Securing Crypto With Biometrics – 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:

Uttar Pradesh District Police to Deploy Facial Recognition Tech

Police in the Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, India, are planning to leverage facial recognition technology as part of a new, digital policing system. The project will start with the launch next week of what the district police call a “Geospatial Data Intelligence Platform”, which they say will allow them to map crime-heavy areas. Facial recognition will be integrated later, with police commissioner Laxmi Singh telling local media that “the system will employ artificial intelligence to promptly identify repeat offenders in public.”

Zengo Pro Premium Crypto Wallet Takes Security Seriously

Zengo – the multi-chain crypto wallet that leverages FaceTec 3D face biometrics and liveness for security – has announced a premium subscription. For $20 per month, users can upgrade to Zengo Pro, which boasts top-tier security features including the requirement of 3D face authentication for outgoing transactions, and a soon-to-be-released legacy transfer system (for use in the event that a user dies). Zengo first embraced FaceTec’s biometrics in 2019. Since then, the 3D face biometrics specialist has advanced by orders of magnitude, recently announcing it’s seen a 995 percent increase in revenue since Q1 2020.

Yubico Enterprise Platform Gets an Upgrade

Yubico, the provider of second-factor authentication keys for computers and mobile devices, has announced an upgrade for its enterprise users. Customers using the YubiEnterprise Console can now activate Single Sign-On functionality through their supported identity provider without the need to contact Yubico itself. And the company has expanded its roster of approved Identity Providers, adding Google Workspace/GSuite to its existing support for Microsoft Azure and Okta. The platform’s user interface has also been updated.

Paytm Pilots Biometric Payments System

Paytm, the operator of one of the most popular payment apps in India, is working on a biometric payments system, according to founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Speaking at a recent industry event, Sharma said his firm is already piloting the system, which is based on facial recognition, though he didn’t offer further details. According to the Deccan Herald, Sharma is under pressure from investors to improve Paytm’s market performance after a “disastrous” public offering in late 2021.

Worldcoin SDK Now Globally Available

The software development kit for Worldcoin’s ‘World ID’ platform is now publicly available to all interested developers, having previously been available through a limited waitlist. Co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Worldcoin has been building a blockchain-based digital identity platform with global ambitions, and has sought to leverage iris recognition for user verification — or ‘Proof of Personhood’, in the context of its privacy-focused platform. The startup says that its SDK has already been used to build more than 100 projects on the World ID platform.

FTC Seeks Comment On Age Estimation Proposal for COPPA

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), in partnership with Yoti and SuperAwesome, has submitted an application to the Federal Trade Commission asking it to approve the use of “Privacy-Protective Facial Age Estimation” technology in obtaining parental consent under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule. The FTC, in turn, is asking for public comment, including feedback about whether the proposed method meets COPPA’s requirements and whether the collection of biometric data poses a privacy risk to consumers. Interested parties can submit comments until August 21 of this year.

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July 25, 2023 – by Alex Perala and Peter Counter