News and insight into biometric identification and authentication

The biometric battle

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Biometric ID cards have recently received heat for whether they truly are the best security solution to identity theft. In an article on timesofmalta.com, the biometric ID card is compared to standard credit cards in terms of vulnerability and risk to data breaching.

The biometrics are electronically read and converted to a sequence of ones and zeros and sent to an authenticator to be compared with the sequence on file in the database. The argument remains how a series of numbers on a credit card, which has been stolen many a time, is all that different from a series of numbers making up a digital fingerprint.


Debaters are taking it a step further to say that while credit card companies have the ability to issue someone a new card number, an individual can’t exactly get new fingerprints if their information is stolen.

Protests in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the U.K. have deterred plans for ID card introduction. Current plans were predicting more than 85% of the worlds would utilize biometric documentation by 2012. [end] 

Biometric Signature ID (BSI) announced positive results from a study of their software-only approach to biometric authentication for students using PCs. The new solution utilizes gesture biometrics via a user’s mouse and is envisioned to provide distance-learning students a more effective and secure means of accessing personal student files, discussion groups and other private areas of school networks.

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SecuGen, a developer of biometric technology solutions, has announced the availability of its SecuGen iD-USB SC/PIV, a USB-connectible device that is capable of scanning fingerprints and smart cards and is FIPS 201/PIV compliant.

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M2SYS Technology, a developer of biometric technology solutions, has announced it has reached a partnership agreement with Boriana Ltd. that will see Boriana distributing M2SyS technology.

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While new high-tech vending machines are being released with options such as touch screens, nutritional information displays, wireless coin dispensers, stock monitors and biometric payments, some feel the idea of moving forward with biometric-based payments on the devices may not work yet, according to a Retail Solutions Online article.

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Aware Inc. has announced it has supplied a major U.S. government agency with client and server-based software products for the personal identity verification (PIV) employee credentialing system implemented by IT services firm Jacob & Sundstrom.

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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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