An Audit, an Investigation, and a Biometric Payment Cards Milestone: Identity News Digest

Welcome to FindBiometrics’ digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

Labor Department IG Flags Equity Issues in Anti-fraud Biometrics

An audit from the United States Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has flagged “equity” issues in states’ use of facial recognition to fight fraud in the collection of unemployment benefits. The issues include the familiar problem of demographic disparities in the accuracy of facial recognition, and that individuals who lock technological skills or have outdated phones aren’t able to submit the high-quality photos needed for facial recognition. The audit also warned that a number of states using facial recognition need to implement guidelines concerning data protection.

UK Information Commissioner OKs Facewatch Surveillance

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office has determined that the Facewatch facial recognition solution for biometric surveillance is compliant with the UK Data Protection Law. The ICO investigated after a formal complaint from Big Brother Watch, a privacy and civil rights advocacy group. Noting that the benefits of technologies like facial recognition must be balanced against the privacy rights of individuals, the ICO determined that Facewatch “has a legitimate purpose for using people’s information for the detection and prevention of crime.” The system was recently deployed at several outlets of the retailer Sports Direct.

Power Equipment Company Settles BIPA Suit

Indeck Power, a provider of power equipment including boilers and generators, has reached a $66,825 settlement in a class action lawsuit brought under Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The company has not admitted wrongdoing, but was accused of failing to obtain its employees’ written consent for the collection of their biometric data. Depending on the number of class members who participate, payouts could amount to about $471 per eligible claimant.

FICO Builds Patent Portfolio

Analytics and data science specialist FICO has been awarded 12 new patents, including one covering liveness detection in facial recognition for user authentication. The patent concerns the detection of facial movements in a system that continuously scans the end user. All told, FICO’s patent portfolio now includes 213 active patents, and the company has an additional 80 applications that are pending approval.

VSBLTY Teams With Training and Comms Specialist

VSBLTY has established a partnership with Multimedia Plus, a provider of training and communications technology to the restaurant, hospitality, and retail industries. The partnership will combine VSBLTY’s computer vision technology with Multimedia Plus’s INCITE platform to create a new training and marketing communications tool. While VSBLTY offers a security-focused computer vision solution incorporating facial recognition, its retail-focused smart display technology leverages computer vision to assess subjects’ demographic data.

FPC Marks Payment Cards Milestone

Fingerprint Cards says it has now shipped over a million of its T-Shape FPC1300-series fingerprint sensors to clients in the payment card industry. In announcing the milestone, FPC’s President of Payment and Access, Michel Roig, said it reinforces Fingerprints’ “position as the leading provider of biometric solutions for payment cards.” While the FPC1300-series sensors have been integrated into a number of payment cards, they’ve also been embraced in cards for access control applications.

Neurotechnology Reclaims Top Spot in PFT III

Neurotechnology’s fingerprint recognition algorithm has regained the top spot in the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Proprietary Fingerprint Template III (“PFT III”) evaluation, attaining the highest accuracy scores across almost all of the testing program’s datasets. “We were intrigued to see other submissions challenge our algorithm, which has been the leader in the evaluation for years,” commented Evaldas Borcovas, the company’s biometric research lead. “As competition arises, so does our team’s motivation and dedication to push the boundaries of our technology even further, and we are thrilled to be at the top of the PFT III evaluation once again.”

BlockID Comes to ForgeRock Marketplace

1Kosmos’s BlockID solution is now available through the ForgeRock Marketplace, enabling developers with access to the online marketplace to easily implement 1Kosmos’s passwordless authentication solution. BlockID authentication entails scanning a QR code through the platform and performing a live face scan involving a blink or smile for liveness detection. The ForgeRock integration comes after 1Kosmos launched a new development tool aimed at letting app makers test BlockID before purchasing it.

–

April 4, 2023 – by Alex Perala

Want to get the identity news digest early? Become a member and get the digest sent straight to your inbox, before it’s published on FindBiometrics: