Biometrics maturing for smartphones, smart cards and passports

Biometrics in consumer devices and technology to protect biometric data in passports continue to mature, as seen in several of the top headlines over the past week on Biometric Update. Qualcomm’s latest-generation ultrasonic sensor will reportedly be implemented in new Samsung phones, STMicroelectronics, Fingerprint Cards and Neurotechnology announced steps forward on biometric cards, and Infineon is part of a team that has developed a post-quantum security controller for biometric passports. G+D, meanwhile, received a major investment to grow its digital identity operations.

Top biometrics news of the week

An unconfirmed rumor suggests that the new 3D Sonic Max ultrasonic sensor from Qualcomm may provide the in-display fingerprint biometrics capability to the Samsung Galaxy S23 smartphone lineup. The sensor features a relatively large active area and built-in presentation attack detection. Qualcomm says it works with flexible OLED displays.

Idemia, Zwipe and Linxens each discussed the mass-market readiness of biometric cards at a recent APSCA forum. Meanwhile, STMicroelectronics’ card platform has gained EMVCo certification, Fingerprint Cards has partnered on a FIDO2 access control card, and Neurotechnology has released a new version of its MegaMatcher On Card SDK.

An opinion piece on Fingerprint Cards website makes the case for access control based on FIDO2 standards and biometrics to support hybrid working and other use cases. Certified technologies already on the market combined with Zero Trust architectures can help businesses catch their security stances up with changes recently forced on them by the pandemic.

Quantum computing threatens to undermine security measures that underpin biometric passports, among many other pieces of identity infrastructure. In response, Infineon and partners have developed and demonstrated a security controller running a post-quantum cryptographic algorithm they say is the first of its kind.

Telecoms in Ghana began blocking data services last week ahead of Wednesday’s deadline for biometric SIM card registration. The deadline had already been pushed back several times, but a court challenge was recently defeated, and authorities urged Ghana Card holders to complete their registrations ahead of possible service blocks.

America needs to pass the Improving Digital Identity Act of 2022 to stem the flood of data breaches and identity theft, according to the Better Identity Coalition and other groups. The coalition of ten groups, which also includes the Identity Theft Resource Center, cites potential savings of hundreds of millions of dollars. They want the Act included in a year-end spending bill.

The draft of the UK’s Online Safety Bill would establish a system in which online platforms must determine whether users are adults or children, and set terms and conditions accordingly. Age Verification Providers Association ED Iain Corby tells Biometric Update that interoperability is needed to avoid age verification becoming the new cookie pop-up.

G+D has raised €130 million in cash from debt to support operational growth in digital identity and other areas. The company says the offering was adjusted after being oversubscribed, and that it shows investor trust in G+D’s strategic direction and track record. The loans reach maturity in between three and five years.

UK government departments have been told to cease deploying security cameras from Chinese providers that could be compelled to share information from them. The instruction from the Government Security Group also tells public sector organizations to avoid connecting the surveillance equipment to core networks, and consider removing them where already deployed.

Facial recognition will not be deployed to secure the France 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, as the country’s Ministry of Sport says it would violate data privacy regulation. Anonymized algorithms for gleaning crowd intelligence from video surveillance streams will be used, however.

Implementing ethical AI tools like biometrics in financial services requires special considerations, Onfido Global Director of Public Policy Matt Peake writes in a guest post for Biometric Update. Peake offers guidance into what constitutes ethical AI, why it is important, and how to prioritize it in application development.

Squire Patton Boggs Attorney David J. Oberly lends his expertise in biometric data and data privacy to explaining the implications of the recent ProctorU lawsuit dismissal in another guest post. The decision means that choice-of-law provisions can be effectively deployed to defend against BIPA claims.

A visit by NADRA head Tariq Malik to stateless people in the Machhar Colony in Karachi, Pakistan may portend their inclusion as Pakistani citizens for the first time, according to an article in The Tribune. Many of the hundreds of thousands of people who live there were born in Pakistan but have no legal identity, and professor who wrote the article urges proactive participation by observers concerned about inclusion to ensure the full process for change is completed.

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Article Topics

access control  |  biometric cards  |  biometrics  |  data protection  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  facial recognition  |  identity document  |  legislation  |  research and development  |  week in review