Apple, EndoCanna, and the Taliban: 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:

School Biometrics

The Marion County Board of Education in West Virginia has decided to deploy facial recognition technology from Rank One Computing to its schools. The technology will be used to build a database of faculty, school staff, and parents who are permitted to access school property; it may also be connected to law enforcement databases to watch for known criminals and sex offenders. The decision comes after ROC made a presentation to school district officials last month; the contract is worth $150,000.

Biometric Wearables

EndoCanna Health has partnered with BioStrap to study the potential health effects of cannabis using genomics and biometrics. EndoCanna has developed what it calls “endocannabinoid genotypes” for the prediction of how different individuals will respond to THC and CBD. Going forward, the company wants to use BioStrap’s wrist-worn biometric device to further study the effects of cannabis’ compounds and cannabinoids on individual subjects, by measuring the wearables’ photoplethysmography readings. The end goal is better therapeutic practices, and not necessarily a better high.

Identification Programs

The Taliban has established a biometric registration system for beggars in Kabul in an effort to keep them off of the streets, according to a report from EFE. Almost half of the country’s population has been deemed food insecure, and begging in the street is a rampant phenomenon. The Taliban has so far registered a little over 3,000 beggars, and deemed a little under a third of them to be ‘genuinely’ in need of aid, which will be provided to them by the Afghan Red Crescent Society. It isn’t clear if the effort involves the use of American forces’ biometric devices captured after the United States’ withdrawal from the country.

Liberia’s National Elections Commission is insisting that it has a plan in place to ensure that rural voters are enrolled in its biometric voter registration system after the country’s Elections Coordinating Committee warned of potential flaws in the program. Internet connectivity is the main concern, but NEC says it is working with the telecoms Orange, Lonestar, and Libtelco to extend enrolment to rural areas, with “manual voter registration” also being an option.

Executive Appointments

SmartKem has officially named Nigel Prue as its Chief Accounting Officer. Prue previously worked for Global Eagle, starting in 2015 as its EMEA Financial Controller and rising to the role of Finance Director in 2018, a position he held until he got involved with SmartKem in early 2021. Based in Manchester, SmartKem is seeking to make a name for itself with its TRUFLEX full transistor stack design, which produces flexible transistors that can be used in OLED displays, integrated circuits, and fingerprint sensors.

Biometric Payments

NEC will host an annual technology forum on September 15 that will focus on the future of biometric payments – and, of course, the company’s I:Delight platform. Panelists lined up for the forum include NEC President and CEO Takayuki Morita, Mastercard Next Gen POI Product Management VP Tobias Puehse, and Lone Brose, the Head of Business Development for the Danish Safety Technology Authority.

Selfie Onboarding

Verified Africa, a selfie onboarding specialist founded in Nigeria, has now expanded its services to Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. The startup’s platform has been operational for two years, and, like other biometric onboarding solutions, uses facial recognition to match end users’ to their official IDs. The company says it has performed more than 300,000 verifications so far.

The Handmaid’s Smartwatch?

Apple unveiled its new device lineup for 2022. The new iPhones are modestly upgraded iterations of the iPhones of yesteryear, as many analysts predicted; and Apple has stuck with Face ID for the iPhone’s biometric authentication system. But the new Apple Watch Series 8 features improved biometrics for tracking menstrual cycles, and support for locking the encrypted data behind biometric authentication – seemingly a response to recent developments in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling.

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September 8, 2022 – by Alex Perala