Next partner passes new UIDAI liveness tests, India shipments to resume

Next Biometrics says one of its Indian partners, Access Computech Pvt. Ltd. (ACPL), has earned a pass mark in upgraded anti-spoofing tests on its devices used for Aadhaar authentication.

In an announcement, Next said it had received a notification in this regard, meaning an end to a suspension in shipment of the devices imposed by Indian authorities at the start of this year.

Since January 1, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has made it compulsory for all Aadhaar authentication transactions to be completed with L1 certified devices in place of the L0-certified ones, enforcing a measure communicated in a memo in 2023. The authority has also issued firm directives mandating liveness detection and anti-spoofing guidelines.

With regard to Next’s partner, UIDAI had paused the enrollment of all new L1 certified devices as a precautionary security measure at some point last year, in the wake of a security incident involving a participating firm.

Next said after the new tests which included spoofing attempts using different types of material and spoofing methods, its partner ACPL was able to pass all the relevant tests becoming only one of three OEMs to have passed the tests.

“I am very pleased to receive this confirmation from our partner ACPL. Our team is eager to resume business as usual in India. Once again, I want to emphasize that the security incident leading to additional tests and the temporary pause in the use of L1 sensors relates to a competing technology—one that does not apply to our Active Thermal technology,” the Chief Executive Officer of Next, Ulf Ritsvall, said.

“As expected, Next’s FAP 20 sensor has delivered outstanding results in the tests. I strongly believe that UIDAI’s decision to strengthen the entry barriers to Aadhaar will ultimately benefit Next in the long run. Our Next Active Thermal sensor technology already surpassed competing solutions, particularly in detecting liveness in fingerprints. As fewer players meet the stringent L1 certification requirements, I anticipate that Next will further solidify its market position and expand its share in India,” he added.

Next says following this development, it will resume shipment of the its scanners to India, with things expected to normalized in the first and second quarters of the year.

The company says last year, it witnessed improved revenue growth largely thanks to an increased volume orders from India for its devices which are complaint with UIDAI’s new Aadhaar authentication specifications. Next says it hopes to get even stronger revenue growth in the fiscal year 2025.

Next Biometrics will be demonstrating both the FAP 20 and a new FAP 30 sensor and biometric algorithm at the MOSIP Connect conference this week in Malila, Philippines.

Article Topics

Aadhaar  |  biometric liveness detection  |  biometrics  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  fingerprint sensors  |  India  |  L1 certification  |  Next Biometrics  |  spoof detection  |  UIDAI