which has been recently deployed by the police in New Zealand for surveillance and investigation purposes.

NeoFace specializes in reducing the risk of security threats by integrating biometric face-matching technology with video analytics input.

The new deal allows public and private organizations to join and receive a reduction in tendering and initial contracting costs when setting up a NeoFace facial recognition system.

The firms would still have to pay DXC Technology to set up and manage the system, but the biometrics company would provide the technology and upgrades at no additional cost.

The move is aimed at expanding the use of biometrics for multiple uses by Crown agencies, as it is evident from January’s Privacy Impact Assessment report.

It also tries to tackle fraudsters’ attempts, particularly the ones relating to multiple identity crimes.

The new system will replace old passport control systems, and will retain citizens’ biometric data such as fingerprints and facial information for fifty years.

No agencies beyond the Department of Internal Affairs, which contracted the service, have so far signed up to the new system, RNZ reports.

Article Topics

biometric software  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  fraud prevention  |  government services  |  identity verification  |  NEC  |  NEC New Zealand  |  New Zealand