Israel posts RFI for biometric KYC systems to be used in government services

The Identity & Biometric Applications Unit of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate has issued a ‘Request for Information’ (RFI) from providers of online digital know your customer (KYC) checking technologies, as it advises the country’s government in its efforts to set up onboarding and authentication capabilities for access to online public services and to assist financial regulators.

Information is sought from Israeli and international vendors on the use of biometric verification, particularly based on mobile devices, for KYC services.

The agency invites technology suppliers to submit information including methods for and performance in document scanning and authentication, biometric verification with facial, fingerprint, voice or iris recognition, or any other advanced modalities. Companies are asked to submit details on their presentation attack detection (PAD) and liveness technologies for detecting fraud attempts, including adversarial AI or deepfake attacks, recommended test methods to evaluate performance according to FATF methods, and what data they use for identity proofing and verification.

Participants can also submit software or applications for demonstration purposes. While the RFI focuses on biometric recognition and document scanning, further information on additional modules can be provided, if deemed relevant to KYC by the informant.

Other details requested in the form include supporting standards and certifications, data security tests, product performance and privacy enhancing technologies.

The agency asks that questions be submitted in Hebrew or English. Clarification questions are due by the third of May, with responses due by May 24, and the final deadline for replies to the RFI on June 14, 2021.

The Israeli government, like many others, has struggled with how personal data, including biometrics,  should be stored in government systems.

Article Topics

biometric liveness detection  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  fraud prevention  |  Israel  |  KYC  |  onboarding  |  remote authentication  |  RFI  |  secure transactions