An IT expert with the OPEC Fund for International Development has become the latest official to decry duplication and overlap in Nigerian authorities’ collection of citizens’ biometric data, reports The Guardian. Speaking at a press conference, the official, Jacob Edo, said that Nigeria’s federal government could be losing as much as $2 billion annually due…
India’s banks are now working to ensure compliance with a new regulation requiring bank accounts to be linked to fingerprint biometrics registered through Aadhaar, the country’s national biometric ID program. As The Hindu reports, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which administrates Aadhaar, has set a deadline for December 31st, 2017, following an amendment…
A Hindu organization called the Hindu Utsav Samiti is urging the Indian government to use its national biometric ID program to ensure that only Hindus are allowed into traditional religious dance ceremonies called ‘garbas’. Speaking to the Indian Express, the president of the 6,000-member HUS, Kailash Begwani, claimed that Muslim men infiltrate the events to “entice”…
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…
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…
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…
Authorities in Malaysia are urging the United Nations’ refugee agency to share its data on refugees in the country. As Channel News Asia reports, Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan framed the issue as a security concern pertaining to the Islamic State, with authorities worried that militants have slipped into the country through the UNHCR’s refugee…
“…the ID program could have additional applications in areas like driver licenses, passports, health insurance, and criminal investigation.” The President of the Philippines has given the go-ahead to a planned biometric ID program for the country, reports Manila Bulletin. President Duterte has approved the allocation of 2 billion PHP for the Philippine Statistics Authority to…
India’s Supreme Court has entered hearings on a case that will determine whether citizens have a fundamental right to privacy. The case was launched in response to the expansion of Aadhaar, India’s pioneering biometric national ID program. Like any other national ID, Aadhaar includes key biographic data, but it also adds fingerprint and iris biometrics,…
Uber, India-based ride-hailing service Ola, and Airbnb are considering implementing Aadhaar authentication for their service providers, reports BuzzFeed. Administrated by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Aadhaar is, of course, the world’s most ambitious biometric ID program, enabling various government and private sector organizations in India to use biometric data to confirm the identities…
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) continues to promote biometric solutions for the management of refugee populations with UNHCR head Filippo Grandi’s recent visit to a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi authorities are working to help Rohingya Muslims who have fled nearby Myanmar, where they have faced persecution. Reporting on his meeting with…
India’s Aadhaar is the world’s most ambitious national ID program. It’s affiliated with a larger, ongoing initiative called Digital India, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched in 2015 to help push India towards a more digital economy; and it’s administrated by the Unique Identification Authority of India, or UIDAI, a government agency that predates the…
The Unique Identification Authority of India has launched a mobile app for the country’s national biometric ID program. The mAadhaar app is essentially a mobile version of an Aadhaar card, containing the same biographic and biometric information. It can only be downloaded to the same SIM card registered with a given user’s Aadhaar, and it…
The Philippines’ Department of Finance is preparing the way for the implementation of a national biometric ID program. As The Philippine Star reports, the DOF has allocated 2 billion PHP for the program’s rollout next year. The new national ID program will incorporate biometric data, which will be used to determine individual citizens’ entitlements to…
Israel’s implementation of a national biometric ID program is causing serious delays at the country’s main airport, reports Haaretz. Israel’s legislature, the Knesset, approved the implementation of the biometric ID program earlier this year amid some controversy, with the law coming into effect on June 1st. As Haaretz reports, travelers arriving at Ben-Gurion Airport have…
An upgrade to India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform is expected to feature enhanced support for biometrics and preauthorized transactions, reports The Economic Times. Administrated by the National Payments Corporation of India, the UPI is a payments platform designed to facilitate electronic payments between different bank accounts via mobile devices; Samsung, seeking to boost its…
It’s World Refugee Day, a time to bring focused attention to a complex issue that is increasingly in the news. According to the UNHCR, the UN agency most directly concerned with refugee issues, one in every 113 people in the world are refugees from war or political violence, with an estimated total of 65 million…
“Essentially, it’s meant to offer a means of identifying registered individuals by their biometric traits, without unnecessarily revealing other personal information, with trusted parties to the blockchain system assuring credibility.” ID2020 held its Platform for Change Summit at the United Nations today, with Accenture, Microsoft, and Avanade showcasing a new identity platform based on blockchain…
India’s Supreme Court has weighed in on the government’s controversial plan to link tax filing to Aadhaar, the country’s national biometric ID program. The central government had sought to link Aadhaar to the Permanent Account Number (PAN) cards that are currently used to file taxes, arguing that they are highly vulnerable to fraud on their…
Gemalto has developed a new biometric ePassport solution for the government of East Timor, the company has announced. The passport solution allows government officials to register citizens’ fingerprints at designated offices and embassies, and the passports themselves feature embedded microprocessors enabling contactless scanning. In a statement announcing the collaboration, Gemalto suggested that it’s part of…