Jason

Israel, national ID

Israel: Interior Minister foresees mandatory biometric ID

Erdan wants advanced biometric ID card mandatory for all Israelis (Jerusalem Post)

All citizens will have to gradually move to biometric identification, Interior Minister Gilad Erdan said Monday, submitting a report on the system’s pilot run to the cabinet and Knesset.

“Smart biometric documentation that cannot be counterfeited, together with use of the biometric data will allow a full security and defense package for Israeli citizens’ identities and will balance our responsibility to ensure their security with our requirement to defend their privacy,” Erdan stated.

Obviously, his stance isn’t universally popular, but read the whole thing. There are a lot of good bits of information there including this one: Israel is the OECD country with the most counterfeited passports.

children, human trafficking, India, orphanage

India: Using biometrics to protect vulnerable children

Aadhaar goes to orphanages, joins war on child trafficking (Bangalore Mirror)

Aadhaar’s comprehensive database that comprises iris (retina scan) and biometric (fingerprint) information is hoped to aid enforcement agencies find missing children, curb human trafficking and check illegal adoptions. Aadhaar enrolments have begun in Karnataka for children in child care institutes run by the state government’s Department of Women and Child Development. Nearly 4,000 kids and youngsters are in care of state homes and will get identity cards.

A couple of notes:

Aadhaar means “foundation.” An alternate name for the Aadhaar Project is the UID Project for Universal ID.

In the quoted passage above, “child care institutes” are orphanages rather than the child care centers some readers may be more familiar with.

banking, mobile

USAA and customers both embrace biometrics

Biometric Innovation Boosts USAA Fiscal Results, Customer Satisfaction (Mobile ID World)

In a synopsis, the company credited its strong performance – which saw its net worth increasing by ten percent, reaching $27 billion – at least in part to “innovations such as secure facial and voice recognition on mobile devices”.

Tying in to the post below, the article mentions that the USAA customers who use it really love Apple Pay.

face, fraud

News you can use

Florida man, initially thought dead, arrested after facial recognition match (Ars Technica)

A Florida businessman accused of falsifying his death overseas was located and then arrested by federal authorities after facial recognition software returned a match to his face in passport records. Jose Salvador Lantigua now faces one federal count of providing a false statement on a passport application.

Though never easy, it’s getting harder to fake your own death.

face, facebook, privacy, social media

Illinois: More on the Facebook facial recognition lawsuit

Facebook lawsuit calls collection of biometrics data illegal (Biometrics Update)

According to the Illinois Biometrics Information Privacy Act, it is unlawful to acquire biometric data without first providing the subject with a written disclaimer that details the purpose and length of the data collection, and without the subject’s written consent.

Read the whole thing.

Photos aren’t simply records of something that happened, mere mementos, anymore. They’re search terms and search results. That has implications for both public and private entities who collect and store images of people. Ordinary snapshots are now biometric data.

Now, about those Florida school yearbooks…

face, law enforcement, privacy, regulation, social media

Facial recognition technology is changing how we think about photography

SCOTLAND: Cash-strapped police spend £700k on UK database (The Scotsman)

The MPs noted a “worrying” lack of government oversight and regulation of the use of biometrics by public bodies.

It called for day-to-day independent oversight of the police use of all biometrics, and for the Biometrics Commissioner’s jurisdiction to be extended beyond DNA and fingerprints.

ILLINOIS: Does Facebook’s facial recognition technology violate privacy laws? (ABA Journal)

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, argues that the social media company was required by Illinois law to inform Carlo Licata in writing that it would collect and retain his “biometric data,” and specify when it would destroy that data.

Both Facebook and the police in Scotland have been collecting photos of individuals for years but facial recognition technology changes things. Photos aren’t simply records of something that happened, mere mementos, anymore. They’re search terms and search results.

That has implications for both public and private entities who collect and store images of people.

Ordinary snapshots are now biometric data. The news pieces above both show long-standing policies being scrutinized in the context of reliable facial recognition technology.

Denmark, documents, fingerprint, passport, travel

Don’t forget the biometrics

Denmark issued 10,947 passports without fingerprints (Customs Today)

The different municipalities of Denmark issued flawed passports without fingerprints, stated by the Customs authority. Earlier the Customs authorities discovered the mistake and informed the affect municipalities. Passports issued from 44 municipalities after the date of February 2nd are missing biometric fingerprints due to an error made by…

I wonder how the oversight was discovered.

apple, face, mobile, patent

Apple granted patent for mobile device face unlock

Apple wants you to be able to unlock your iPhone with a selfie (Business Insider)

There’s no guarantee Apple will implement the technology – the Cupertino company obtains numerous patents that it never uses. These can be precautionary, or intended to trip up or block competitors. But as the industry increasingly looks to kill traditional passwords, selfie-secured iPhones sounds surprisingly plausible.

BYOD, mobile, token

Mobiles as access control tokens

Mobile Access Control: Exploiting the BYOD Trend (IFSEC Global)

With today’s mobile access technologies, smart devices can be used as universal credentials for accessing multiple buildings, IT systems and other applications using NFC and bluetooth. These devices provide users with extremely convenient vehicles for opening doors and performing other tasks that require the presentation of a secure credential.

There’s a lot of good information in the linked article and it’s written by the director of Strategic Business Development and Innovation at HID, and you’d expect that they’ve been putting a lot of thought toward what access control is going to look like after prox cards.