A Light Helping of Identity News for Your Turkey Hangover: 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:

Laxton Formally Wins Liberia’s $12M Biometric Voter Registration Contract

Liberia’s Public Procurement Concession Commission has approved the National Elections Commission’s request to award a biometric voter registration contract to Laxton Group. It was something of a formality; the PPCC had already asked the NEC to pick any of the remaining, successful bidders for the project after ruling out China-based Ekemp after controversies had erupted over the latter’s alleged special treatment in the procurement process. Laxton has now won a contract valued at just under $12 million, and this saga really does seem to have come to an end.

Trade Group Asks White House for Clarity on Vendor Self-attestation Requirement

The Information Technology Industry Council is asking the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to clarify a proposal that will make it mandatory for software providers to attest to the security of their solutions when contracting with federal agencies. Among other things, the ITI is asking the White House to ensure that all agencies use the same form for self-attestation, with optional addendums in situations with unique requirements; and it’s asking the government to first pilot the self-attestation system before making it a requirement across the board.

Airtel Payments Banks Enables Aadhaar-based Selfie Onboarding

India’s Airtel Payments Bank has enabled a selfie-based onboarding system for sers opening new accounts. The system is linked to Aadhaar, the country’s expansive national biometric ID program. In a statement, Airtel Payments Bank CEO Anubrata Biswas said that the new “safe and secure authentication process” was “made possible by the efforts of the UIDAI,” referring to the Unique Identification Authority of India, which oversees Aadhaar. Airtel Payments Bank had already been using Aadhaar for customer verification, but was relying on authentication systems based on fingerprint scans or One-Time Passcodes.

Onfido Brings Hype to Biometric Onboarding

Hype, a digital-focused challenger bank in Italy, has implemented selfie-based onboarding in partnership with Onfido. The onboarding system, which uses facial recognition to match a customer’s selfie image to a picture of their physical ID, has reduced the amount of time required to verify new customers from 24 hours to a few minutes, Hype says. Onfido recently held a meeting with its major customers in Milan, marking a relaunch of the identity specialist’s customer advisory board.

New Directive Formalizes ‘U.S. Army Biometrics Program’

The US Army has codified its policies concerning the collection and use of biometric data by its soldiers and operators. The military arm has announced that Army Secretary Chritine E. Wormuth signed the directive officially establishing the U.S. Army Biometric Program last month. While the Army is already habituated in the collection of biometrics and sharing it with allies, the new directive is meant to provide a “clear and consolidated” framework on official practices, the Army explained in a statement.

Malaysian State Announces Digital ID Plans

The government of the Malaysian state of Selangor has announced plans to implement a digital ID system that will facilitate access to government services. Beyond that, details on the plans are light. Selangor’s brief statement added only that the ID is one part of a larger modernization effort with a time frame extending to 2025, and that implementation of the digital ID system is expected to begin next year.

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November 25, 2022 – by Alex Perala