A new Sharp smartphone features biometric authentication technology from Fingerprint Cards. An FPC1145 sensor powers the fingerprint scanning of the Sharp Aquos S2, FPC has revealed. It’s the same sensor model used in Sharp’s previous phone, the Z3, which was announced earlier this year. Sharp also integrated the FPC1145 into last year’s Aquos Zeta SH-04H and…
SecuGen technology is helping to power the biometric capabilities of a new keyboard from Key Source International (KSI). Dubbed the KSI-1700 UB, the keyboard features SecuGen’s U20 fingerprint sensor. That means the device is FIPS 201 compliant, allowing for sensitive public sector applications; while its FAP 20 certification should prove appealing to clients and users…
EyeVerify is changing its focus and its name. In a new post on the company’s blog, CEO Toby Rush has announced that the company’s new core mission is to provide a mobile-centric identity management platform to ‘underserved and underbanked’ individuals in the Asia region, and that the company is changing its name to Zoloz. The…
Biometric Signature ID has expanded its leadership team with six new hires, the company has announced. Dr. Mark Sarver and David Chatham will help to lead the company’s technology and services efforts. Dr. Sarver comes from online education provider EDUKAN, BSI’s first client, for which he served as CEO; he joins the team as BSI’s…
BIO-key saw strongly increased sales and revenues in Q2 of this year, according to its recently published results. The company’s revenues for the quarter came in at $886,881, an increase of 113 percent against its Q2 2016 revenues of $415,814. The biggest chunk of those revenues came from sales of its fingerprint scanning hardware, which…
Scientists with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Michigan State University say they have engineered a new algorithm that could eliminate the need for humans to perform a key step in fingerprint analysis, and thereby reduce human error in forensic investigations. The algorithm tackles the first step in an investigation of latent fingerprints…
“…the companies have agreed to a licensing agreement that will see Integrated Biometrics pay royalties to Crossmatch for both past and future sales.” Integrated Biometrics and Crossmatch have agreed to settle a lawsuit with a new licensing agreement. The lawsuit was brought against Integrated Biometrics in late spring, with Crossmatch arguing that all of Integrated…
BioConnect‘s newest biometric security solution is aimed at the colocation market. Called CabinetShield, it’s a dual-factor lock for common server cabinets that supports fingerprint sand card-based authentication. The solution features an HID multiCLASS reader and a fingerprint sensor, and is designed to connect to access control systems through the BioConnect ID Enterprise software platform. In…
Suprema‘s BioMini Slim 2 fingerprint scanner is now compatible with IdentaZone’s IdentaMaster and IdentaMaster.Pro identity management platforms, the company has announced. Launched late last year, the BioMini Slim 2 offers FBI PIV/FIPS 201/Mobile ID FAP20 compliance, and features an extremely thin optical sensor, at only 13.5mm. It also sports a USB 2.0 interface, and IP65 water…
About two years after its launch, the Aruba Happy Flow program is being reinforced with a renewed partnership between Vision-Box and the Aruba Airport Authority. At its outset, Aruba Happy Flow was one of the first automated biometric passenger screening programs in the world, and it quickly proved itself as a template for other deployments,…
The Department of Defense is going to be making some changes to its approach to biometric and forensic capabilities, including a new focus on tradeoffs in making decisions about contract wins. That’s one key takeaway from a recent Government Accountability Office report entitled “DoD Biometrics and Forensics: Progress Made in Establishing Long-term Deployable Capabilities, but Further…
Government authorities in India are preparing to link Aadhaar, the country’s national biometric ID program, to stock market investments, according to new reports. It’s another facet of the central government’s attempt to use Aadhaar to curb fraud, with the idea in this case being that Aadhaar authentication for investors could help to prevent money laundering…
Biometric Signature ID has entered into a new partnership with National Fingerprint (NFp) to provide the latter with its BioProof-ID software. The collaboration should have a substantial impact on NFp’s operations. The company has been offering an authentication service based on in-person meetings, with ‘Registered Trusted Observers’ meeting with customers to collect fingerprints and verify…
Another new smartphone is helping to popularize fingerprint scanning across the lower end of the price spectrum: T-Mobile’s Revvl is now available from the MNO for only $125. Other features of the phone include a 5.5″ HD display, a 5MP front camera and 13MP rear camera, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. The…
Innovatrics is laying claim to a world record with a newly achieved matching speed of 1.04 billion matches per second for its fingerprint recognition algorithm. The achievements represents a considerable leap ahead of Innovatrics’ previous speed record of 720 million matches per second, and was performed using a single server via an Intel Xeon Platinum…
Precise Biometrics has found its new R&D Director, and he comes from within the company’s own ranks. Fredrik Clementson, a Precise Biometrics engineer, will take the position starting September 1st. The search began in late spring, when Rutger Petersson, who has been with the company for a decade, announced his resignation as he sought to…
The HomePod firmware code dump is quickly turning into Apple’s Panama Papers, with respect to leaks pertaining to this year’s new iPhone. To recap: Code for the HomePod, Apple’s forthcoming smart home device, was mistakenly posted online at the end of last month, and developers were quick to trawl it for hints about features in…
Organizers of the World Chess Championship are seeking to introduce biometric heart data to match broadcasts, but security remains a critical issue. As The Telegraph reports, the aim is to make chess matches more dramatic for viewers, with biometric devices tracking heart biometrics, and the data helping to illustrate for viewers how stressed players are…
Calgary-based NovaTeqni has been contracted to provide biometric technology for New Jersey-based enterprise mobile solutions provider Mobizent. The latter has ordered NovaTeqni’s MobiCHKII rugged biometric handheld devices, which use fingerprints and smart cards for authentication in the field. The companies say that Mobizent will market the MobiCHK devices in the US and in India, where…
Las Vegas’ McCarren International Airport (LAS) has become the latest site of the US Customs and Border Protection agency’s expanding biometric airport screening program. The deployment comes just a few weeks after the CBP brought biometric passenger screening to the Chicago O’Hare International Airport. As in that deployment and others, the LAS system will use facial…
“The trend toward in-display fingerprint sensors on mobile devices also presents “unique opportunities for using the IDEX off-chip sensor,” according to the report.” IDEX has issued its Q2 and first half update for 2017. The quarter saw revenues of NOK 4.7 million, compared to NOK 14.1 million in Q2 of 2016. Looking to the full…
A new partnership will allow Maryland residents to sign up for TSA PreCheck at their local Motor Vehicle Administration offices. MorphoTrust and the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA) have announced that IdentoGO services have come to MVA offices in Annapolis, Waldorf, and Salisbury, and that such services will arrive to Frederick,…
BioCatch and LexisNexis Risk Solutions have teamed up, the companies have announced. The partnership will see BioCatch’s behavioral biometrics technology integrated into the LexisNexis Risk Defense Platform, allowing administrators to view additional risk score data pertaining to user’s innate behavioral patterns. The system will also determine whether a user is genuine or a fraudster by…
IDEX will issue its half-year report for 2017 on August 10th, the company has announced. The report will review what has been an eventful first half of the year, with some particularly salient events in the second quarter. April saw the revelation that IDEX technology was being used in Mastercard’s new biometric payment cards, for…
KeyLogic, an engineering and project management consultancy firm, is expanding into the biometrics market with a new acquisition: The company has purchased CrossResolve, a government-focused advisory firm. The move comes about a year after KeyLogic hired Kevin Reid, a former FBI executive who focused on biometric technology while at the Bureau. In a statement announcing…
As the race toward in-display fingerprint sensors continues, CrucialTec is insisting it’s a key competitor. In a new interview with The Korea Herald, CrucialTec CEO Charles Ahn asserts that his company’s Display Fingerprint Solution (“DFS”) “is fully ready,” and that his company is “in talks with the world’s leading display manufacturers to see the first…
Public service IT professionals are embracing biometric and analytics technologies in anticipation of significant benefits in data and privacy protection, suggests a new report from Accenture. Based on a survey of 774 such individuals across nine countries in North America, Europe, and the APAC region, the report is entitled “Emerging Technologies in Public Service“. Sixty-nine…
Newly discovered code for Apple’s HomePod firmware suggests that the next iPhone could be able to recognize your face even if it’s lying on a nearby table. It’s another finding from what’s turning into a trove of information – albeit largely unconfirmed info – from code meant for developers working with Apple’s forthcoming smart home…
The first European trial of Mastercard’s new biometric payment cards has concluded, with successful results continuing the program’s momentum. The development comes after Mastercard announced the first successful trials of its biometric payment cards in Africa this spring, with the company promising further trials to come in Europe and the APAC region. The first European…
EyeLock LLC has found a new distribution partner for the Australia region: The company has teamed up with CSD (Central Security Distribution). Headquartered in Victoria, CSD has several showrooms across Australia, and the company says it has “invested millions in a national distribution network”, according to its website. In a statement announcing the partnership, EyeLock’s…
The American Civil Liberties Union is laying out its objections to the US government’s increasing use of facial recognition at airports in a new blog post by policy analyst Jay Stanley. Titled “What’s Wrong With Airport Face Recognition”, the post comes in the wake of the Department of Homeland Security’s discussion last week with privacy…
BIO-key will announce its Q2 results on Monday, August 14th, the company has announced. The results are likely to detail what has been an exciting time for the company. BIO-key recently announced that it had seen $250,000 in revenues from the healthcare sector over the quarter, with organizations ranging from device makers to clinics embracing…
IDEX has developed a new biometric matching algorithm tailored for smart card applications. In a statement announcing the solution, the company said the algorithm was “specifically designed to deliver a step-function improvement in performance for applications with acute power, processing and memory limitations.” Commenting further, IDEX CEO Dr. Hemant Mardia said the solution is built upon…
The flip phone is making a comeback in China thanks to a new dual-screen device from Samsung. It isn’t some back-to-basics flip phone. Called the Samsung G-9298 (or ‘Leader 8’), the device has a 4.2″ screen on the inside, and another 4.2″ screen on the outside. It supports wireless charging and Samsung Pay, and features an…
In the wake of its establishment of a partnership with ELAN Microelectronics, South Korea-based MagnaChip sees a bright future ahead. The company has published its fiscal update for Q2, and the partnership is among its highlights for the quarter. The companies will work together to produce biometric smart cards, with ELAN providing its fingerprint sensor…
India’s national biometric ID program will soon extend from cradle to grave, with the country’s Home Ministry having just announced that effective October 1st, deaths must be registered using the Aadhaar numbers of the deceased. In other words, anyone trying to obtain a death certificate must identify the deceased using Aadhaar. If they don’t have…
The FBI has followed through on its plan to exempt its Next Generation Identification system from the Privacy Act. Effective August 31st, 2017, the FBI is no longer bound by the requirement to acknowledge whether it is holding an individual’s biometric records. The NGI system is widely used by law enforcement and security authorities to…
Leaked images suggest that Vivo’s next flagship smartphone will feature an in-display fingerprint sensor. The images appear to show slides from a presentation on an upcoming Vivo device labelled “Xplay 7”. The slides depict a smartphone with small bezels and a large screen, with a circular digital button – possibly depicting a fingerprint shape, though…
Another dive into Apple’s HomePod code has turned up a new pearl: Apple appears to be bringing facial recognition to Apple Pay. The new findings come immediately after the revelation that lines of code for the firmware of HomePod, Apple’s forthcoming smart home hub device, appear to refer to an infrared facial recognition capability in…
The BBC has been experimenting with a voice recognition system for its iPlayer, its digital service allowing TV subscribers to access BBC programs online. The British media organization has built a proof-of-concept prototype designed to allow subscribers to log into their iPlayer accounts just by speaking, and to search for BBC content by voice command,…
Nashville-based mSIGNIA has attained new patent approvals supporting its ‘digital biometric’ platform. The solution received its first patent in 2014, and another in the spring of 2016. It essentially tracks patterns in how users customize their devices, and in how they interact with their devices in terms of sending and receiving messages, visiting certain websites,…
HP has announced a new POS terminal that supports biometric security via Windows Hello. It’s called the ElitePOS. It’s a fast POS terminal, with its Windows 10 operating system and 7th generation Intel Core processors. It’s also sleek, sporting an unobtrusive but clear touch display that should help to facilitate convenient transactions. For certain merchants,…
India’s Supreme Court is hinting that it will not rule that privacy is a fundamental and absolute right when it delivers its verdict on the matter. The case was launched by critics of Aadhaar, India’s pioneering national biometric ID program. With its capability of using fingerprint and iris biometrics to verify citizens’ identities, the program…
New devices from the Lenovo-owned Moto mobile brand feature biometric technology from Fingerprint Cards. The fingerprint sensor specialist has announced that its FPC1035 sensor model is being used in Moto’s G5S and G5S Plus smartphones. Moto is a frequent customer of FPC, with two other integrations having been announced last month alone, in the Z2…
The US Customs and Border Protection agency met with privacy advocates this week to discuss its expanding program of biometric border screening at US airports. In announcing the talks, the CBP asserted that it held them with the Department of Homeland Security and “representatives from the privacy community”, though it did not name the specific…
Indiana’s Community Hospital Anderson has deployed Imprivata‘s PatientSecure system to help reduce patient misidentification. The hospital is part of the Community Health Network, a nonprofit health services provider with over 200 sites in Central Indiana. Thus its use of biometric technology, with PatientSecure using palm vein scanning to identify patients and call up the right…
German officials have begun testing facial recognition technology at Berlin’s Südkreuz train station. The aim is to determine whether implementing the biometric identification technology with CCTV cameras could help to boost security, particularly with respect to preventing terrorism, by identifying suspects automatically as they pass through the station. The trial has attracted about 300 volunteers, who…
Customers of Ireland-based airline Ryanair can now search for flights, hotels, and flight statuses by voice command. The functionality comes by way of Alexa, Amazon’s voice-controlled AI assistant. In a statement announcing the new feature, Ryanair described it as “Alexa voice recognition”, suggesting that the system can not only respond to speech prompts but also…
A secretive US Defense Department project is aimed at replacing passwords and even biometrics with ‘patterns of life’, reports Signal. The idea is to use various sensors embedded in mobile devices to track things like gait, frequented locations, work patterns, and other incidental data in order to verify a subject’s identity. It’s similar to an…