Last week at FindBiometrics we looked back on the trends we observed at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai while bringing you two interviews with industry leading experts. The industry news was filled with headlines concerning national ID, mobile fingerprint biometrics, and voice controlled smart glasses, as controversy was brewing in the law enforcement space.
Here is a look back on the first week of July in identity management:
Interviews
Last week we featured two expert interviews, one with Crossmatch CEO Rich Agostinelli, the other with Robert Cook, Global Administration Sales Operations VP for Smartmatic. Each of the discussions shed light on a number of interesting developments in the global biometrics markets. The Cook interview focused on the intricacies, challenges, and benefits of electronic voting. Meanwhile, in Peter O’Neill’s conversation with Agostinelli, we get insight into how biometrics are aiding in the ongoing refugee crisis, and get a look at the company’s involvement in the hot FinTech market.
Read the full interviews by following the links below:
INTERVIEW: Rich Agostinelli, CEO, Crossmatch
INTERVIEW: Smartmatic’s Robert Cook
National ID, Voter ID
National ID continued to be a fixture in our news coverage with reports that biometric registration will be mandatory for applicants seeking ID in Israel. Safran Identity & Security’s Philippe Le Pape outlined the various benefits of biometric civil ID in a blog post, while we learned that Indian Railways may be preparing to integrate Aadhaar ID into its ticketing process. Voter ID made the news too, with Gemalto having been selected to enroll citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo in preparation for its next election.
Indian Railways Reportedly Preparing Aadhaar-Based Ticketing
Biometric Registration Will Be Mandatory For ID Applicants: Israeli Minister
Gemalto Selected for Biometric Voter Enrollment in DRC
Safran Highlights Benefits of Biometrics in Civil Identity
Border Control
Biometric border control was implemented with little notice and insufficient staff at OR Tambo International Airport last week, causing a controversial uproar and significant delays. By week’s end, however, the concerns were addressed and the benefits of convenient and secure biometric border control could be fully realized in the South African airport. In the meantime, reports out of China had us talking about the country’s first deployment of face recognition-based airport security.
Sudden Transition to Biometric Screening Causes Delays at South African Airport
Biometric Screening System Now Running Smoothly: South African Minister
Biometric Airport Security Debuts in China
Law Enforcement
The Electronic Frontier Foundation officially filed its comments against the NGI privacy act exemption—a topic that has sparked objections from a number of civil liberties groups. Uber and Lyft, meanwhile, continued to fight against mandatory fingerprint background checks for their drivers, this time in New Jersey. It wasn’t all controversy in law enforcement last week, though, with the solving of a cold case in Hawaii chalked up to the use of the FBI’s NGI—the very same system courting the controversy mentioned above.
Biometric Identification Leads to Breakthrough in Hawaii Cold Case
Uber, Lyft, Continue Fight Against Biometric Checks in New Jersey
Civil Liberties Groups Object to NGI Exemption From Privacy Act
Fingerprints and Mobility
Last week we reported on Precise Biometrics’ new licensing agreement with Betterlife, while AT&T added Touch ID login to its mobile app, and a new Acer notebook launched with fingerprint authentication support. We also saw smartphone integrations from Fingerprint Cards (FPC), the manufacturer having announced that its technology is shipping on the latest handsets from Vivo.
Betterlife Licenses Both of Precise Biometrics’ Flagship Software Platforms
AT&T Mobile App Gets Touch ID Login
New Acer Notebooks Leverage Windows Hello Fingerprint Security
FPC Tech Featured in Newest Vivo Smartphones
Next iPhone Could Feature Capacitive, Pressure-Sensitive Home Button
FinTech
In Tokyo, NEC Corporation is testing out face biometrics based payments, we reported last week. Banco Inbursa signed with FacePhi to bring selfie-based authentication to its mobile app and web platform. Standard Chartered Bank enabled Touch ID login for its mobile app in eight African nations, and Ghana Bank, working with Ingenico, launched a POS solution that ties bank cards to fingerprint biometrics.
NEC Tests Out Biometric Payments in Tokyo
Ghana Bank, Ingenico Launch Biometric POS Solution
Mexico’s Banco Inbursa Embraces Selphie Solution
Standard Chartered Bank Enables Touch ID Support in Eight African Countries
Voice and Speech Recognition
Speech recognition is heating up as IoT and wearables continue to build momentum and encourage innovation. Sensory’s TrulyHandsfree was integrated into smartglasses aimed at the enterprise, while Microsoft put the spotlight on the speech recognition tech featured in the Windows 10 Universal Windows Platform (UWP).
Sensory Speech Command Tech Integrated Into Enterprise Smartglasses
Microsoft Highlights Speech Recognition in UWP
Operations
We just passed that halfway point of the year, and as such we can expect to see Q2 financial results start to come in. FPC announced the date of its next fiscal update, which will be accompanied by an English language conference call on the same day. In other business related news, FST Biometrics appointed a new chairman of its board of directors.
FST Appoints New Board Chairman
FPC Q2 Report to Arrive July 22
Reports and Trends
Last week we saw a new report from TechSci Research paint a rosy picture of India’s biometrics market, which is predictably driven by the country’s ambitious national ID program. We also unpacked the identity and security trends we observed in Shanghai at the recent Mobile World Congress event hosted by the GSMA.
India’s Biometrics Market to Grow at 31 Percent CAGR Between 2016-2021: Report
Three Trends From MWC Shanghai
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Stay posted to FindBiometrics throughout the week as we continue to bring you the best in identity management news. Be sure to follow us on Twitter so you don’t miss a thing.
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July 11, 2016 – by Peter B. Counter
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