Government Committees, Task Forces, and Officials Assess Biometric Tech: 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:

TSA to Hold Public Cybersecurity Meeting

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will allow members of the public to attend a meeting of its Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee, scheduled for November 17. According to a notice scheduled to publish on the Federal Register on October 24, the committee’s meeting will address issues including “cybersecurity information sharing; emergency management and resiliency; insider threat; and security risk and intelligence.” Requests to attend will be granted on a first-to-register basis, Nextgov reports.

Indian Task Force Recommends Biometric Age Gating

An inter-ministerial task force under India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued a report recommending that the government use facial recognition to verify the ages of individuals seeking access to online gambling platforms. The report framed the matter as a public protection issue, noting that financial gambling losses have led to suicides across the country.

NSW Committee Endorses 2023 AI Inquiry

A parliamentary committee in the Australian state of New South Wales has strongly endorsed a proposed independent inquiry into the government’s use of AI technologies including facial recognition. The inquiry was proposed by Customer Service and Digital Government minister Victor Dominello; and while the parliamentary committee has now given the idea its blessing, the committee recommended that the inquiry be launched after the 2023 state election slated for March.

Frontex Publishes Biometric Border Control Report

Frontex, the European Union’s border and coast guard agency, has published a series of reports on its study of the use of biometrics in border control, titled “Technology Foresight on Biometrics for the Future of Travel”. The agency says that it has identified and studied five technologies that possess “the strongest potential to influence the future strategic development of Integrated Border Management”: contactless friction ridge recognition, 3D face recognition, infrared face recognition, iris recognition in the NIR spectrum, and iris recognition in the visible light spectrum.

France Fines Clearview AI Over GDPR

Clearview AI has been hit with a €20 million fine from CNIL, France’s data protection agency (“Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés”), over violations of Europe’s GDPR regulation. CNIL had filed an injunction last year demanding that Clearview stop its unlawful processing of French citizens’ biometric data through its internet-trawling facial recognition platform, and did not receive any response from the company. GDPR enables regulators to fine up to four percent of a company’s annual revenue or €20 million, whichever is higher. In response to the fine, Clearview issued a statement explaining that its system, which collects face images but does not attribute identity data to them, has no way of determining whether a given individual is a French citizen.

Biometric Verification Delays Pakistani Flood Relief

A requirement for biometric data collection is helping to delay the disbursement of relief funds for those affected by Pakistan’s mass flooding, according to a government official. Speaking to DW, a spokesperson for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Disaster Management Authority acknowledged that there has been a delay in getting the funds to victims, and said that part of the issue is the use of a biometric verification system that many victims were unaware of. But he also noted that in areas where biometric surveys had been completed, relief funds had been paid out.

Hikvision Launches Access Terminal

Hikvision has launched a new access control terminal that features facial recognition, video intercom, and “video security capabilities”, as well as support for PIN and key fob authentication mechanisms. The company’s announcement of the Value Series MinMoe Multi-Modal Biometrics Reader comes at a time of intensifying scrutiny of the China-based company from government security officials in the West. The UK’s Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner encouraged the government to ban Hikvision earlier this year, for example, and a number of MPs and Lords have since echoed the suggestion.

Money20/20 2022

Money20/20 begins next week. The financial services-focused trade show and conference is slated to run from October 23 to 26 in Las Vegas. FindBiometrics will be on hand during the in-person event.

CU*Answers Expands Daon Deployment

CU*Answers is expanding its use of Daon’s IdentityX biometric platform, announcing that it will now be used not only for remote onboarding, but for authentication across its network of more than 350 credit unions. The companies first teamed up in 2018 when CU*Answers deployed its Multiple Authentication Convenience Options solution, built on IdentityX, through its Internet Retailer Support Center. In 2020, CU*Answers went on embrace IdentityX for biometric onboarding across its credit union network.

Apple Breaks Face ID in iOS Beta

A beta version of Apple’s iOS 15.7.1 operating system is reportedly breaking the iPhone’s facial recognition system for some users. The number of users affected is likely small, given that it’s a bug in a beta version of the software; but reports of the issue are emerging as some users of Google’s new Pixel smartphone are being frustrated in their attempts to use that device’s facial recognition system to make purchases, suggesting that somehow the world’s biggest tech giants haven’t quite got a handle on their own face authentication technologies.

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October 21, 2022 – by Alex Perala

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