ID Tech Digest – January 8, 2025

Welcome to ID Tech’s digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

Building a Scalable Privacy-Preserving Digital Identity Framework: From eIDAS to EUDI with Web3

In a guest essay, Civic’s Titus Capilnean lays out the transformative potential of Web3 technology in advancing the European Union’s digital identity landscape. As the EU transitions from eIDAS to the European Digital Identity wallet initiative, challenges such as integrating this framework across Payment Service Providers and ensuring compliance and privacy persist. Web3 technology, with features like blockchain-based decentralized identifiers, cryptographic proofs, and smart contracts, offers scalable, secure, and user-centric solutions for identity verification. It can streamline cross-border operations, reduce administrative complexity, and empower users with greater control over their digital identities. Capilnean advocates for a phased approach to integrating Web3 with EUDI, focusing on pilot programs in cross-border services, leveraging platforms like Solana for scalability, and ensuring compatibility with existing financial infrastructures.

NEXT Picks Up Further Momentum with Touchpad Design-win

NEXT Biometrics has secured a design-win to integrate its fingerprint modules and touchpads into a medical keyboard developed for industrial applications by an unnamed Asia-based client. The project includes planned deliveries in 2025 and marks NEXT’s entry into the touchpad segment. NEXT’s SVP for Southeast Asia, Joshua Chiu, revealed that additional touchpad projects with the same client are expected to launch by Q2 2025. The agreement aligns with NEXT’s strategy to focus on high-end sensors, such as its FAP30 fingerprint technology, which has drawn positive feedback from partners. This design-win follows a recent Memorandum of Understanding with an India-based OEM to target biometric markets in Europe, South Africa, and Asia.

IDEMIA Public Security Seeks to Expand Smart Biometrics Team with Key Hires

IDEMIA Public Security’s Smart Biometrics division has announced two strategic job openings, Director of Solutions Sales and Senior Program Manager, as part of its 2025 growth plan. The Director of Solutions Sales will focus on advancing IDEMIA’s enterprise biometric solutions, requiring expertise in SaaS enterprise sales and client relationship management. Based near Reston, Virginia, the role involves extensive travel and collaboration with internal teams to align biometric and access control solutions with customer needs. The Senior Program Manager will oversee complex biometric projects, particularly with international clients, ensuring program profitability, risk management, and contractual compliance. Both roles reflect IDEMIA’s commitment to strengthening its biometric solutions for enterprise markets.

Ethiopia Mandates National Digital ID ‘Fayda’ for All Banking Transactions by 2026

Ethiopia has mandated its national digital ID system, Fayda, for all banking transactions, marking a pivotal step in the country’s digital transformation. The phased implementation began with a pilot in Addis Ababa on January 1, 2025, and will extend nationwide by January 1, 2026, requiring all bank accounts to link with Fayda IDs by the end of that year. With over 11 million registrations, the system incorporates biometric and digital ID technologies supplied by TECH5 and employs Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for secure transactions. PKI enables encrypted digital signatures, streamlining e-KYC processes and enhancing financial security. Supporting infrastructure includes EthioConnect, a government data exchange system funded by a €100 million EU initiative.

TSA Adds West Virginia to Digital Driver’s License Program

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has added West Virginia-issued mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) to its digital ID acceptance program, allowing residents to verify their identity at TSA checkpoints using smartphones. West Virginia joins 13 other jurisdictions participating in the program. The state’s mDL system, developed with IDEMIA, complies with the ISO 18013-5 standard, ensuring compatibility across TSA’s credential authentication systems. Travelers can use the West Virginia Mobile ID app at airports, including West Virginia International Yeager and Huntington Tri-State, where facial recognition technology matches their digital ID to a real-time photo. This eliminates the need for separate boarding pass presentations.

BioConnect Launches Arc Series Biometric Authentication Devices for Enterprise Security

BioConnect has introduced its Arc Series, a line of biometric authentication devices tailored for enterprise and data center use. The series includes Arc Vision for facial authentication, Arc Touch for fingerprint authentication, and the forthcoming Arc Rex, a multi-modal facial authentication device set for release in September 2025. All devices meet IP67 and IK09 standards for durability and integrate with the BioConnect Trust Platform. The Arc Series features automated biometric enrollment using existing profile images, addressing deployment challenges by removing manual processes. The devices comply with GDPR and ISO 27001 standards and are compatible with major access control systems. Arc Rex will combine facial and multi-factor authentication in a compact design.

Smile ID Launches Enhanced ‘SmartSelfie’ to Fight Rising Digital Fraud in Africa

Smile ID has launched Enhanced SmartSelfie, a biometric authentication system designed to counter digital fraud through dynamic liveness challenges. Users perform randomized facial movements to verify identity, preventing spoofing attempts like deepfakes and 3D masks. The solution has achieved ISO/IEC 30107-3:2023 Level 2 certification, demonstrating a zero percent penetration rate against advanced fraud techniques. It integrates with Smile ID’s biometric suite, including KYC and document verification services, and operates effectively on low-bandwidth and cost-effective devices. Smile ID, established in 2017, has performed over 100 million identity verifications and serves clients such as Binance, Paystack, and Uber.

Mitsubishi Electric’s New FLEXConnect Cockpit System Features Biometric Capabilities

Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America has introduced the FLEXConnect cockpit system at CES 2025, integrating biometric monitoring and AI for enhanced vehicle safety and personalization. The system features facial recognition, distraction detection, fatigue monitoring, and health tracking, analyzing driver and passenger conditions in real-time without requiring wearable devices. Built on QNX software and Amazon Web Services (AWS), FLEXConnect enables over-the-air updates for continuous feature enhancements. It supports a subscription-based model, offering customizable in-cabin experiences through real-time data analysis and AI.

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January 8, 2025 – by Tony Bitzionis and Alex Perala