Vueling Up 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:

US Senators Urge Justice Department to Lay Out Facial Recognition Policies for Police

A group of 17 Democratic senators and one independent have signed a letter calling on the Justice Department to lay out policies designed to ensure that law enforcement agencies using federal funding to implement facial recognition technology (FRT) are complying with civil rights protections. The letter was led by Senator Raphael Warnock, whose office explained that the lawmakers’ goal is to build a regulatory framework for the technology. There are currently no federal laws concerning police use of FRT on the books.

Authorities Register Biometrics of Thousands of Refugees in Nigeria

Government and United Nations authorities have now registered the biometrics of roughly 15,000 refugees who have fled northern Cameroon to Nigeria’s Adamawa State, according to an update from the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR. The brief explains that the UNHCR has been working with Nigeria’s National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons to register refugees in an effort to “promote social cohesion and peaceful coexistence” in the host nation, which is already grappling with a humanitarian crisis of its own. Criminal groups and terrorist organizations including Boko Haram have been sowing chaos in the Far North Region of Cameroon, with refugees beginning to arrive in some numbers in June of 2022.

Vueling Launches Biometric Boarding System at Spanish Airports

The Spanish airline Vueling has announced the launch of a new biometric boarding system for travelers at airports in Barcelona-El Prat, Madrid-Barajas, Palma de Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza. After an initial enrolment session, passengers who opt into the program will be able to activate the facial recognition option through the Vueling app or website, and will then be able to board their flights without the need to show a passport or ticket. Vueling says it plans to extend this feature to the Tenerife North and Gran Canaria airports in the coming weeks.

HID Global Acquires SSL Certificate Specialist

HID Global has acquired ZeroSSL, an Austria-based SSL certificate specialist. According to the companies, ZeroSSL issues over half a million certificates per month, and serves more than 2.4 million user accounts. Martin Ladstaetter, HID’s Senior VP and Managing Director for IAMS, said the acquisition “marks another step in expanding our PKI and IoT business,” adding, “Bringing ZeroSSL’s established expertise and strong brand into the HID portfolio reinforces our commitment to safeguarding digital transactions while expanding our suite of offerings.”

Qualcomm Leverages Biometrics in Automotive Efforts

Qualcomm has revealed that it is engaged in multiple projects aimed at leveraging biometrics in the automotive sector. The company is working with J.P. Morgan on an in-vehicle digital wallet that can be accessed with a biometric login and used to pay for things like EV charging and parking. Daon is providing the biometric technology, and working with Qualcomm on a related system that will automatically identify drivers of Snapdragon-powered vehicles for insurers. Qualcomm is also working with Wink, the provider of an identity and payments platform, on a system for what it describes as “biometrics-based user registration and authentication for user personalization”.

Yubico Expands Reach of Enterprise Platform

Yubico has upgraded its enterprise platform, announcing that it has added 23 countries to its roster of supported regions for YubiEnterprise, boosting the total to 72. Customers can ship Yubico security keys to the supported countries using their YubiEnterprise Console. Yubico has also added SSO support for Duo/Cisco, complementing existing support for SSO solutions from Microsoft, Okta, and Google.

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January 22, 2024 – by Alex Perala