Biometrics in consumer devices and biometric data protection technology in passports continue to mature, as seen in several of the top headlines over the past week on Biometric update. Qualcomm’s next-generation ultrasonic sensor would be implemented in new Samsung phones, STMicroelectronics, Fingerprint Cards and Neurotechnology announced advances in biometric cards, and Infineon is part of a team that has developed a security controller post -quantum for biometric passports. G+D, meanwhile, received a major investment to expand its digital identity operations.
Top biometric news of the week
An unconfirmed rumor suggests that Qualcomm’s new 3D Sonic Max ultrasonic sensor could bring biometric in-display fingerprint capability to the Samsung Galaxy S23 line of smartphones. The sensor has a relatively large active area and built-in presentation attack detection. Qualcomm says it works with flexible OLED displays.
Idemia, Zwipe and Linxens each discussed preparing for the mass market of biometric cards at a recent APSCA forum. Meanwhile, STMicroelectronics’ card platform has achieved EMVCo certification, Fingerprint Cards has partnered with a FIDO2 access control card, and Neurotechnology has released a new version of its MegaMatcher On Card SDK.
An opinion piece on the Fingerprint Cards website makes the case for access control based on FIDO2 standards and biometrics to support hybrid working and other use cases. Certified technologies already in the market combined with Zero Trust architectures can help organizations catch up on their security posture with the changes recently imposed by the pandemic.
Quantum computing threatens to undermine the security measures that underpin biometric passports, among many other elements of the identity infrastructure. In response, Infineon and its partners developed and demonstrated a security controller running a post-quantum cryptographic algorithm that they claim is the first of its kind.
Telecoms in Ghana began blocking data services last week ahead of Wednesday’s deadline for biometric SIM card registration. The deadline had already been pushed back several times, but a legal challenge was recently dismissed and authorities have urged Ghana Card holders to complete their registrations ahead of possible service blockages.
America must pass the Better Digital Identity Act of 2022 to stem the tide of data breaches and identity theft, according to the Better Identity Coalition and other groups. The ten-group coalition, which also includes the Identity Theft Resource Center, cites potential savings of hundreds of millions of dollars. They want the law included in a year-end spending bill.
The UK Online Safety Bill would establish a system where online platforms must determine whether users are adults or children, and set terms and conditions accordingly. Age Verification Providers Association ED Iain Corby tells Biometric update this interoperability is necessary to prevent age verification from becoming the new cookie popup.
G+D raised €130 million in cash through debt to support operational growth in digital identity and other areas. The company says the offering was adjusted after being oversubscribed and shows investor confidence in G+D’s strategic direction and track record. The loans mature between three and five years.
UK government departments have been told to stop deploying security cameras from Chinese vendors who may be coerced into sharing information from them. The instruction from the government security group also tells public sector organizations to avoid connecting surveillance equipment to core networks and to consider removing them from where they are already deployed.
Facial recognition will not be rolled out to secure the France 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as the country’s sports ministry says it would breach data privacy regulations. Anonymized algorithms to glean information about crowds from CCTV feeds will, however, be used.
Implementing ethical AI tools like biometrics in financial services requires special considerations, writes Matt Peake, Onfido’s global director of public policy, in a guest post for Biometric update. Peake offers advice on what constitutes ethical AI, why it matters, and how to prioritize it in app development.
Squire Patton Boggs attorney David J. Oberly lends his biometrics and data privacy expertise to explain the implications of the recent ProctorU lawsuit dismissal in another guest post. The decision means that choice of law provisions can be effectively deployed to defend against BIPA’s claims.
A visit by NADRA chief Tariq Malik to stateless people in the Machhar settlement in Karachi, Pakistan, may herald their inclusion as citizens of Pakistan for the first time, according to a report by The Tribune. Many of the hundreds of thousands of people who live there were born in Pakistan but have no legal identity, and the professor who wrote the article urges the proactive involvement of inclusion-minded observers to ensure that the entire change process is complete.
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Article topics
access control | biometric cards | biometrics | data protection | digital identification | digital identity | facial recognition | identity document | legislation | Research and development
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