Legislation Under Scrutiny in Canada and the Caribbean

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

Trinidadian Security Minister Proposes Biometric ID Checks for Civil Service

Trinidad and Tobago’s National Security Minister, Fitzgerald Hinds, has proposed legislation aimed at ensuring the integrity of the nation’s police as well as other civil service organizations, and which includes the use of biometric identity verification to that end. The “Miscellaneous Provisions (Testing and Identification) Bill” would require the registration of civil servants’ face, eye, and voice biometrics, and would also mandate the use of polygraph tests for certain recruits. If passed, the legislation will amend the Judicial and Legal Service Act, the Prison Service Act, the Defence Act, the Police Service Act, the Civil Service Act, the Fire Service Act and the Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago Act.

Canadian Privacy Groups Call for Tougher AI Bill

A coalition of Canadian rights organizations has sent an open letter to the country’s Industry Minister, François-Philippe Champagne, criticizing proposed privacy legislation for failing to address the potential risks of facial recognition. Bill C-27, now before Parliament, would establish an AI and data commissioner and mandate third-party audits to ensure compliance with AI rules, among other provisions, but the “Right2YourFace Coalition” argues that it should have special protections for biometric data specifically. Champagne has previously indicated that the federal government is open to working with Members of Parliament on potential amendments to the bill.

Posting for Hacked Aadhaar Data Disappears

A hacker claimed to be selling a database containing the sensitive Aadhaar records of more than 815 million Indian citizens on the dark web. According to Cyber Daily, a sample of 100,000 records in the listing included information that was deemed legitimate by Resecurity, a cybersecurity firm. Records for sale included biometric and passport data. The whole database was being offered for $80,000, but the listing disappeared around October 31 without explanation.

Simplici Sign Launches Digital Signature Platform

Houston-based Simplici Sign has launched its eponymous flagship product, a digital signature platform aimed at the financial services sector. The platform supports selfie-based biometric identity verification and Optical Character Recognition, and allows multiple parties to sign a given document. Its product is offered on a subscription basis, with Simplici charging $4.99 per month plus $0.50 per packet, to a maximum charge of $35 a month.

Konami Teams With Xailient

Konami Gaming has a new facial recognition partner: The company has teamed up with Xailient, an Australian firm. Their collaboration will see Konami’s Synkros casino management platform integrate Xailient’s facial recognition technology for edge devices. Curiously, Konami’s announcement of the partnership said the partnership will “introduce SYNK Vision to the casino industry.” Konami’s SYNK Vision solution, which is designed to recognize and track registered players, has been offered to the gaming industry for years.

Corsight Tech Identifies Fugitives in Bogotá

Corsight AI’s facial recognition technology was instrumental in the arrests of five wanted criminals in Bogotá, Colombia, the company has announced. In a collaboration with local telecommunications partner NewSat and the Bogotá Metropolitan Police, Corsight’s technology was deployed across 20 surveillance cameras positioned through the TransMilenio bus transit network. Within two weeks, it identified six persons of interest, five of whom were detained by police. Lieutenant Colonel Jader Llerena Rivas commented that his police force has “a database of over five thousand people with active court orders in the city,” and said apprehending them will improve public safety.

authID Gets Another New Client

authID’s biometric onboarding and authentication technology is now being used by Bieases, a startup that offers a cross-border payments platform. “As we launch our international digital payment wallet, authID’s state-of-the art identity platform proved to be the ideal solution to protect our merchants against fraudulent account openings and offer our customers the convenience and frictionless experiences they expect,” said Bieases CEO Bin Li, who founded the company in 2020. The partnership’s announcement comes just ahead of authID’s Q3 earnings report next week, in which the company is expected to chart further progress after making significant leadership changes earlier this year.

Aware On Track to Neutral Operating Cashflow

Aware’s Q3 results, meanwhile, are out. Revenues increased 112 percent year over year, coming in at $6.4 million. Net income for the quarter amounted to $1.1 million, compared to a net loss of $2.7 million in the third quarter of 2022. For the first nine months of the year in total, revenues amounted to $13.9 million, compared to $11.9 million for the corresponding period in 2022; though 2023 so far has produced a net loss of $3.1 million, compared to net income of $31,000 in the same period of 2022. Nevertheless, Aware says that in light of its performance this year and its expectations for Q4, it maintains a full-year guidance predicting 15 percent Annual Recurring Revenue growth, and expects “to exit the year with neutral operating cashflow.”

Trust Stamp Gets Danish D-Seal

Copenhagen-based Trust Stamp has obtained the “D-Seal”, Denmark’s labelling program for indicating that a company “has good IT security and handles our data in a responsible and ethical manner”, as the program’s website explains. The program is backed by The Confederation of Danish Industry, The Danish Chamber of Commerce, SMEdenmark, and The Danish Consumer Council, and is supported by the Danish Business Authority. In announcing its D-Seal status, Trust Stamp emphasized the need for strong security and ethical practices in the context of processing biometric data in humanitarian aid.

–

November 2, 2023 – by Alex Perala