An ‘Exciting Time’ for IDEMIA: 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:

IDEMIA Names New Supervisory Board Chairman

IDEMIA has named Erik Maris as the chairman of its supervisory board. Maris has served on the IDEMIA board since last year, and has been an advisory partner with IDEMIA’s parent company, Advent International, since November of 2020. A co-founder of the French investment bank Messier Maris & Associés, Maris was described by IDEMIA as “a specialist in complex and cross-border transactions” in a statement announcing his appointment. For his part, Maris commented that he is taking the reins of IDEMIA’s supervisory board “at an exciting time in its development.” The news comes after last year’s reports of Advent’s plans to sell IDEMIA.

GSA Still Mulling Biometrics for IAL2 Compliance: Official

A General Services Administration official told a house subcommittee that a lack of biometric technology is “the key failing” in the organization’s inability to comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Identity Assurance Level 2 (or “IAL2”) standard. The GSA faced a grilling from lawmakers over a General Inspector report that found it had made misleading claims about its Login.gov service’s IAL2 compliance. Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Sonny Hashmi testified that the GSA “is continuing to investigate whether biometric technology is the right thing to implement at this point.”

TSA to Expand Mobile ID Trials

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is planning to expand its testing of mobile traveler ID to airports in Puerto Rico and Tennessee later this year, according to TSA Administrator David Pekoske. Testifying at a congressional budget hearing this week, the TSA head confirmed that the agency is currently trialing the acceptance of digital identity credentials at 19 airports, and said that the same functionality will be brought to the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in June and Nashville International Airport in August.

Facephi Rides High on UK ‘Rocketship’

An important industry award is starting to pay off for Facephi, with the company announcing that its win in the UK government’s Tech Rocketship Awards last fall has led to a roster of 25 meetings and events in its schedule, with the first to take place in Leeds and London. It’s a particularly synergistic turn of events in the wake of Facephi’s establishment of a new office in the UK last June; CEO Javier Mira had explained at the time of its establishment that the UK “is a strategic country” and “a gateway to new markets”. Read our full story.

NEXT Wins Biometric Keyboard Order

NEXT Biometrics has won a new design and purchase order from Heng Yu, a Hong Kong-based client. NEXT’s fingerprint sensor technology will be used in a new biometric keyboard aimed at use in banking. “Our partner has developed a promising a high-security add-on product for notebooks and PCs that can upgrade the security level without the purchase of new notebooks or PCs,” said NEXT Biometrics Sales and Marketing SVP Ulf Ritsvall. The initial purchase order is valued at $40,000, and the product will be launched in the US, NEXT says.

Zwipe Partners With CardLogix

Zwipe has entered into a partnership with CardLogix, a California-based provider of smart cards, card components, and software development tools. Zwipe will act as a technology partner, providing its Zwipe Access platform for access cards. CardLogix CEO Sebastien Goulet called Zwipe’s solution “the ideal platform for the next generation of highly secure access, ID cards and CardLogix biometric solutions.” The partnership’s announcement follows the news of Zwipe’s smart card alliance with Unicard earlier this month.

Lucid EV Features Facial Recognition for Personalization

The Lucid Air luxury EV has become the latest car to implement facial recognition technology. The biometric tech is not being used for car access or ignition, but rather as an option for automatically adjusting personalized in-car settings.

–

March 30, 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: