GPS and Facial Recognition Bust a Car Theft Ring in Texas – 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:

Amadeus Brings Biometrics-ready Self-service to JFK Airport

New York’s JFK Airport is working with Amadeus to deploy new self-service kiosks that will ultimately enable biometric passenger processing. The new Auto Bag Drop (ABD) and Next Generation Kiosk (NGK) solutions let passengers check in and print bag tags. Passengers can check in and print their bag tags at one of 86 Next Generation Kiosks (NGKs), and can proceed to check their luggage at one of 42 Series 7 Auto Bag Drop (ABD) units. All of the devices are equipped with facial recognition capabilities, but their biometric function has not yet been activated.

NEXT Biometrics Teams With GSA Contractor

NEXT Biometrics has partnered with EOD Gear to sell its biometric technology to the US government. The company’s NEXT Active Thermal fingerprint scanning solutions Oyster III and FAP20 are certified for the General Services Administration; and EOD Gear is a GSA contract holder. “Our partnership with NEXT Biometrics allows us to expand our offerings and provide the government with an innovative and effective security solution,” said EOD Gear CEO Steve Cassidy. The news comes after NEXT established an MoU for a $1.4 million purchase order commitment with an India-based partner earlier this year.

California Prepares Digital ID Pilot

California is poised to be one of the next US states to implement a digital ID, with officials at the California Department of Motor Vehicles already actively planning a pilot. Ajay Gupta, the DMV’s Chief Digital Transformation Officer, has revealed that an initial pilot could start in late summer, and that a vendor that has partnered with his agency is currently working with convenience stores on the installation of digital ID scanners. Gupta also said that Californians will be able to use the digital ID at certain airports. Read the full story on Mobile ID World.

Shufti Pro Gets SOC 2 Type 2 Certification

Shufti Pro has obtained SOC 2 Type 2 certification through Insight Assurance, an independent auditor. Developed by the Institute of CPAs (AICPA), SOC 2 Type 2 concerns the secure management of confidential customer data; the certification attests that Shufti Pro is using strong internal controls. “We are honoured to receive SOC 2 certificate demonstrating our continuous commitment to safeguarding customers’ data,” said Shufti Pro CEO Victor Fredung. Shufti Pro announced earlier this week that it is providing identity verification services for Dacodasoft SRL, a European logistics platform operator.

BenjiLock Partners With Digital Songstress

BenjiLock, which specializes in fingerprint-scanning consumer locks, is looking to expand its presence in the Japanese market through a new partnership with 1st Place Japan. The partnership concerns the latter’s “IA” media brand, which revolves around an eponymous singer character that has built a sizeable fan base in Japan over the past several years. In a statement, BenjiLock said it would launch a “limited-edition fingerprint lock featuring IA’s iconic visuals and branding.” BeniLock recently appeared on the US entrepreneurial reality show Shark Tank, coming away with an investment from one of the show’s co-panelists, Kevin O’Leary.

W3C’s Low-friction Payments Solution Is Based On WebAuthn

The World Wide Web Consortium (“W3C”) has set its Secure Payment Confirmation (“SPC”) solution as a Candidate Recommendation, effectively launching it as a tool to verify online purchases through web browsers. SPC uses the WebAuthn authentication standard as a foundation for low-friction payments. WebAuthn registers user credentials on specific domains, ensuring that they can’t be used on fake sites that might fraudulently pose as legitimate ones in order to collect end users’ sensitive information. SPC adds payment-specific capabilities to this foundation. An initial trial with Stripe found that SPC increased conversions by eight percent and made checkout three times faster. W3C says its Web Payments Working Group will have more “experimental data” available this September.

Plano Cops Bust Organized Car Theft Ring

Police in Plano, Texas, have indicted and arrested several suspects in an organized car theft ring, with biometric technology playing a role in the investigation. First, however, GPS technology helped to crack the case, allowing police to track the movements of a stolen Chevrolet Silverado, which led to a lot full of vehicles that turned out to be stolen. The lot had been rented out by a man using a fake ID and an assumed identity. Facial recognition software was used to identify him as Stive Montes Miguel, who arranged sales of the stolen vehicles. He was arrested and indicted for organized criminal activity.

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June 15, 2023 – by Alex Perala