Face Biometrics, Human Rights, and the Police: 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:

CISA Sets Cybersecurity Baseline

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has published a set of voluntary “baseline cybersecurity goals” for private sector organizations involved in critical infrastructure. They include guidelines concerning things like the use of multi-factor authentication and the appointment of an accountable cybersecurity officer within a given organization.

State of Biometrics Report

The Biometrics Institute has published its State of Biometrics Report for 2022. Authored by the Institute’s Future Direction Group, the report focuses on four key topics: ‘biometrics and conflict’, ‘biometrics and access to services’, ‘education: face facts, not fiction’, and ‘playing catch up’, with the final section concerning “lessons learned to how we enable future responsible use”, the Institute explained in a statement.

Cambridge Researches Say LFR Violates Human Rights

A study from the University of Cambridge’s Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy has concluded that law enforcement’s use of live facial recognition technology violates human rights and should therefore be banned. The study assessed three deployments of the technology, including two by the South Wales police and one by London’s Metropolitan police force.

Casino Lobby Group Says Facial Recognition Can Fight Money Laundering

ClubsNSW, the trade organization representing New South Wales’ casinos and clubs, may use facial recognition technology to prevent crime in addition to refusing entry to problem gamblers. The latter use case has been highlighted in ClubsNSW’s recent plans to implement the surveillance technology; but in the wake of a crime commission report on the use of casino gambling for money laundering, ClubsNSW CEO Josh Landis issued a statement saying that biometric surveillance could be used to keep known criminals out of casinos.

Russia Pursues Draft Dodgers With Biometric Surveillance

Russian authorities have been using Moscow’s facial recognition surveillance network to arrest draft dodgers. Citing BBC Russia and certain Telegram channels, Human Rights Watch reports that at least seven men have been detained through this means over the past month. The biometric surveillance system has also been used to conduct mass arrests of dissidents.

Product Launches and Partnerships

Suprema’s BioStation 3 access control terminal has won for best product in the ID and access control category of this year’s Detektor International Awards. The solution supports facial recognition, QR code and barcode reading, RFID cards, and mobile access solutions. Commenting on the win, Suprema CEO Hanchul Kim said the company’s goal is to have the BioStation 3 act as a “100% contactless access authentication standard for the post-COVID era”.

Life insurance provider AIA Thailand has launched a new app for customers featuring facial recognition technology that the company claims can be used to track health metrics including blood pressure, pulse, and body mass index. In addition to letting users make payments and manage their insurance policies, the AIA+ app is designed to use health tracking and certain incentives to encourage users to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Persona has revamped its identity platform, with the latest version treating Persona’s disparate solutions as “configurable building blocks” that can be connected together to meet the particular needs of a given organization. Those building blocks include things like Persona’s risk scoring engine, an automated workflow builder, and biometric authentication tools.

Veridium will provide passwordless authentication services for “one of the largest internet companies in Mexico”, the company has announced. It will do so in partnership with Tec360, a domestic security consultancy. The latter’s CEO, Peter Wiegandt, attested that “Veridium demonstrated that it’s the ideal partner for Tec360 for providing passwordless MFA to protect the internet company and its workforce against cyberattacks.”

Through a new strategic partnership, Experian will integrate multiple identity solutions from Prove into its CrossCore digital identity and anti-fraud platform. These include Mobile Auth, Trust Score, Prove Identity, and Prove Pre-Fill. In a statement, Experian SVP Marika Vilen said the integrations would strengthen the company’s “state-of-the-art cloud platform, identity verification, and fraud defense while also enabling our customers to verify more consumers.”

Consumer Biometrics

MSI’s new Summit E14 Flip Evo features a facial recognition system that is used to automatically blur the screen when a user looks away, and locks the device when the authorized user isn’t present. The security feature is being pitched at professionals who work with sensitive client information.

A new, physical lock system is designed to leverage the biometric security of Apple devices. Level’s Lock+ can be installed on top of a standard deadbolt, and wirelessly interfaces with the iOS Home Keys app. Users can configure it to unlock with a face scan via the iPhone’s Face ID, or via a Touch ID fingerprint scan, or even through a contactless wave of an iPhone or Apple Watch near the lock.

Austria Launches MDL

Austria has become the latest country to launch a mobile driver’s license app. Android and iOS users can create a virtual version of their driver’s license by registering with the ID Austria platform. Police officers and other government officials can scan the app’s QR code to verify a user’s identity. The app is compatible with eIDAS, paving the way for use in other European countries as the EU’s overarching digital identity program continues to evolve.

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October 27, 2022 – by Alex Perala