Biometric authentication options expand with new partnerships, product launches

Biometric authentication is reaching new markets and extending further into established ones in several of the most-read news items of the week on Biometric Update. Mastercard has a new service allowing consumers to use native device biometrics to make purchases without passwords, Qualcomm has built a new automotive biometrics platform with help from partners including Daon, and HID Global has integrated face biometrics into a partner’s kiosks. A Yubico co-founder also discusses the evolving market conditions for passwordless authentication in an interview.

Top biometrics news of the week

Mastercard now allows people to carry out passwordless payment authentication through the native biometrics on their phone or laptop. The new Biometric Authentication Service replaces legacy multi-factor authentication methods with passkeys. The march of ways to avoid passwords continues, with passkeys becoming available on X for iOS users and Android phones becoming security keys for the Chrome browser.

The UK data protection watchdog has updated its guidance on age assurance to differentiate biometric age estimation from biometric identification, and therefore “special category data.” In the U.S., New York’s age verification proposal is drawing fierce criticism, while Utah’s social media restrictions are headed to court, and a federal agency is seeking feedback on changes to COPPA, including adding “biometric identifiers” to a protected category.

Biometric Update is co-hosting a webinar on “Age verification: Lessons learned from the UK” with Goode Intelligence on February 27 to delve into the latest developments and likely next steps for the retailers and online platforms.

The 11-member Organization of Eastern Caribbean States is working on a biometric digital ID for regional integration and travel, as part of a broader digital harmonization plan. Country consultations are being held on the set of initiatives, which also includes mutual recognition of driver’s licenses.

Mobile driver’s licenses have emerged as America’s path towards biometrics-backed digital ID, Thales Head of Federal Government Sales Neville Pattinson writes in a Biometric Update guest post. He argues that consumer education, comfort and adoption are all being spurred on by convenient, positive ID verification experiences, in particular at airports.

Meanwhile mDLs are reaching Americans in more states, as well, with New Mexico introducing legislation to set the rules for its digital ID, and a legislator in Idaho making the rounds in the media to drum up support for a prospective bill. An Australian academic’s review of the security of Victoria’s mDL provides reassurance for remaining skeptics.

Qualcomm has built a smart car biometrics system in collaboration with Salesforce, which provides its Automotive Cloud, and J.P. Morgan for payments through an in-vehicle digital wallet. Daon provides the digital identity technology to back insurance transactions on the Snapdragon Digital Chassis, and Wink is contributing biometric registration and authentication for personalization.

HID Global is integrating its U.ARE.U edge multispectral facial recognition device with Olea Kiosks for user authentication with presentation attack detection. The integrated kiosks can also integrate fingerprint scanning and other features, and are targeted at a range of industries. HID has also acquired ZeroSSL to enhance its PKI and IoT business.

Businesses in the EU may have to be compliant with the AI Act as soon as 6 months from now, and even sooner if they provide systems for applications designated high-risk. The new timelines comes along with a leaked 892-page draft of the Act, reflecting previously-unveiled amendments.

An in-depth look at Nigeria’s ambitions and achievements in improving access to financial services and government support through digital identity takes a content analysis approach. Through interviews with Nigerians and analysis of reports from non-governmental organizations and academia, the assessment identifies several key challenges and recommended policy priorities.

The third track of DHS S&T’s RIVTD, on liveness detection for selfie biometrics, is coming up. The assessment is intended to support the development of effective remote identity validation technologies. An informational webinar will be held next week, and applications close the end of February.

The week also included a $2.3 million early funding round for passwordless authentication startup Dapple Security, and a $116 million late round for IAM provider Silverfort, in an encouraging sign for the industry.

Yubico and its Co-founder Stina Ehrensvard are contributing to standards-building and pilots for digital identity wallets and public cybersecurity education efforts as part of the company’s post-ICO focus, she tells Biometric Update in an interview. Ehrensvard says Yubico is manufacturing a million security keys a month at its automated factories, and seeing an uptick in their adoption for healthcare.

Data Privacy Day, or Data Protection Day in Europe, is this Sunday, January 28. Jumio Worldwide Privacy and Regulatory Counsel Veronica Torres notes in an email to Biometric Update that this year’s observance occurs against a backdrop of sophisticated scams carried out with increasingly accessible generative AI tools.

“Businesses must have advanced identity verification in place including biometric-based authentication and AI-powered analytics to protect against today’s AI-powered cyberattacks,” Torres says. “These tools help security teams mitigate threats, spot fraud patterns and dismantle threat networks before they strike. Given today’s relentless threat landscape, proactive defense is not optional, it’s mission-critical to responsibly safeguard business and customer data.”

Please let us know about any interviews, editorials or other content you think we should share with others in the biometrics industry or digital identity community through the comments below or social media.

Article Topics

biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  identity verification  |  week in review