Fortinus Global, MD Tony Smith to advise Paravision on border biometrics expansion

Paravision is ready to support national-scale identity programs with Fortinus Global as its new strategic advisor for border security systems. The biometrics provider plans to expand its role in global border control programs supported by guidance on strategic alignment, technical readiness and operational fit from Fortinus Global and its Managing Director Tony Smith.

Smith is also the former director general of the UK Border Force, and a leading global expert in border management and security, according to the announcement. And he praises Paravision’s technology.

“Having assessed its performance, applicability, and integrity, we believe it is exceptionally well-positioned for the border market,” he says. “It’s rare to see this combination of technical excellence, ethical grounding, and business flexibility in the identity space.”

The assessment Smith refers to was an independent evaluation of Paravision’s face biometrics and AI digital identity capabilities conducted by Fortinus Global before entering into the agreement.

Paravision is “well-financed, ambitious and intelligent” and its products “are independently reviewed as high performing,” Smith says. He also notes that face biometrics are becoming the dominant modality for public-facing identity systems, due to ease of capture.

Smith is also chair of the International Border Management and Technologies Association (IBMATA) and led the Canadian Border Services Agency’s response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in addition to his extensive experience in the UK.

“Working with Tony and Fortinus is about more than market insight — it’s a signal of our readiness to support national-scale identity programs,” says Paravision CEO Doug Aley. “Their evaluation validates not only the performance and integrity of our technology, but also our capacity to meet the rigorous demands of government deployments. As borders evolve, we’re excited to partner with agencies around the world to enable secure, seamless, and trusted border crossings.”

The evaluation by Fortinus highlighted the performance of Paravision’s biometrics with different demographics and in different environments in NIST and DHS benchmarks, its partner-first integration strategy and its readiness to address emerging fraud threats like deepfakes, for which it just launched upgraded defenses.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  border management  |  border security  |  facial recognition  |  Fortinus Global  |  IBMATA  |  Paravision