Deepfake Concern, a New Biometric Hack, and More – 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:

Open Letter Calls for Stronger Action Against Deepfakes

A number of prominent academics and public intellectuals have signed an open letter calling on governments to take stronger action to limit the development and dissemination of deepfakes. Among the more than 300 signatories to the “Disrupting the Deepfake Supply Chain” letter are Joy Buolamwini, Steven Pinker, Frances Haugen, and Andrew Yang. “The need for biometric rights becomes ever more apparent as we see how easily your likeness can be taken and transformed for nefarious uses,” said Buolamwini, the founder of the Algorithmic Justice League. Beyond urging more regulation, the open letter also calls on tech and media companies to work together on content authentication mechanisms.

Papua New Guinea Aims for Biometric Voter ID

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has announced plans to implement a biometric voter identification system, though some key milestones need to be reached before it can be put in place. An initial step is the completion of a national census, which is expected to be achieved this year. An updated voter roll will need to be established next, along with the establishment of a “National Identification” program. Prime Minister Marape aims to then implement a biometric voter ID system ahead of national elections slated for 2027. The announcement comes after the country signed a security agreement with Australia near the end of last year that entailed biometric security enhancements at Papua New Guinea’s airports.

Colorado House Approves Biometric Privacy Bill

Colorado’s House of Representatives has passed HB24-1130, a bill that would amend the Colorado Privacy Act to mandate that organizations collecting biometric data establish clear guidelines concerning the retention of the data and policies for security breaches. It would also entail certain consent and disclose requirements concerning biometric data collection. The bill, titled “Privacy of Biometric Identifiers and Data”, passed muster with the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month, and will now move to the Senate for consideration.

IDEMIA Public Security Teams With Microsoft On Face Check

IDEMIA Public Security and Microsoft have announced a partnership focused on the latter’s Entra Verified ID system, a digital identity verification service. The news comes after Microsoft’s announcement of a new selfie-based IDV option for Entra Verified ID earlier this month. The Face Check feature uses facial recognition to compare a live selfie to the photo on a physical ID. In announcing their new partnership, Microsoft and IDEMIA Public Security explained that it will “extend” Entra Verified ID’s capabilities, and that it will leverage IDEMIA’s own liveness and document verification technology.

Researchers Detail Hacking System That Can Listen to Fingerprints

A team of researchers from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan University, Tsinghua University, and the University of Colorado Denver has detailed a method of developing a fingerprint master key by ‘listening’ to the acoustic signals that come from common finger swipes during interaction with a touchscreen. The team’s “PrintListener” was demonstrated to be even more effective than standard ‘MasterPrint’ methods of fingerprint hacking, posing a potential threat to biometric authentication systems. Read our full story.

Ohio’s Clearview Contract Roughly Doubled in Price Last Year

Clearview AI appears to have been substantially increasing the price of its facial recognition platform, suggests information in a new report on the state of Ohio’s work with the company. Ohio’s Attorney General signed a two-year contract with Clearview AI in September, priced at $38,780. According to Cleveland.com, the annual price has roughly doubled since the AG’s first contract with Clearview AI in 2022. The latest contract allows up to 25 employees of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to use the software, which enables face matching against a database of publicly available images trawled from the internet, including social media profiles.

New iDenfy Deal Speaks to Breadth of Client Base

Lithuania-based iDenfy is now providing its biometric onboarding system for BestShopping.com, an Italian e-commerce retailer. The latter’s Content Manager, Edoardo Rodolfi, commented that iDenfy’s “identity verification enhances our security strategy, enabling us to offer more robust and efficient services to our clients.” The partnership reflects the breadth of iDenfy’s client base, coming after iDenfy established a relationship with the Belgian soccer team Standard de Liège in January, and a deal with Oonee, a smart bike locker operator in New York, last October.

Tinder to Expand ‘ID Verification” to New Regions

Tinder is expanding its use of selfie-based identity verification to more regions, the online dating platform has announced. The company first started piloting its “ID Verification” system in Australia and New Zealand last year, and is now planning to bring it to the UK and Brazil by this spring, and to the US and Mexico by summer. It’s a complement to a “Photo Verification” feature that Tinder rolled out in the spring of 2023, which asked users to record a video selfie, and then used facial recognition to make sure that they matched the photos they were uploading to the platform. “ID Verification” takes things a step further by using facial recognition technology to match an end user to images of their physical ID. Read the full story on Mobile ID World.

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February 21, 2024 – by Alex Perala