Biometric authentication stepping into the spotlight with new on-device tools

Biometrics and passkeys for passwordless authentication made up two of the most-read articles on Biometric Update over the past week, with Dashlane and Google respectively introducing new tools around World Password Day. Issuance of remote biometric credentials is getting faster, too, with ID.me and NextGenID cutting how long people have to wait for their IDs. Meanwhile, the first smartphone to implement Fingerprint Cards’ under-display sensor has been revealed.

Top biometrics news of the week

Passkeys and biometric authentication are finally giving consumers and businesses real alternatives to passwords, with Dashlane unveiling a Master Passwordless capability that relies on the device PIN or native biometrics. Google introduced passkeys for account logins on World Password Day eve, bringing the FIDO Alliance’s access credentials to a potential user base of billions. A new report from LoginRadius shows that passwordless logins are already benefitting businesses that have implemented them.

Generative AI is having a moment, with ever more reports of duped authorities and loved ones, and Tencent is looking to cash in by offering Deepfakes-as-a-Service for  $145. One of the four tracks at the recent and excellent EAB and CITeR Biometrics Workshop at Idiap was on deepfakes, but Anderson Rocha told attendees that the potential of generative AI for a broad range of digital manipulations is actually the main problem that must be tackled.

AI regulation is coming in the EU, but U.S. government agencies say they have legal tools already in place to deal with misuse of the technology. The Brookings Institute warns that these diverging approaches to managing the risks of AI could pose major problems for businesses operating in both places, and offers advice to the government of each. A group of NGOs called for the EU’s regulation to include a ban on remote biometric identification.

The Biometrics Institute took the occasion of Privacy Awareness Week to launch an updated version of its Privacy Guidelines and call for organizations to review the security of their biometric data.

Europe’s Digital Identity Wallet represents “a very interesting target for a lot of attacks,” a security expert from NXP Semiconductors told the audience of a GlobalPlatform seminar on eID wallet security. Avoiding a one-stop honeypot for each person’s identity data is as important as avoiding a siloed experience for each sector and ensuring people cannot be tracked through their digital wallets.

A deal has been signed to enable six countries in Africa to share data, promote digital interoperability and support digital identity ecosystem development. The initial signatories of the Smart Africa Trust Alliance declaration are Ghana, Gabon, Guinea, Rwanda, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. The AfDB, meanwhile, has agreed to jointly carry out a $1.5 million project to harmonize digital payment policies in 10 African nations.

Ghana is warning residents to register the 11 million SIM cards that will otherwise be deactivated at the end of May. Earlier deadlines, as well as deactivations, have been reversed. Tanzania’s telecom regulator has noted a continuance of SIM fraud, mainly on one carrier, despite that country’s biometric SIM registry.

ID.me says that its issuance of IAL2 credentials with face biometrics checks now usually takes less than five minutes, and often no time at all. Remote credential issuance seems to be getting faster at every level, with  NextGenID showcasing its technology for collecting face, fingerprint and iris biometrics to issue IAL3 credentials within four minutes at DSI’s Identity Management Symposium.

The first phone to feature Fingerprint Cards’ under-display biometrics is the Xiaomi Redmi K60, which first reached consumers earlier this year. Fingerprint Cards sensors have now been implemented in 700 smartphones in total.

Gabon is taking steps to address long-standing difficulties people in the country face in collecting national ID cards, which are supposed to be used in many public and private sector interactions. A Gabonese journalist described the anticipation for a resolution to the situation after a new supplier was chosen to Biometric Update.

Big league stadiums across America are embracing facial recognition and AI computer vision as tools for improving the fan experience, writes CyberLink Vice President Terry Schulenburg in a guest post for Biometric Update. Weapons detection, faster access, and automated concessions are just some of many applications being tested and deployed.

The investment climate remains moderate. BioCatch raised $40 million in funding, Advance.AI raised $80 million, and startup Bits Technology picked up $4.5 million in a seed round. They are pursuing market share in behavioral biometrics, selfie biometrics, and AML compliance, respectively.

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Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  mobile biometrics  |  week in review