ECOWAS Wants Help With Its ID Roadmap – 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:

ECOWAS Seeks Partner for Biometric ID Roadmap

ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, is looking for a partner to help it develop a “clear, agile, and implementable process roadmap” for the deployment of a planned ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card (ENBIC). In posting its ‘Request for Expressions of Interest’, the alliance noted that it has received a World Bank grant for a broader “West Africa Unique Identification for Regional Integration and Inclusion” effort, and that part of the funds will be directed to the ENBIC. The roadmap project is anticipated to entail a three-month contract.

Nigerian State to Register Employees’ Biometrics

The governor of Nigeria’s Enugu state, Peter Mbah, has issued a directive that will require all state employees to register their biometric data in a process that is expected to be completed in February of next year. A committee to oversee the verification process is to be established this Friday. The effort appears to be aimed at fighting corruption. “Those absent and other confirmed not to have been fulfilling the terms of their employment shall cease to be government employees,” the governor said.

India’s Border Force Registers Farmers’ Biometrics

The Border Security Force, India’s border control organization tasked with securing the country’s borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, has begun registering the biometric data of farmers near the Punjab border. The disclosure was made in a media briefing by BSF Director General Nitin Agarwal, who also detailed other border security measures being implemented, including vehicle-mounted anti-drone systems.

Belgian Shipping Terminal Deploys Biometric Security

PSA Breakbulk, a shipping terminal in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, has implemented a biometric access control system based on facial recognition, provided by the Ghent-based startup NineID. PSA, the world’s largest port group, is a NineID investor, having participated in a $2.6 million seed funding round earlier this year. “With this new technology, we now exceed the increasingly stringent ISPS regulations,” said Dennis Verbeeck, the General Manager of PSA Belgium’s Non-Container Division. ISPS stands for International Ship and Port Facility Security, a code of standards implemented in the years after the 9/11 attacks of 2001.

Axon Integrates T5-AirSnap

Axon Wireless has integrated TECH5’s T5-AirSnap Finger solution into its remote eKYC app for self-enrolment. T5-AirSnap Finger is designed to leverage a standard smartphone camera in order to capture fingerprints; it successfully passed iBeta’s Presentation Attack Detection Level 1 evaluation program a couple of months ago. Now, it will enable Axon Wireless to offer its customers a fully remote identity verification solution, which is designed to check an end user’s fingerprint against a database maintained by South Africa’s Ministry of Home Affairs.

SDO Launches ‘Proximity Assurance’ Workstation Access Solution

Secret Double Octopus has added a “Proximity Assurance” feature to its Passwordless MFA platform. The tool is meant to secure access to workstations in the enterprise. It sends a push notification to an authorized user’s smartphone, prompting authentication using the smartphone’s biometric system. But the user’s device must also be physically close to the workstation to unlock it. Secret Double Octopus co-founder and CSO Shimrit Tzur-David says the tool enables enterprises to “secure their systems with the same high-assurance MFA outlined by NIST, CISA, and other government mandates and guidelines.”

1Kosmos Brings BlockID IDV to the Web

1Kosmos has launched a web version of its BlockID identity verification system, allowing end users to confirm their identities without the need to download a distinct mobile app for that purpose. BlockID is designed to read government documents through a standard mobile camera, and to match their face photos to the selfies of end users. “For organizations that prefer an app-less experience, 1Kosmos BlockID eliminates the need for a dedicated app, while providing the flexibility to embed and customize document-based identity proofing across different platforms and end user journeys to suit their identity assurance and security requirements,” explained 1Kosmos co-founder and COO Huzefa Olia.

Concert Streaming Platform Leverages authID Identity Tech

PickleJar is now using authID’s identity verification technology in its platform, which revolves around a live concert streaming app. “Biometrics continue to play an increasingly critical role in every aspect of account activation, transaction security, and synthetic identity detection, and this technology will ensure PickleJar remains on its competitive vanguard,” explained PickleJar CEO Jeff James. It’s the latest sign of authID’s growing momentum as more clients embrace its selfie-based IDV technology, with the company having recently doubled its Booked Annual Recurring Revenue forecast for Q2 of 2024, to $6 million.

Innovatrics Syncs Watchlists to Edge Devices

Innovatrics has tweaked its surveillance platform with a new service, dubbed “SmartFace Embedded”, that is designed to sync watchlists across edge devices once they have been created on the SmartFace facial recognition platform. SmartFace Embedded can be installed on cameras to enable them to perform core operations on-device; at the same time, they can interact with third-party applications such as access control systems, applying the capabilities of Innovatrics’ biometric security platform.

LIDAR Startup Rebuts House Committee’s ‘False Allegations’

Palo Alto-based Hesai Technology has issued a rebuttal to what it calls “false allegations” in a letter from the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. The company insists that its LIDAR sensors “cannot be used for facial recognition or personal information identification” because they are incapable of capturing facial features or any other biometrics. Among other rebuttals to the Select Committee’s assertions, Hesai says it has never taken financial support from any government entities, and that it does not steal other firms’ intellectual property.

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November 30, 2023 – by Alex Perala