News on Identity PVC Cards, ID Badges and Photo ID Systems

News

ID cards scheme 'is open to fraud'
08/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= Guardian) A governmentappointed panel of experts is warning that the new ID cards system will be open to fraud by the people running it. In a potentially damaging revelation, which undermines claims that the scheme will enhance national security, the group has concluded that it will be prone to corruption. A new report by the Independent Scheme Assurance Panel (Isap), set up to advise the government on the implementation of ID cards, states: Based on the likelihood that the scheme will aggregate a lot of valuable data, there is the risk that its trusted administrators will make improper use of this data. It adds: The scheme will be subject to data errors and errors in decisions made. The acknowledgements come as the government has admitted it is to contract out the taking of fingerprints and photographs of ID card applicants to the private sector to save money.

AAAE Praises Approach On Biometrics
08/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= AviationNews) AAAE voiced encouragement over the call for a cooperative industrygovernment approach to studying the deployment of biometrics in airports that was detailed in legislation — H.R. 5982 — introduced last week by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (DMiss.). As public entities with more than three decades of experience operating badging and access control systems at their facilities, airports look forward to playing a key role in ongoing efforts to utilize biometricbased solutions as a means of enhancing aviation security, AAAE President Charles Barclay said....

Bill Would Mandate Airport Worker Biometric Study
08/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= HSToday) Rep. Bennie Thompson (DMiss.) introduced a bill Wednesday that would compel the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to study issuing biometric identification credentials to US airports, but the agency prefers a decentralized approach to airport security that makes best use of available funds and resources. The Biometric Enhancement and AirportRisk Reduction (BEAR) Act of 2008 (HR 5982) would require TSA to study the use of biometrics and report to Congress on how to best issue biometric identifiers to airport workers. TSA already has a pilot program in place to screen employees with biometric identification cards at Denver International Airport and Boston Logan Airport, TSA spokesperson Christopher White told HSToday.us. We are evaluating a number of different ways to increase employee security, White cautioned. We are committed to raising the bar on employee security. And we are very happy that Congress has given us the flexibility to look at various ways of doing this better.

New Biometric Face Scanner Can Tell the Difference Between Identical Twins
08/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= Gizmodo) A new biometric face scanner from the Japanese company Sagawa Advance has taken the technology to the next level, able to differentiate between identical twins with no problems at all. It does this by using an infrared scanner to analyse a whopping 40,000 data points on your face. This is a good thing, because Sagawa Advances scanner is used as access to highsecurity areas such as power plants and medical factories where theyve got to make sure that its really the plant supervisor entering and not his evil twin bent on the destruction of the human race. Thats always the worst.

Israel startup developing software system to identify terrorists
11/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= Guardian) An Israeli company called WeCU (We see you) is developing software that can identify terrorists without them doing anything. Haaretz.com, the online edition of the Haaretz newspaper, says: According to the companys founders, in under a minute it can screen an individual, without his or her knowledge or cooperation and without interfering with routine activities, and disclose intentions to carry out criminal or terror activity. It can identify subjects who are not carrying any suspicious objects, do not demonstrate any suspicious behavior, do not fit into a predefined social or other profile and do not arouse any suspicion. The story says: The system consists of three components: Hidden biometric sensors that measure the subject remotely or during random contact a system that displays the stimuli and a computerized data analysis and decisionmaking system that operates in real time.

Biometric machines thwart kid smokers
08/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= The Inquirer) JAPANESE SCHOOL KIDS could soon be wishing they could swap their baby faces for a few wrinkles or liver spots, because a company has just come up with a new biometric vending machine to prevent minors from buying cigarettes. To enjoy a fag in Japan, you have to, in theory, be at least 20 years old, but in practice it has never been especially difficult for nicotinemad school kids to get hold of smokes from any number of the 570,000 vending machines that dole them out in much the same way as one would buy fizzy drinks and sweets. But now a firm called Fujitaka has come up with a biometric system to thwart kids in their attempts to buy cigarettes illegally. Those in dire need of a smoke will now have to look into a digital camera on the vending machine, which will then compare their facial features to the data of approx 100,000 other people who’s ages have been logged. Everything from sagging skin to wrinkles will be taken into account by the agediscerning machine which will then decide whether or not to serve the customer.

Siemens bündelt Biometrie mit Identity Management
08/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= Computer Zeitung) Die biometrische Personenerkennung sieht der Branchenverband Bitkom im Aufwind, die deutsche AnbieterSzene sei international gut aufgestellt. Siemens will unterdessen mit einer Koppelung von Biometrie und IdentityManagement punkten.Die Personenerkennung durch Biometrie verbreite sich zunehmend, meldet der Branchenverband Bitkom. Rund 25 deutsche Referenz und Pilotprojekte stellt der Bitkom in einer aktuellen Broschüre vor.

Siemens combines identity management and biometrics units
12/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= CBR) Siemens has announced that it will combine its identity management and biometrics businesses into a new unit that will begin operations in June. The new unit, which will employ 130 people, will be formed from the combination of Siemens IT Solutions and Services biometrics center in Graz, Austria, and its Siemens Healthcare arm which provides identity and access management. The company said the move will enable it to offer crosssector biometric applications. Its biometric offerings include applications for recognizing fingerprints, hand vein patterns, facial shapes, and voices.

Put your finger on a more efficient system
12/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= ReportOnBusiness) Like many workers who are paid hourly, employees at Dynamic Team Sports Canada Co. in Toronto used to punch time clocks. The sportswear companys human resources staff had to prepare time cards for more than 200 employees, calculate hours manually and enter the data in a payroll system. It took four to six hours a week, says Melanie Oleskiw, Dynamics human resources manager. And there were problems with a few employees on the midnight shift buddy punchingpunching absent coworkers time cards to inflate their hours worked. So, three and half years ago, Dynamic Team Sports replaced its punchcard system with one that scans employees fingerprints. To clock in, a worker first enters a personal identification code, then places his or her finger on a scanner......

Biometric shambles at Heathrow
11/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= TimesOnline) Sir, Last week I arrived back at Heathrow from Toronto en route to Edinburgh. Thanks to the T5 problems, flights from Toronto arrive at T4 and flights for Edinburgh leave from T5. I had one hour and 25 minutes. First BAA could not connect its air bridge to the plane — loss of 25 minutes. Then there was a queue for the transfer bus — ten minutes. Then passport control at T5 then biometrics. They take your photo and link it to your boarding card in their computers just so you can cross T5. (Don’t ask why this is better than a passport.) I got to the gate, breathless and heart racing, 20 minutes before departure the flight had not closed and others were stuck behind me in the system. But my “biometrics were faulty”, ie, the BAA system of taking a photo and linking it to my boarding card had not worked properly. ......

‘Betalen met vingerafdruk wordt standaard’
11/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= Elsevier retail) LONDEN – Tweederde van de consumenten in Europa, Azië en NoordAmerika denkt in 2015 te betalen met de vingerafdruk. Ook interactieve touchscreens in pashokjes om te communiceren met winkelpersoneel is een technische ontwikkeling die breed wordt verwacht. Dat blijkt uit de studie Future in Store van het onderzoeksbureau TNS. Ruim zestig procent van de ondervraagden denkt dat betalen met de vingerafdruk de standaard wordt. In Duitsland boekt de supermarktketen Edeka hier al veel succes mee. Vooral Britten kijken enthousiast uit naar de mogelijkheid te kunnen betalen met de vingerafdruk. Voor 31 procent was het de eerste keuze als belangrijkste technologische ontwikkeling in de winkel.

Hi-tech face recognition cameras used in Budgens to spot underage drinkers
12/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= Daily Mail) Underage drinkers who attempt to buy alcohol may be thwarted by the technology that police use to identify suspected criminals. A supermarket chain is introducing face recognition cameras to prevent staff mistakenly selling cigarettes and alcohol to under18s. The biometric technology is being piloted by Budgens at one of its London branches. If successful, it could be rolled out across the country to create a database of youngsters who try to buy alcohol. The system alerts a cashier if it recognises someone who has previously been unable to prove they are 18. It is believed to be the first time a British retailer has used the technology in this way. The software takes measurements between key points on the face to make a template of a persons features that is stored as a token.

Prevent Identity Theft - Biometric Signature ID and QBOS Partner to Strengthen Online Identity Authentication
13/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= Send2Press) DALLAS, Texas, May 13 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE)Biometric Signature ID (BSI) and Quick Business Operating Systems (QBOS) today announced a strategic alliance that will enable BSIs dynamic biometric authentication and verification solutions to seamlessly operate within QBOSs Business Process Automation Suite of products. BSIs solutions give businesses using the QBOS TradeSpace Management System(TM) a strong identity authentication solution to prevent unauthorized user access online. BSI is working with QBOS to deliver a heightened level of online security while protecting the convenience and access of information that their customers have come to expect on the Internet, said Jeff Maynard CEO at BSI. QBOS greatly enhances performance and quality of client internal processes by managing the intellectual capital of its clients. BSI will add the extra dimension required to protect these assets from nonauthorized abusers without hindering the user experience.

Automatisierte Personenerkennung zunehmend verbreitet
13/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= VisaVis) Außerhalb der regulären Schulzeiten und ohne Aufsichtspersonal betreten Oberstufenschüler eines Hamburger Gymnasiums seit Februar 2007 ihre Schulbibliothek. Auf ihre Zugehörigkeit werden die Schüler per Fingerabdruck identifiziert. Um einen Missbrauch bei den Dauerkarten zu verhindern, werden die rund 70.000 DauerkartenInhaber des Hannoveraner Zoos beim Zutritt auf das Gelände über die automatische Gesichtserkennung kontrolliert. Um den Datenschutz zu gewährleisten, fragen die Außendienstmitarbeiter einer großen Versicherungsgruppe seit 2007 über ein Sprachportal vor einem Termin Kundendaten telefonisch ab, wobei sie an ihrer Stimme identifiziert werden.

Grüne gegen biometrische Merkmale im Ausweis
13/05/2008 6:00:00 PM

(source= Das Parlament) Gegen die Einführung biometrischer Merkmale im Personalausweis sprechen sich die Grünen in einem Antrag (167749) aus, den der Bundestag am 9. Mai zur weiteren Beratung in den Innenausschuss überwiesen hat. Die von der Bundesregierung geplante Maßnahme greife tief in die Bürgerrechte ein, kritisieren die Grünen. Es drohe eine Referenzdatei zu entstehen, die alle im Bundesgebiet lebenden Menschen erfasse. Zudem fehle noch immer jeder Beleg dafür, dass die versprochenen Sicherheitsgewinne tatsächlich erreichbar sind.