Biometric Home Security, Armed with Paintballs – 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:

North Korea Expands Surveillance Infrastructure

North Korea is intensifying its surveillance efforts by deploying more cameras in public spaces like schools and workplaces and by building detailed biometric profiles of its citizens, according to a report by the North Korea-focused website 38 North. The expansion of surveillance technology includes collecting fingerprints, photographs, and possibly even blood tests for new smartcard national IDs. While the country benefits from imported hardware from China and domestically developed software, its surveillance capabilities are hampered by poor electricity supplies and low network connectivity. Despite these limitations, the government aims to extend these monitoring practices beyond major cities as infrastructure allows.

Target Faces Class Action BIPA Lawsuit

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Target in Illinois alleging violation of the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The lawsuit claims Target collects facial recognition data from customers in its stores without their informed consent, violating BIPA’s requirements for notice, collection purpose specification, and data retention limitations. The suit seeks compensation for damages and aims to stop Target’s alleged practice in the state of Illinois.

Clearview Gets Enhanced SOC 2 Certification

Clearview AI has achieved an enhanced SOC 2 certification. Conducted by Insight Assurance, the certification builds on Clearview’s existing SOC 2 compliance, emphasizing its commitment to maintaining rigorous privacy and security measures. The SOC 2 standard, set by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), evaluates a company’s system management for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Clearview AI’s platform is used by law enforcement to identify suspects and enhance public safety, underlining the importance of such certifications in supporting its claims of secure and responsible data handling.

ROC Donates Tech to WVU

ROC has donated its computer vision and biometric technology to West Virginia University. Students and faculty in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources’ Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering will have access to ROC’s software for use in a range of areas of research including AI, machine learning, and cybersecurity. “Having earned my master’s degree in software engineering from WVU, I am excited that we can be part of training the next generation of computer vision engineers,” said ROC CEO Scott Swann.

IDnow’s ‘Flex’ Solution Blends AI and Human Review

IDnow, a European identity verification service provider, has introduced VideoIdent Flex in the UK. The updated service combines AI technology with human oversight to improve the accuracy and inclusivity of online identity verification. Designed to address the complexities of identity fraud and compliance with KYC and AML regulations, VideoIdent Flex is positioned to serve various sectors including finance, telecom, and gaming. IDnow says its new solution offers customizable checks, extensive document support, and features for real-time fraud prevention, such as detecting deepfakes and document tampering.

Socure Upgrades DocV Solution

Socure has launched a significant upgrade to its DocV system, which now uses AI to address fraud in various ways. It analyzes documents for authenticity, verifies user faces through liveness detection and deepfake identification (trained on a vast library of synthetic faces), and even reconstructs or analyzes barcodes for anomalies. Additionally, Socure leverages its identity graph to assess the risk associated with the identity itself, considering past associations of the provided information with potential fraud. Socure says this multi-layered approach, completed in an average of 1.5 seconds, aims to significantly reduce friction for legitimate users while offering businesses a powerful defense against document and identity fraud in the digital age.

Crypto Venture Firm Invests in Privasea

OKX Ventures, the investment branch of the prominent crypto exchange OKX, has announced a strategic investment in Privasea, a data infrastructure platform that enhances privacy and security in AI computations. Leveraging Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) and machine learning, Privasea enables multiple parties to collaborate on sensitive data without exposing it—an important offering for applications like AI development, where data privacy is paramount. This investment comes as part of OKX Ventures’ broader initiative to support innovative blockchain projects globally. OKX Ventures founder Dora Yue highlighted “new user experiences that the Privasea AI network will bring later this year, such as secure file sharing, privacy-conscious facial recognition and a streamlined KYC process.”

ATB Ventures Gets Another Partner in Canada’s Digital ID Ecosystem

ATB Ventures, the innovation wing of ATB Financial, has announced a partnership between its digital ID verification platform, Oliu, and Thirdstream, a provider of financial services technology in Canada. The collaboration will integrate Oliu’s identity verification services into Thirdstream’s account opening and lending platforms, allowing Thirdstream’s network of financial institutions to offer digital ID verification to customers. The partnership is particularly notable for enabling customers to verify their identities through existing provincial government service portals, starting with Alberta.ca, thanks to ATB Ventures’ recently announced partnership with the Government of Alberta. Read the full story on Mobile ID World.

Biometric Home Security Gets Teeth

Paintcam, a Slovenian startup, has unveiled ‘Eve,’ a home security camera system with unique features. Eve uses artificial intelligence to identify individuals and employs an ‘active defense’ strategy, launching paintballs or tear gas to deter intruders after issuing a warning. The system also stores video footage in the cloud for later review. Of course, this ‘active defense’ approach raises concerns about accidental injuries, misidentification, and privacy, along with legal issues and the potential for misuse, as seen with Ring doorbell security cameras.

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April 16, 2024 – by Alex Perala and Tony Bitzionis