Integrations, Assessments, and a ‘Surprised’ Politician: 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:

Biometric Borders

The Dominican Republic is looking for a contractor to help develop and launch a biometric passport for the country. President Luis Abinader has authorized the project by decree, and instructed the country’s ministries of foreign affairs, defense, the interior, tourism, and the police to work with General Directorate of Passports Néstor Julio Cruz Pichardo to get the job done. According to Listin Diario, the Institute of Civil Aviation, the General Directorate of Immigration, the General Directorate of Customs, and the Government Office of Information Technology and Communication are also mandated to cooperate in the project.

US Customs and Border Protection has published its privacy assessment of its Traveler Verification Service, the biometric face-matching system used to identify travelers at the US border. The report was mandated in 2018, when the CBP’s TVS Privacy Impact Assessment directed the Office of Privacy and Diversity (PDO) to assess the privacy implications of the Biometric Entry-Exit Program’s use of TVS. Surprising no one, the report has concluded that TVS was used “in a manner that is compliant with requirements in current privacy compliance documentation, DHS/CBP policy, and U.S. law,” the CBP explained in a summary.

Sensor Integrations

The first smartphones to feature Fingerprint Cards’ latest fingerprint sensor solution have emerged. The Honor X40i, Moto G32, and Vivo Y77 each feature the FPC1553, a side-mounted capacitive fingerprint sensor. The sensor is smaller than its predecessors, the FPC1542 and FPC1552. Ted Hanson, the President of FPC’s Mobile, PC & Access China division, asserted that his company’s technology “is powering the latest designs” in smartphones. An Android Authority poll from this past summer found that Android users have a strong preference for side-mounted fingerprint sensors.

The next generation of Sentry Enterprises’ SentryCard solution will feature IDEX Biometrics’ TrustedBio Max fingerprint sensor, the companies have announced. The SentryCard is a card with a built-in fingerprint sensor, and has been pitched primarily as a physical access control solution, though the announcement framed its next-gen iteration as a “smart card for digital authentication”. IDEX has been contracted to support initial production, with a commercial launch expected in Q4 of this year.

Liveness Detection

Onfido has announced a new active liveness detection solution for remote, selfie-based onboarding. Called “Motion”, the solution requires the end user to turn their head during authentication. Onfido says it allows for 95 percent of users to be onboarded in 10 seconds or less, and that it brings down false rejection and false acceptance rates to under 0.1 percent. The solution is certified against the iBeta Level 2 standard.

Healthcare Biometrics

Vivalink has announced an upgrade for its Biometrics Data Platform, which is aimed at helping to accelerate the development and launch of remote patient monitoring systems. The upgraded platform includes new status indicators for wearable sensors, new adhesive options, and a central operational console for monitoring patients’ sensors across multiple locations, among other new features.

Los Angeles-based Therabody has raised $165 million in a funding round led by North Castle Partners and featuring contributions from Aaron Rodgers’ Rx3 Ventures and Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Ventures. The company, which offers “wellness technology” products that leverage biometric sensors to provide personalized treatments for users, says it will use the funding to further invest in research and development activities.

Industry Events

A Mastercard executive will discuss biometric payment technology at next week’s Financial Biometrics Online Summit. Nili Klenoff, Mastercard’s Head of Authentication Solutions, will participate in the opening fireside chat for the full-day event, which will also feature a number of other notable leaders from across the financial and identity industries. Mastercard made headlines with the launch of its Biometric Checkout Program earlier this year.

Surprising Immaturity

Representative Stephen Meeks of Arkansas has told a legislative committee that biometric technology should not be used for voter registration, after a 2021 legislative decision prompted a joint House and Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee to study its feasibility. Meeks, a Republican, told the committee that he was “surprised to learn” that “the technology for biometrics is not yet mature enough to be able to handle potentially a three million user database.”

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September 21, 2022 – by Alex Perala

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