Remote Identity Validation Rally enters biometric PAD phase

The year-long Remote Identity Validation Rally (RIVR) challenge series hosted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is entering its third phase, focusing on presentation attack detection.

Where the first phase of RIVR focused on fraud detection in selfie-to-document biometrics matching, and the second on authenticating identity documents, a release says phase three focuses on the threat of presentation attacks.

The rally invites the industry to test, refine and improve biometric identity verification technology, to fight “fraudsters attempting to impersonate other people using high-resolution photographs, displays, face masks, and other techniques.”

In other words, detecting presentation attacks, deepfakes, and stopping the various types of identity fraud they enable: human trafficking, financial fraud, identity theft and more.

Onboarding is a noted target for improvement. Per the release, the new phase “challenges the private sector to deliver secure, accurate and user-friendly technologies that can combat identity fraud when users apply for government services, open bank accounts, or verify social media accounts.”

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) developed the RIVR program in collaboration with Homeland Security Investigations Forensic Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Jason Lim, tech counselor for TSA Administrator, says that “while digital IDs represent improvements in identity security and user experience, they also present different threat vectors for bad actors.”

“As a stakeholder in the emerging digital ID space, TSA believes that our ongoing partnership with DHS S&T is critical to understanding and mitigating evolving risks associated with presentation attacks for both enrollment and verification.”

Arun Vemury, S&T senior engineering advisor for identity technologies, says the Remote Identity Validation Rally demonstrates the power of public-private collaboration.

“DHS S&T and its interagency partners are providing its expertise in developing challenging evaluations and industry is demonstrating its ingenuity to develop technologies that strengthen the security and efficiency of online digital transactions for both government and commercial use cases,” Vemury says. “We’re all working towards building a more secure and trusted future for the American people.”

Results of testing will “inform new standards, test protocols and requirements for U.S. agencies, international partners and other stakeholders.”

Article Topics

biometric liveness detection  |  biometrics  |  deepfake detection  |  DHS S&T  |  face biometrics  |  identity verification  |  presentation attack detection  |  Remote Identity Validation Rally (RIVR)