News and insight into biometric identification and authentication

IBG announces webcast on biometrics, smart cards

Thursday, January 28, 2010

The International Biometric Group, a biometric research, consulting and systems integration company, has announced a free webcast starting at 1pm EST on Thursday, Jan. 28. The webcast, titled “Biometric Enabled Smart Cards and e-Passports: Lessons Learned and Future Directions,” will deal with the worldwide growing use of biometric technologies in conjunction with smart card technologies being used in transportation, travel and national identity programs.


The webcast is aimed at systems integrators, government agencies and vendors involved in the design or implementation of such programs. Further, the outline of specific topics to be discussed include the status of programs such as BioP@ss and European Citizen Card in the EU, vulnerabilities witnessed in systems such as J-BIS, vulnerability assessment efforts and cross-jurisdictional privacy and security issues in national and government programs. [end] 

The U.S. government has settled an infringement case with Leighton Technologies by agreeing to license its smart cards.

Leighton Technologies, a subsidiary of General Patent, filed a case against the federal government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in January 2010. Leighton alleged that 54 federal agencies used its six smart card patents without authorization. Leighton’s technology was also used in e-passports.

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The UK Border Agency has announced intentions to require applicants applying for six-month stays from outside the European Economic Area to use biometric residency permits starting at the end of February 2012, according to an HR Magazine article.

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The Biometrics Institute, a biometrics industry organization engaged in the research, analysis and education of biometric technologies, announced the release of a privacy charter for early, according to a CIO article.

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Prisoners at Tihar prisons, located near New Delhi, India, will now be using smart cards instead of paper coupons for their food purchases.

As reported by The Economic Times, the former system of paper food coupons led to misuse and illegal activity within the jail. Some prisoners would use it for currency in order to get banned substances or buy favors from others.

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Precise Biometrics has developed a new line of “smart cases” for brands of tablets and smart phones to be released in 2012 and 2013. The new smart cases have built-in card reader and fingerprint sensor enabling users to both secure their devices as well as replace various password-based security for protected online sites and applications.

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The European Association for Biometrics (EAB) is focusing on a goal of driving the research and development of biometrics and building the future of the industry around a concern for end-user privacy protection.

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