Biometrics for getting through the airport, and in one case beyond it was a common theme in four of the most-read articles of the past week on Biometric Update. The TSA continues to roll out CAT 2’s supplied by Idemia even as legislators try again to stymie the program, and NEC XON claims a success in Zimbabwe. Clear is enrolling people for PreCheck, as lawmakers try to dislodge the company from its place in California airports, and Digi Yatra could soon be used by more people for more things. Elsewhere, Worldcoin continues its slow-dance with Latin American regulatory authorities, while a ch ..read more

8th Annual Privacy and Data Protection Summit Berlin, Germany October 24-25, 2024 Join us and global executives as we return for the 8th Annual Privacy & Data Protection Summit that will take place on the 24th – 25th of October 2024 in Berlin, Germany. This cross-industry event will focus on the latest technologies aiding in data protection, global legislative measures, new privacy features, the latest compliance strategies, AI policy and governance, children's privacy, third-party advertising cookies, breach response and sanctions, and much more. This summit will bring together global ind ..read more

The bipartisan effort by U.S. lawmakers to clamp down on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)’s use of facial recognition for travel screening is fresh news, but at least one of the senators leading the charge is an old hat when it comes to pushing back against developments in identity technology. According to ABC News, among those arguing that facial recognition in airports poses “significant threats to our privacy and civil liberties” is Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. – who has been voicing his objection to biometric technologies for years. The senator has made numerous attempts t ..read more

Holders of Israeli biometric passports who want to renew them can henceforth do so online, but not every passport user is eligible and no biographical information such as the applicant’s name can be changed. According to The Times of Israel, the online application can only be lodged from within the country and applicants will have to submit a facial photo which matches the one already held in the database. Holders of biometric national ID cards can also initiate the renewal process which concerns only applicants of between 21 and 60 years of age. Authorities say passports renewed online will ..read more

From digital KYC to real estate and from cryptocurrencies to DBS checks, identity verification companies are busy signing new deals. Veratad targets India Identity and age verification company Veratad has signed a strategic partnership with Signzy targeting Indian customers. Thanks to the partnership, Veratad will be able to offer a range of digital identity verification services, including those targeting Indian citizens. The New Jersey-based company will also be able to offer customer onboarding and age verification services to businesses in India. Back in February, the KYC, AML and age ver ..read more

Several MFA providers have announced new products and partnerships. Token is launching its next gen biometric Token Ring. Innovations Solutions Canada has awarded a contract to Cyphercor for MFA, while Hawcx is launching its passwordless authentication platform. Duo announced it now integrates with Entra ID external authentication methods. Token next gen MFA Token Ring with fingerprint biometrics Wearable biometrics manufacturer Token has announced its next-generation MFA Token Ring with biometric BioTouch Secure to fight ransomware. The ring has a 508 DPI capacitive fingerprint sensor and a ..read more

Microsoft has updated its terms of service to clarify its ban on U.S. police departments from using Azure OpenAI Service for facial recognition. The update, published on Wednesday, notes that integrations with Azure OpenAI Service must not be used for facial recognition purposes by or for a police department in the country. An earlier version of the terms of service stated that Azure OpenAI Service prohibits identification or verification using media containing people’s faces by any user, including U.S. police. While the U.S. police will have to deal with a complete ban, other law enforcement ..read more

Trinidad and Tobago has published a new bid for procuring face biometric software through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The Caribbean nation is seeking a face biometrics SDK including presentation attack detection (PAD) and deduplication capabilities, support for ICAO’s facial image quality standard for ID documents, and auxiliary services, the notice says. The deadline for submitting the bid is May 20th, 2024 with a pre-bid teleconference scheduled for May 9th. Although the bid listing does not specify the use case for the software, UNDP has been working with the country on ..read more

After a restructuring in autumn last year, Fingerprint Cards is continuing to make changes in its organization with its former acting CEO and current Chief Product Officer Ted Hansson leaving the company. Taking over Hansson’s CPO post will be Fredrik Ramberg, the Swedish biometrics company says in a statement. “I am very pleased that Fredrik has agreed to take on this key position in our executive leadership team as we move forward with the execution of our Transformation Plan,” says current president and CEO Adam Philpott. “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ted Hansson, as ..read more

Yesterday was World Password Day, which is fitting, as a new survey from the FIDO Alliance shows that passwords are yesterday’s news. According to a press release from FIDO, half of people in the US and UK have begun the process of breaking up with passwords, as they seek more convenient and secure passwordless alternatives in passkeys and biometric authentication. According to the survey, which involved 2,000 consumers across the UK and US, 53 percent of people have enabled passkeys on at least one of their accounts, with 22 percent going all-in and switching to passkeys across every compati ..read more