News and insight into biometric identification and authentication

Research points to wider acceptance of biometrics in Australia

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Research called the Unisys Security Index performed by technology developer Unisys has yielded results claiming Australia’s citizens are in overwhelming support of adopting biometrics to better secure their personal or sensitive data, according to an IT Wire article.

Officials from Unisys are reporting that the results seem to mostly be due to rising concerns over electronic fraud and identity theft as well as other personal security issues.


Further results included 33% of Australians being concerned over the government and financial industries abilities to safeguard personal information and fears over misuse of their personal financial information topping the list of fears.

A Unisys VP has come out to address the results as a positive thing for the biometric market including that the seven out of ten that do trust their financial organizations security while also being willing to utilize biometrics to better secure their data could lead to smoother adoption of the technology.

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RBS-owned NatWest and Telifonica’s O2 have broken their partnership, calling into question the future of NFC payments in the UK, according to internetretailing.net.

Datamonitor analyst Giles Ubaghs says, “NatWest’s move away from its joint venture with O2 is likely due to the wider difficulties with government-owned RBS. With austerity becoming a growing concern in the public sector, NatWest’s focus on its core services is perhaps unsurprising.”

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ABI Research, an independent firm providing analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies, has announced the appointment of John Devlin as principal analyst for smart cards and embedded security.

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Ghana’s major electronic clearing and payment system could provide enough space and communication capabilities to enable adding new purposes for removing ghost payrollers, according to a Peace FM Online article.

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A webinar hosted by Angel.com, an interactive voice response (IVR) and call center solutions provider, and VoiceVault, a developer of voice recognition biometrics, drives at the need for voice biometrics in call center operations looking for unique alternatives to boost efficiency and lower costs, according to a TMCnet article.

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The Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a science, engineering and technology company, has announced the winner of their self-sponsored Biometric Research Competition hosted by the University of Kent in the UK and the UK Biometrics Institute.

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India’s Social Welfare Department has implemented the Beggars Personal Management System to track beggars using biometrics. This effort is to fight recent large-scale deaths and mismanagement within colonies, according to a Deccan Herald article.

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