Is Canada About to Get Its Own BIPA? 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:

Regulatory Developments

The Canadian province of Quebec is about to implement privacy legislation with new regulations around the collection of biometric data. The Quebec IT Act will require organizations to notify the prince’s information commission about their use of a biometric database at least 60 days before it is put into service, and to notify the commission about any processes that use biometrics to verify an individual’s identity, unless they get the subject’s express consent. The new data privacy regulation will take effect in La Belle Province starting September 22.

Executive Appointments

iProov has named its latest Senior Vice President, appointing Ajay Amlani as its new Head of Americas. Amlani was a co-founder of the biometric passenger screening service CLEAR, and the founder of YOU Technology, a mobile-focused identity and loyalty platform that was purchased by The Kroger Company in 2014. More recently, he served as an SVP of IDEMIA from 2019 to 2021, and as a Chief Strategy Officer for Credence ID. Importantly, Amlani brings a unique history of consulting experience with the United States government. Read our full story.

M&A

Sovos has acquired Chile-based TOC Biometrics, a vendor known for its biometric eSignature solutions. TOC Biometrics’ platform supports fingerprint, face, and iris biometrics, and also includes a selfie-based onboarding solution. Sovos is a tax software provider with a global reach, and counts about half of the Fortune 500 companies among its clients. In a statement, the company explained that its acquisition would help it to ensure its clients’ compliance with “a growing range of legal and tax requirements for reliable user identification”. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Mobile Biometrics

STMicroelectronics and trinamiX have developed an in-display facial recognition system for mobile device. The companies say that their reference design supports face authentication from behind an OLED screen, and that it offers a level of security commensurate with the requirements of mobile payments. They will offer a live demonstration of the solution at IFA 2022, which is slated to run from September 2 to 6 in Berlin. Read the full story on Mobile ID World.

Deals and Contracts

BIO-key continues to see business activity in the education sector. The company is reporting a purchase of “BIO-key branded hardware tokens” for multi-factor authentication from the Long Beach Community College District in California. The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, meanwhile, is upgrading from an on-premises deployment of BIO-key security to its cloud-based PortalGuard IDaaS.

Government-focused IT solutions provider Carahsoft has become a distribution partner for 1Kosmos. The arrangement will see Carahsoft offer 1Kosmos’ BlockID solution, which selfie-based identity verification and stores encrypted user data on a distributed ledger, through its reseller partner network and its NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement V and Information Technology Enterprise Solutions – Software 2 contracts. The new comes shortly after managed services provider Simeio signed on as a BlockID distribution partner earlier this month.

Burn Rate

Trust Stamp has cut about 12 percent of its employee and contractor workforce, having already lost eight percent of the workforce through attrition and “reorganizations,” according to a statement from the company. Trust Stamp says it expects the workforce reductions to save it $2.5 million per year in personnel expenses, and to bring its operational burn for the next twelve month to less than $2.0 million. Trust Stamp had reported a widened net loss for the first half of 2022 in its latest operational update, citing personnel costs as a major factor.

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August 24, 2022 – by Alex Perala