Ex-Terrorist Biometrics and Walmart’s Delivery Fraud Crackdown – 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:

Nortal, Modi Team Up On Biometric Smart Port Solution

Nortal, an Estonian tech consultancy, has teamed up with Germany’s Modi GmbH on a Smart Port concept designed to bring facial recognition to ferry ports and cruise terminals. It’s already being trialed at the Port of Tallinn in Estonia, where the companies say it has reduced wait times for check-in and boarding by 44 percent. Modi specializes in biometrics and identity verification; its flagship solution is dubbed ‘On the Move’, and designed to passively recognize users via facial recognition.

GSA Seeks Volunteers for Facial Recognition Bias Study

The General Services Administration is undertaking a study on the potential bias and discriminatory performance of facial recognition systems in remote identity verification. Participants will be asked to take a photo of their official ID and take a selfie, and to repeat this process five times; they’ll also have to submit personal information, including their skin tone. A $25 gift card is being offered as compensation. The GSA is aiming to publish a report on its study in a peer-reviewed publication next year.

Indian Coal Company Mulls Biometric Attendance Tracking

Singareni Collieries Company Limited, a state-owned coal mining company in India, is considering the implementation of a face-based biometric time and attendance tracking system at its mines. The company has been using a fingerprint-based attendance system in its corporate office, but reportedly ran into difficulties when attempting to expand this system to mines, possibly due to environmental or working conditions affecting miners’ hands.

Nigerian Authorities Register Biometrics of Surrendered Militants

Government authorities in the Nigerian state of Borno are registering the biometrics data of surrendered terrorists from the Boko Haram group. It’s part of an effort to reintegrate ‘repentant’ former terrorists into society, dubbed the “Disarmament, Demobilisation, Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation, Reconciliation and Reintegration (DDDRRR)” framework. Almost 7,000 former fighters are being processed, with the effort overseen by intelligence officials and ICT experts.

Spain Affirms EES Will Be Deployed By Early 2024

The Communication Cabinet of Spain’s Ministry of the Interior has confirmed that the country will fully deploy its planned biometric border screening system “between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024,” according to an email sent to SchengenVisaInfo.com. The Ministry of the Interior had awarded the contract to Thales in 2022, aiming at the time to meet a September 2022 deadline for the implementation of a border control system compliant with the planned EU Entry/Exit System. The EES has seen several delays, and is now expected to be implemented next year, probably after the Paris summer Olympics.

Digi Yatra Comes to India’s Northeast

Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport has become the first airport in India’s northeastern region to enable support for Digi Yatra, a system enabling face-based biometric passenger processing. Interested individuals can register through the Digi Yatra mobile app, with the process linking a user’s selfie photo to their official identity in Aadhaar, the country’s sprawling biometric national ID program. LBGI Airport is operated by Adani Airports, which has been awarded multiple modernization contracts by the Airports Authority of India, for airports in Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati, and Thiruvananthapuram.

Walmart Cracks Down On Delivery Driver Fraud

Walmart has started rolling out a biometric identity verification system for drivers enrolled in its Spark delivery program. The system periodically prompts drivers to take a selfie photo through the Spark mobile app, and compares the selfie to their ID. The effort is meant to crack down on schemes in which one driver will enroll under multiple assumed identities in an effort to get more delivery requests — a practice that can hurt the livelihoods of other drivers, who miss out on the delivery opportunities taken by the fraudsters.

Thales Announces Biometric Forensics Suite

Thales has launched an ‘Evidence & Investigation Suite’ for forensic investigations at this week’s International Association for Identification Conference in Maryland. It’s a cloud-based suite of solutions aimed at delivering facial, fingerprint, palm, and iris recognition capabilities to investigators, with Thales describing it as “a mobile offer that literally puts the equivalent of a biometric forensic lab in the hands of field investigators.”

Web3 Fintech Startup Embraces Shufti Pro Onboarding

Penning, a web3 fintech startup founded in 2021, has become the latest organization to adopt identity verification technology from Shufti Pro. Penning offers a few different services in the web3 fintech space, including a cross-border payment platform and a platform for building crypto assets. Shufti Pro, meanwhile, is known for its selfie-based identity verification solution, which was approved for use in online gaming by regulators in Louisiana and West Virginia earlier this year.

California DMV Embarks On mDL Pilot

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles is inviting up to 1.5 million people to participate in a pilot of its mobile driver’s license (“mDL”). Available through a dedicated mobile app, the digital credential can be used as official ID at a limited number of retail locations and airports, with plans to expand its utility in the future. The mDL’s enrollment process further reinforces a growing trend of selfie-based identity verification, prompting the end user to take a selfie and to submit photos of their physical driver’s license.

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August 21, 2023 – by Alex Perala