“The comments come after an extensive string of controversies concerning the Aadhaar program.” One of the architects of Aadhaar was putting his strongest spin on the biometric national ID program at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. Speaking at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, the Infosys Chairman, Nandan Nilekani, insisted that Aadhaar…
“Even if government authorities can’t make Aadhaar authentication mandatory, they can still accept it from citizens who prefer to use it.” Just a few months after a Supreme Court ruling laid out restrictions to how India’s national biometric ID program can be used, the national government has amended legislation governing the Aadhaar program to make…
The government biometrics sector never stops growing, and accordingly this has been a very eventful Government Biometrics Month at FindBiometrics. We’ve spent the last four weeks traversing this hugely diverse market area, delivering breaking news, live interviews, and deep analysis. And we capped it all off by attending a major industry event and organizing the…
“Effective September 15th, telecoms will need to ensure that at least 10 percent of their authentication transactions through Aadhaar are performed using facial recognition, with shortfalls subject to fines.” The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is preparing to take at least a small step toward the integration of authentication based on facial recognition into…
A new Apple patent suggests the company is considering the idea of letting users put their passports into their virtual Apple wallets. As AppleInsider reports, the patent was filed on March 30th, and describes a system in which an electronic device could import credential data from an official piece of ID such as a passport…
Government authorities in the Philippines are proceeding in their effort to establish a national biometric ID program, with plans to begin issuance in Metro Manila and the Calabarzon region by the year’s end. Announcing the developments in a CNN Philippines interview, Davao City Representative Karlo Nograles referred to these municipal zones as “pilot areas” for…
FindBiometrics President Peter O’Neill recently had the opportunity to speak with Ritu Favre, CEO of NEXT Biometrics. The conversation starts with a review of her first year as the company’s leader and her major accomplishments in the role. The conversation moves on to the major security benefits of NEXT’s large area sensors and the demanding…
The Unique Identification Authority of India has clarified that it cannot share data from the country’s biometric national ID program after the head of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) said such information could be used in criminal investigations. Speaking at the 19th All India Conference of Directors of Finger Prints Bureau, the NCRB chief had…
An important new partnership could help to significantly extend the reach of FIDO Alliance authentication standards in India. The cross-industry consortium has announced that it has established “a mutual liaison relationship” with India PKI Forum, a non-profit organization under the auspices of the Indian Ministry of Information Technology’s Controller of Certifying Authorities agency. IPKI offers…
The Unique Identification Authority of India has delayed its implementation of facial recognition support in Aadhaar, the biometric national ID program it oversees. The support for facial recognition was first announced near the start of this year. It’s aimed at facilitating biometric authentication in ‘fusion mode’ – that is, when both a fingerprint scan and…
Indian citizens can now check their Aadhaar update history online, thanks to a new service from the Unique Identification Authority of India, or UIDAI. Aadhaar is, of course, India’s wide-ranging biometric national ID program, used for all kinds of scenarios, from receiving government subsidies to tracking Amazon deliveries. It’s aimed at offering a reliable and…
“Looking to next steps, the company says it will begin selling its Scallop 3023-U fingerprint readers for Aadhaar projects later this year, and will sell 2023-U sensor modules designed for use in devices like POS terminals in the first half of 2019.” NEXT Biometrics has received STQC certification for its fingerprint sensor technology, paving the…
Belarus will soon begin issuing new ID cards and biometric passports thanks to a contract awarded to China-based ID solutions provider Emperor Tech and Latvian eID software specialist X Infotech. The companies have been selected to deliver both hardware and software for new ID programs to RUE Cryptotech, a state company overseen by the Belarus…
“This isn’t the first time the UIDAI has sought to publicly defend itself against allegations that it is mishandling or not adequately securing the Aadhaar database, which is now used to authenticate Indian citizens across a wide range of scenarios.” The Unique Identification Authority of India is once again defending its administration of the country’s…
“Like other recent EU regulations including the GDPR and PSD2 requirements, the proposed regulation could be a boon to the region’s biometrics industry, both by establishing a need for compliance solutions, and by strengthening the ties between biometrics and official documentation.” The European Commission has issued a new set of proposals aimed at bolstering security…
The Unique Identification Authority of India is urgently reminding government service providers that they are obligated to serve citizens even when those citizens aren’t able to present credentials with Aadhaar, the national biometric ID program that the UIDAI administrates. In a public statement, the UIDAI says it has taken note of “media reports that some…
HID Global is lending a hand in the digital transformation of Tanzania’s citizen ID and border control programs. The company has revealed that it is the primary supplier of the country’s new electronic passports. The announcement comes in the same week as the news that Vision-Box biometric border screening technology is now being used at…
“The new citizen ID cards feature both embedded chip technology and biometric support, and are expected to be issued to 16 million citizens this month.” Entrust Datacard is helping the government of Ghana to roll out its first biometric electronic ID cards for citizens. The company has been working with domestic partner Identity Management Systems…
With the nationwide launch of a new biometric driver’s license program complete, the Philippines’ Land Transport Office is now issuing half a million such ID documents per month. The project was first unveiled three months ago, when Germany-based Dermalog announced that it had been selected to provide the technology for the program. Each document features…