A Twitter Whistleblower Gives Elon Some Cover: 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:

‘Authenticate All Humans’

Twitter’s former security chief has come forward with a whistleblower complaint decrying the company’s mismanagement of security issues, including an assertion that the social media platform’s management are incentivized to distort metrics concerning bots and genuine users. Peiter “Mudge” Zatko’s claims both validate Elon Musk’s argument about Twitter’s bot problem and illustrate the potential utility of stronger user authentication. Read our full story on Mobile ID World.

BIPA Lawsuits

Snap has reached a $35 million settlement in a class action lawsuit filed under Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The lawsuit alleged that Snapchat’s “Lenses” and “Filters” features violated BIPA by collecting users’ voice and face biometrics without their express consent. Despite its pre-trial settlement, Snap insists that it did nothing wrong, noting that the app features in question could not be used to identify a given individual, and that it had implemented a consent notification within the app “out of an abundance of caution.”

Biometric Surveillance

Russian authorities have once again conducted mass arrests of dissidents on a national holiday, reportedly with help from the Moscow Metro’s biometric surveillance system. Thirty-three individuals, described by The Moscow Times as activists and journalists, were apprehended on National Flag Day, with most of them later being released without charge. Russian authorities had conducted a similar round of mass arrests earlier this year on the occasion of Russia Day, with the Metro’s facial recognition system being a useful tool in the operation.

Product Launches

OMO Systems, a Kyiv-based developer of IoT home security solutions, has announced that its products are now available to the US market. Its solutions include a smart doorbell, an indoor security camera, motion sensors, and door and window sensors. OMO adds that its platform supports facial recognition capabilities. The company’s management had planned to enter the US market in 2023, but accelerated their efforts in the wake of the Russian invasion.

Poland’s Bank Pocztowy is rolling out biometric debit cards to retail customers, in a move that NFCW describes as a first in the country. Customers who successfully apply for the card will be able to confirm contactless transactions with a fingerprint scan on the card. The bank began offering biometric payment cards to its corporate customers at the end of 2021, in collaboration with Thales and Mastercard.

Intellectual Property

GBT Technologies has received a notice of publication for a non-provisional patent application concerning facial and body recognition. The patent is focused on biometric unlocking systems for smartphones and computers. GBT Technologies describes itself as “a development stage company” with a team of tech-focused engineers working on an IP portfolio with an aim to license its technologies.

Earnings

Trust Stamp, known for its selfie-based biometric identity verification technology, reported revenues of $0.71 million for the second quarter, compared to revenues of $0.72 million in Q2 of 2021. Revenues for the first half of the year, however, were up $182 percent, with a net revenue of $3.53 million in H1. Its net result for Q2 was a loss of $2.92 million, compared to a net loss of $1.97 million a year ago. For the first half of the year, Trust Stamp saw a net loss of $4.61 million, compared to a net loss of $4.00 million in H1 of 2021.

Biometric Wearables

Cipher Skin, a specialist in biometric health monitoring technology, has partnered with Kno2 to streamline the communication of patient data. Cipher Skin’s Cipher Mesh wearable technology wraps around a patient’s arms and legs and collects biometric and motion data. The Kno2 Connected platform will ensure that the data can be shared with any healthcare provider’s Certified Electronic Health Record Technology system.

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August 23, 2022 – by Alex Perala