New Commissioners and Presentation Attack Detection Advancements – 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:

Australia’s New Privacy Commissioner Talks Tough On Biometric Tech

Australia’s incoming National Privacy Commissioner is signaling that she will push for stricter rules concerning biometric and AI technologies. Speaking to The Australian Financial Review, Carly Kind said “there’s a real mismatch” between the rapid advancement of biometric tech and the regulatory policies in place. Kind, a former human rights lawyer and founder of an independent data privacy research institute, said that her background in civil society has left her free of the kinds of “conflicts of interest” that arise in the private sector. She will take the post in February of 2024.

UK Gov’t Names New Head of Doomed Watchdog Position

The United Kingdom Home Secretary has named Tony Eastaugh as its new Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner. As the previous Commissioner Fraser Sampson has warned, and the UK government acknowledged in its announcement of Eastaugh’s appointment, the role is doomed: a proposed “Data Protection and Digital Information Bill” that is currently before Parliament will abolish the office and transfer its “biometrics casework functions” to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office. Eastaugh spent much of his earlier career as the Commander of the Metropolitan Police, and most recently served as the Home Office’s Director General for Immigration Enforcement.

Key Apple Product Exec to Depart

Steve Hotelling, one of the architects of Apple’s trailblazing biometric authentication systems, is reportedly departing the tech giant. Hotelling was one of the inventors of Touch ID, and also played a key role in the development of Face ID. His influence has extended far beyond biometric authentication, however; he oversaw Apple’s camera engineering team and led efforts to develop depth sensing tech for Augmented Reality systems, among other contributions. As Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman notes, he’s leaving Apple at a time when the company is straining to bring hardware components in-house.

Daon Launches Voice Deepfake Detection Tool

Daon has launched xSentinel, a voice deepfake detection tool, as part of its AI.X platform. Primarily aimed at voice communication channels such as call centers, xSentinel is designed to scan for various cues that a given voice is AI-generated within seconds of the start of a call. Daon first launched its AI.X platform in June of this year, as concern about the threat of AI-generated deepfakes was starting to rise sharply in the identity security space. AI.X also supports deepfake detection technology aimed at faces.

Accura Scan Reaches PAD Level 2

India-based Accura Scan has reached Level 2 in iBeta’s Presentation Attack Detection evaluation program, certifying its facial recognition system’s compliance with the ISO/IEC 30107-03 standard. PAD Level 2 testing entails the use of realistic masks and videos of legitimate subjects in spoofing attacks meant to trick facial recognition systems. “We have achieved this feat with a very small but highly skilled & dedicated team that has executed the organizational goal beautifully,” said Accura Scan International Sales Director Reza Writer.

Biometric Card Featuring STMicroelectronics, FPC Tech Gets Mastercard Certification

Andorra-based Tag Systems has obtained Mastercard certification for a biometric card based on STMicroelectronics’ STPay-Topaz-Bio platform and a Fingerprint Cards fingerprint sensor. Tag Systems has shown enthusiasm for the emergence of fingerprint-scanning cards; the company got a Visa Letter of Approval for a solution based on Zwipe Pay last year. “In Tag Systems we have a partner that likes to lead the way with high-end payment services,” commented Roger Carrico, FPC’s Head of Sales & Business development, Payment & Access.

Yoti Brings Biometric IDV to Hiring Platform

HireRight Holdings Corporation has launched a new candidate verification solution, dubbed “Global ID”, based on biometric technology. The system enables remote IDV by matching a candidate’s selfie photo to their identity document using facial recognition, backed by liveness detection technology. The selfie-based IDV system is powered by UK-based Yoti, whose identity platform has been extending its reach over the past several months—most recently through an integration into the dating platform Jigsaw.

Microsoft’s Computer Vision App Comes to Android

Microsoft’s Seeing AI app is now available for Android devices, after an earlier launch on iOS. The app uses AI-powered computer vision to describe the visual world for users who are blind or visually impaired. It can do things like identify banknotes, scan barcodes in a grocery store, or generally describe a scene. What’s more, it is capable of facial recognition, allowing users to identify their friends with the app.

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December 7, 2023 – by Alex Perala