Facial Recognition at the Airport, in the Grocery Store, and on the Street – 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:

EU Presidency Calls for Unity in Negotiating DHS Data Sharing

The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is calling for member governments to work together in data sharing negotiations with the United States Department of Homeland Security. The latter has been asking member states to set up data sharing agreements with respect to criminal databases, in some cases offering to pay for infrastructure that would allow for biometric data to be sent to the US and stored in American databases. The Presidency, currently held by Belgium, has proposed a meeting with US officials to explore the idea, and is asking member states to work toward a “common vision” for the project.

UK’s Met Police Make More Arrests With Live Facial Recognition

The UK’s Metropolitan Police have announced another batch of arrests in Croydon thanks to the deployment of a live facial recognition system designed to compare pedestrians against a criminal watch list. Most of the 13 individuals arrested over the course of January 20 and January 23 were wanted for failing to appear in court for previous offences. The development comes after a similar operation was conducted in December, netting 10 wanted persons. A representative of the civil rights group Big Brother Watch decried the project’s “Orwellian surveillance technology”.

UK Government Seeks Legal Basis for Retail Facial Recognition

The country’s policing minister, who has been an evangelist for facial recognition technology, is also looking to see it installed in supermarkets to check shoppers’ IDs when they are purchasing alcohol. Chris Philp announced this week that the UK government is preparing a consultation on laws that would allow supermarkets to install face-scanning tills, following pilot programs conducted by the retailers Asda, Co-op, Morrisons, and Tesco. “The need for robust national standards for digital identities and technology remains paramount in order to provide confidence to retailers and consumers alike that they are fit for purpose,” Philp said.

Tokyo Airport to Trial NEC’s Biometric Self-Service Kiosks

Tokyo’s Haneda Airport is about to embark on a two-month pilot of biometric self-service kiosks for foreign travelers. The kiosks will be capable of scanning fingerprints, faces, and passports. Participating travelers will need to register for the service online, and will then be given a QR code that can be presented and scanned in dedicated lanes at the airport. The aim is to streamline the travel process at one of Japan’s busiest airports. NEC is the vendor that will provide the biometric kiosks, which will feature its renowned NeoFace facial recognition solution; the company received the order from Japan Customs. The trial is expected to begin on January 31.

ITRC Reports Marks Sharp Rise in Data Breaches

The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) will release the 18th edition of its Annual Data Breach Report at the Identity, Authentication and the Road Ahead Cybersecurity Policy Forum, and has released some findings for 2023. The nonprofit tracked a 78 percent increase in data breaches, which amounted to 3,205 last year, compared to 1,801 in 2022. Fortunately, the number of actual victims has gone down by 16 percent, to a little over 353 million. In a statement, the ITRC attributed this to a trend of “organized identity criminals focusing on specific information and identity-related fraud and scams rather than mass attacks.”

Bold Commerce, Wink Partner On Biometric Purchases

Bold Commerce, a provider of e-commerce applications and tools based in Canada, has partnered with Wink on a biometric payments system. Their “Bold Checkout with Wink” solution allows consumers to auto-fill their personal and delivery information when shopping online by using face and voice authentication on their smartphone. Bold Commerce and Wink say they are also offering a biometric checkout solution for in-store payment terminals. The announcement comes after the recent news that Wink is working with Qualcomm on payments technology for the automotive sector.

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January 25, 2024 – by Alex Perala