Biometric Bathroom Breaks: 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:

M&A

ASSA ABLOY has acquired Control iD, a São Paolo-based company specializing in biometric access control and time and attendance devices. Among the latter’s solutions are a time and attendance kiosk with a built-in fingerprint scanner and a face-scanning access control terminal. The Swedish company framed the acquisition as a strategic ‘reinforcement’ of its biometric access control portfolio, with ASSA ABLOY VP Lucas Boselli highlighting Control iD’s facial recognition technology in particular. Read our full story.

Chicago-based Titan Security Group has acquired Prudential Security, a security guard company based in Taylor, Michigan. The move will presumably add a significant human element to Titan’s portfolio of automated security solutions, which includes a contactless 3D fingerprint-scanning access control system. Titan asserted that the acquisition adds more than 700 employees to its team, and extends its services across a number of states. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Biometric FinTech

TESCO has become Fingerprint Cards’ latest partner in its effort to promote the commercialization of biometric payment cards. Not to be confused with the British retail giant, “Technical Equipment & Supplies Company” is a Jordan-based provider of IT solutions for the enterprise as well as technological solutions for the financial services sector. TESCO will tailor biometric cards featuring FPC’s fingerprint sensor technology for its regional customers in the Middle East.

Standard Chartered Bank and Bukalapak, an Indonesian e-commerce platform provider, have launched a new digital banking platform featuring biometric identity verification. Called “BukaTabungan”, the platform uses facial recognition and E-KTP, Indonesia’s biometric identity card system, to confirm the identities of end users.

Moscow Transport is extending its biometric fare payment system to cover 200 turnstiles, including turnstiles at every station in the Moscow Central Circle rail line. The system allows commuters who sign up to pay their fares with a face scan, and with no need to present a physical card or any other token. Meanwhile, the Moscow Metro is already scanning commuters’ faces whether they are enrolled in Face Pay or not, and its surveillance system has been used by government authorities to conduct mass arrests of dissidents.

Automotive Biometrics

TrinamiX has partnered with Grupo Antolin, a major car components maker, in an effort to bring biometric solutions into more vehicles. Grupo Antolin specializes in car interiors, and has a network of 140 factories across 26 countries, with a global staff of 25,000. TrinamiX, a subsidiary of the German chemicals giant BASF, made news earlier this year with its FIDO-certified under-display facial recognition system. In announcing the partnership, TrinamiX asserted that its Face Authentication solution “has the potential to authenticate drivers based on their biometrics as soon as they get close to their car.”

State Surveillance

The Iranian government is planning to use facial recognition technology to enforce a strict new law concerning women’s dress in the country, according to a report from The Guardian. A decree signed by President Ebrahim Raisi last month mandated that all women must wear a hijab in public, and the country’s Headquarters for Promoting Virture and Preventing Vice is said to be planning to deploy facial recognition systems on public transportation to identify individuals who do not comply.

Government Research

Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are looking for individuals to participate in testing for the Biometric Recognition and Identification at Altitude and Range, or “BRIAR”, program. First announced in 2019, BRIAR is an R&D operation being spearheaded by IARPA, and is aimed at developing systems to identify individuals at long distances and in harsh environmental conditions. The Oak Ridge team has posted volunteer recruiting ads on social media, and is offering participants gift cards worth up to $150.

Prison Biometrics

Prison authorities in the Australian state of New South Wales have contracted Unisys to provide facial recognition technology for prisoner enrolment and discharge. The system will be based on face and iris biometrics, and Corrective Services NSW is aiming to have it operational in early 2023. Unisys’s four-year contract is valued at $12.8 million, with Correctives Services NSW looking to attain a 12.2 percent reduction in operational expenditure by using the system.

Bathroom Biometrics

A high school in Sydney, Australia, has deployed a fingerprint-scanning access control system for its bathrooms, in an effort to fight a rampant vandalism issue and to discourage students from vaping during class time. The system has garnered some controversy, but students’ registration is not mandatory; those who want an alternative can ask for an access card from the school office.

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September 6, 2022