proxy

democracy, fingerprint, government, proxy, Ukraine, vote

Ukraine mulls biometric voter verification for Members of Parliament

UDAR suggests taking fingerprints of MPs (forUm) “A new voting system, which reads fingerprints of MPs must be introduced in the Parliament, deputy leader of the UDAR Party faction Vitali Kovalchuk said on the sidelines of the Verkhovna Rada, ForUm correspondent reports.”

Piecing this together from a couple of places at http://en.for-ua.com. The main story linked above is very short. There is also a photo gallery of the event where the press was invited to witness “the working of the voting system ‘Rada-4′”.

I took the above photo from that gallery. Is that an optical fingerprint reader illuminating the hand in the photo?

If so, and I realize I’m piling speculation atop a mere suggestion, it would mark an interesting development in the administration of legislative bodies.
The São Paulo City Council instituted a biometric time and attendance system, but I’m not aware of a biometric system used in a legislative body to ensure that the person casting a vote is a member and that the member in question isn’t going around to all the empty desks and voting in the place of his absent colleagues.
ETS, finger, palm, proxy, SAT, TOEFL, voice

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Adopting Voice Biometrics

Press Release: TOEFL® Program Unveils State-of-the-Art Biometric Voice Identification Software to Increase Test Security Globally (News Blaze)

ETS, the creator of the TOEFL® test, announced the introduction of biometric voice identification to maintain fair and reliable TOEFL testing. The newly announced security measure provides an additional proven technique to add to the TOEFL program’s comprehensive security system in authenticating TOEFL test takers globally.

Similar to the highly advanced speaker identification platforms used by government and law enforcement agencies, the software uses statistical pattern matching techniques, advanced voice classification methods, and inputs from multiple systems to compare speech samples from TOEFL test takers. Launched earlier this month, the speaker identification system offers the ability to create voice prints for detailed analysis to validate TOEFL test takers. The new technology will be used as part of test security investigations in 2012 and beginning in 2013 will gradually be used on a larger scale.

“The inclusion of biometric voice identification technology is yet another tool in the TOEFL test security portfolio to ensure test integrity worldwide,” explains David Hunt, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ETS’s Global Division. “Including a state-of-the art speaker identification component to the TOEFL’s security system further strengthens our ability to detect attempts to gain an unfair advantage, a common concern in academia today. ETS is committed to identifying and implementing those protocols deemed most effective by leaders in the security industry in safeguarding against fraudulent behavior.”

ETS also administers the SAT test.

See also: New York: Seven Arrested For Alleged SAT Cheating Ring UPDATE: SAT, Biometrics & ROI

Any guess why ETS is considering hand-based biometrics for the SAT but voice-based biometrics for the TOEFL?