Biometrics upgrades arriving at borders (but check the schedule for updates)

New biometric technology is coming to borders in Europe and the UK, but as reflected in several of Biometric Update’s most-read articles of the week, it is a work in progress. Atos is getting blamed for EES delays, which are buying the UK time to get its borders in order. That is happening, in part, with an Ingenium-supported trial of biometric self-enrollment technology from Dermalog, iProov, Integrated Biometrics, Thales, Tech5 and others. Ghana’s new biometric passports from Biometric Travel Solutions Ltd and Hungarian ANY Security Printing Company Plc are now being issued, and Veridos CEO Marc-Julian Siewert makes the case for “biometrics on the move” as the future of easier travel.

Top biometrics news of the week

The UK Home Office is holding a second round of trials for contactless fingerprint biometrics enrollment by people using their own smartphones for Electronic Travel Authorisation applications. A privacy information notice says the trials will feature a virtual who’s-who of contactless fingerprint developers, including Identy, Dermalog, Veridium, iProov, Telos, IB, Blue Biometrrics, Thales, IDLoop, Sciometrics and Tech5, and be supported by Ingenium.

Home Office officials also updated the Justice and Home Affairs Committee on their plans to implement the ETA scheme and the EU’s Entry-Exit System on Thursday. Technology readiness, contingency measures and costs remain concerns, though the contactless fingerprint enrollment trial may help.

The big contract held by Atos and partners for the EU’s biometric border system is turning into a big headache for all involved, with blame from eu-LISA officials for the project’s serial delays spilling out into public. The company began missing EES targets almost immediately, and was placed under its creditors’ control in November.

Maybe a phased approach will help.

Ghana’s new passports with embedded electronic chips storing biometrics were introduced on Monday, with the promise of improved security and easier travel. Accra-based Biometric Travel Solutions Ltd and Hungarian ANY Security Printing Company Plc are managing the project and printing the ID documents, respectively.

Advances in identity verification like “biometrics on the move” represent the future of easier travel and secure financial transactions, Veridos CEO Marc-Julian Siewert argues in a guest post for Biometric Update. Best practices and regulations to protect privacy must be applied across the board, however, to fully unlock the benefits of biometrics.

It should go without saying that best practices also involve actually performing the requisite checks, but CNN reports that was the point of failure in JFK’s security system in the case of the woman who stowed away on a Delta flight to Paris.

Australia has published a second version of its Digital Services Standard, and its Competition and Consumer Commission took charge of regulating the country’s digital ID system last Sunday. The legislation backing the expansion of the AGDIS has taken effect, and the government anticipates accrediting more private sector digital identity providers to join Australia Post, IDVerse, Mastercard and Makesure.

Papua New Guinea is the latest country to announce intentions to require age verification through digital ID for social media. A government official noted the dangers of fraud, illegal goods, human trafficking, disinformation and harassment stemming from social media, and an American NGO notes the proliferation of “sorcery accusation related violence.” Draft legislation is expected in January.

Sumsub is out as face biometrics provider for the Maldives’ national digital ID, eFaas, with the government of the majority-Muslim bowing to public pressure to cut ties with the UK-registered by Israeli-owned company. Regula is the beneficiary, winning the new contract to provide the facial recognition used by the online portal for government services.

The U.S. FTC, which regulates advertising, has ordered IntelliVision to cease making claims about the accuracy and lack of bias of its face biometrics and PAD that it cannot back up with evidence. NIST testing does not support the company’s assertions, and the FTC found its claim to have used millions of faces to train its algorithms misleading.

The UK is setting up a multi-supplier framework for police to deploy live facial recognition, starting with a tender worth $25 million. Four-year contracts for LFR software with the BlueLight Commercial consortium are available, and responses are due by December 13.

The global digital identity verification market will reach $26 billion by 2029, Juniper Research says, up from $15.2 billion this year. A new report says behavioral biometrics, face biometrics and liveness detection are the key three technologies to combine, but also suggests that “handprints” face a major usability barrier that it does not see for either iris or retina scans.

If you spot any interviews, editorials or other content you think we shared share with the people in the biometrics and digital identity community, let us know through the comments below or social media.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  facial recognition