Is This AI Training Dataset BIPA-Proof? 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:

AI Training Dataset Features Models Who Signed Biometric Releases

A company specializing in datasets designed specifically for training AI algorithms has announced a set of full-body videos depicting models who have signed releases for their biometric data. Available through vAIsual’s Dataset Shop, the videos were shot in 4K resolution, and vAIsual says they number in the hundreds. “Our team comes from the professional stock media industry,” explained CEO Michael Osterrieder. “We understand how to prepare and sell content in a legally clean way. We’ve used those skills to create AI training datasets that provide the legal clearances needed for commercial AI applications.”

CAT-2 Terminals Go Live at BWI Airport

The Transportation Security Administration’s new CAT-2 passenger processing kiosks have now gone live at the Baltimore-Washington International/Thurgood Marshall Airport. The terminals are designed to read a traveler’s photo identity document, to scan the user’s face, and to match the two using facial recognition, thereby verifying the traveler’s identity. IDEMIA was recently awarded a $128 million contract to provide the TSA with 1,500 CAT-2 systems across the country.

Australian State Sees Early Success in Mobile ID Pilots

The Australian state of New South Wales has begun trialing the Beta version of its NSW Digital ID, and is already seeing positive results, reporting that its tests have delivered a customer satisfaction score of more than 90 percent. The NSW Digital ID app uses a selfie-based onboarding process, asking users to submit two or more identity documents and “a selfie to match against your existing photo.” The Service NSW website adds that the selfie image will not be stored by the agency and that it will be discarded as soon as the user’s NSW Digital ID is created.

IDPartner Raises $3.1 Million in Seed Round

San Francisco-based IDPartner Systems has raised $3.1 million in seed funding to help fuel the development of its identity verification platform, which relies on partner banks to confirm an end user’s identity. The funding round was led by Abstract Ventures, with participation from Foundation Capital, Circle Ventures, Firsthand Alliance, Correlation Ventures, Success Venture Partners, Aleo, and angel investors Aaron VanDevender, Lance Armstrong, and Joe Grundfest. The startup’s platform is similar to that of UK-based OneID, which announced a new CEO last week; and in fact IDPartner has teamed up with OneID to develop its solution.

FacePhi Reports 138 Percent EBITDA Jump in 2022

An audit has confirmed FacePhi’s strong performance in fiscal 2022, with the biometric identity verification specialist having seen a 69 percent increase in sales over the previous year, as FacePhi said in a preliminary report in February. Perhaps more notably, its EBITDA for 2022 came in 138 percent higher year-over-year, at €4.44 million. CEO Javier Mira credits “a flexible and scalable product accompanied by a solid commercial infrastructure”. FacePhi seems to be carrying that momentum into 2023, and has been forging new business connections thanks to its involvement in a UK-based accelerator program.

Deepfake Fraud Already Impacts a Third of Businesses: Survey

A Regula-commissioned survey suggests that generative AI is already taking a heavy toll on various organizations, 37 percent of which reported having encountered deepfake voice fraud, with 29 percent running up against deepfake videos. The survey was conducted by Sapio Research over December and January, and polled 1,069 “Fraud Detection/Prevention decision makers” in the financial, tech, telecommunications, and aviation sectors across Australia, France, Germany, Mexico, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, and the US.

BIO-key Extends Reach in Africa

BIO-key is further extending its reach in Africa through a new partnership with Pixel Infinito, an Angola-based digital transformation consultancy. Pixel Infinito joins BIO-key’s Channel Alliance Partner program, and will offer BIO-key’s authentication security solutions, which include a Single-Sign On platform and fingerprint-scanning devices, to clients seeking to enhance their cybersecurity. The news comes after Ethnos IT Solutions, a Lagos-based firm, joined the CAP program as a Value-Added Reseller last week.

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May 1, 2023 – by Alex Perala