The Top 5 Biometric Identification Management Industry Blogs (M2SYS)
1. Biometric Update
2. Planet Biometrics
3. Find Biometrics
4. SecureID News
5. M2SYS Blog
6. SecurLinx
For details on what they liked about each of the fine resources in the 1-5 spots, you’ll have to click over to the M2SYS blog post.
We’d also like to thank Mohammad Shahnewaz, Sr. Executive – SEO, SEM, PPC Business Development & Interactive Marketing Dept. at M2SYS Technology, for including us in his rankings.
Fingerprints still too unreliable for banks (MIS – Asia)
Still, organisations across multiple sectors are exploring the use of several types of biometric technologies. The Australian Passport Office last November issued a tender for new biometrics technologies.
The organisation has been using facial recognition for its passport production process since 2005.
In 2012, ANZ Bank said it was exploring using fingerprint recognition technology to replace traditional PIN codes.
Parker said there an interesting discussion under way now about how secure a transaction has to be and how much organisations and consumers are you willing to pay for a certain level of security.
“If you’re protecting the front door or the control panel of a nuclear arsenal, you probably want to spend a lot of money on security to make sure it’s top grade and nobody can get through it.
It looks like people are starting to come to grips with the “compared to what?” and “perfect vs. good” arguments we’ve been making here for a while now.
We’d also suggest a revised headline for the article linked above: “Fingerprints not Convenient Enough for Large Customers.” We’d agree with that one.
As it stands now, biometrics algorithm developers and large system vendors aren’t really finding much success at supporting customers for whom ID management isn’t their primary business. And nearly all organizations for whom ID management is their primary business are government entities. This goes some distance toward explaining why the private market for biometrics has been slow to develop.
It’s also the challenge we have built SecurLinx to meet. In this example, banks aren’t in the ID business; they’re in the money business, but they do have to get ID right — or at least predictably wrong — in order to do their job. Magnetic stripes, sixteen digit numbers and passwords aren’t great, but they are predictable. They are convenient at an affordable cost.
Biometrics companies must deliver solutions to customers that can add security and at least come close to the convenience of the systems they seek to replace.
Tyneside jewellery heist could lead to DNA sharing (Chronicle Live)
A jewellery heist on Tyneside has sparked a review of DNA sharing across Europe that could force police to hand over criminal records to foreign counterparts.
Specialists in Newcastle will spearhead a £1.2m effort to design a database that profiles crimes committed across the continent as part of a controversial EU information sharing treaty.
It comes just 12 months after a convicted murderer and his armed gang from Eastern Europe were convicted of carrying out an armed raid at a Newcastle jewellers.
Led by convicted murderer Marek Viidemann, the ring was linked to at least 150 armed robberies across the UK and Europe before being eventually jailed for a total of more than 30 years.
First, DNA is likely to be a small part of whatever system improvements emerge. It’s expensive and slow compared to just about any other biometric modality or combination of modalities such as finger, face and iris.
From a management standpoint it seems that if you want to have a free flow of people, you need to have a free flow of law enforcement information. This is easier said than done. It’s often a challenge even when dealing with adjacent counties in the same state in the US much less, as in the European context, two different countries.
The term for this system compatibility and ability to effectively cooperate among departments is interoperability. It is a managerial and technical challenge that is rarely dealt with in popular depictions of how law enforcement works but, especially as the complexity of the law enforcement challenge increases, it is of critical importance.
Often, there are good systems in place for passing information “up the chain of command,” i.e. from street cop all the way up to a state or national information repository, but the information doesn’t always flow as freely back down again in the other direction. For various reasons, the formal links between street-level law enforcement officers in neighboring jurisdictions run up through a centralized authority and then back down again, though there are often informal links that bypass the up-and-back-down information flow model. The implications for efficient multi-jurisdictional law enforcement are clear.
Some of these issues came up a couple of years ago in a post. Usefulness of Biometrics in Law Enforcement: Who is the Customer? The analysis there can be extended from biometrics to all sorts of law enforcement IT systems and it has a great deal of bearing on issues like the ones raised by the Newcastle jewelry heist by international criminals.
Many police professionals put a lot more into databases of all types than they ever get out of them. Through biometric technologies and other integration services, SecurLinx works hard to balance that out a bit for our law enforcement customers.
TSA To Purchase Credential Authentication Technology In 2014 (HS Today)
A CAT system must verify the identity of air passengers and confirm they are able to travel beyond the security checkpoint for boarding their planes, TSA said in an announcement Monday. It must display authentication credentials to a transportation security officer (TSO) or other qualified operator and ensure proper ticketing of the passenger, instructing the system operator as to what action to take if the passenger is not yet cleared.
The CAT system also must integrate a credentials scanner, technology to authenticate credentials, a graphic user interface (GUI) and an application programming interface (API). Under a separate contract, TSA already has produced the API, which provides an interface with its Security Technology Integrated Program (STIP) for the transfer of passenger data.
Pretty cool. This sounds a lot like the IDTrac product we developed several years back, only we used IDTrac to keep track of bank checks instead of boarding passes. The facial recognition part of what it does is pretty elegant if I do say so myself.
SecurLinx Brasil and Qualiserve Technology Solutions enter into Exclusive Integration Partnership for Brazil (PRWeb Press Release)
SecurLinx Brasil, a subsidiary of SecurLinx Holding Company (FRA: S8X) has completed a comprehensive integration agreement for its biometric identity management solutions in Brazil with Qualiserve Soluções Em Tecnologia. “This strong partnership with a recognized leader in the national marketplace demonstrates our commitment to gaining market share and rapidly increasing revenue in the next year. Together, we will ensure peak performance and the highest level of customer service for our Brazilian clients,” said Barry Hodge, CEO of SecurLinx Holding Company.
Under the terms of this agreement, Qualiserve will be the exclusive installer and IT system manager for SecurLinx Brasil, offering helpdesk and field maintenance services as needed. In cases where a client purchases a biometric identity management solution from SecurLinx Brasil and that client has an existing contract with a third party IT service provider, Qualiserve will act as a technical consultant and project manager on behalf of SecurLinx.
According to Davis Hodge, President of SecurLinx Brasil, “Qualiserve, with its impressive track record of tackling complicated large scale IT infrastructure deployments coupled with its market leading IT management services provided to some of the largest multinational and local corporations, is a perfect fit for SecurLinx.” Kleber Rodrigues, Founder and President of Qualiserve added, “We have spent considerable time evaluating both new and established biometric solutions providers on behalf of our customers and have determined that SecurLinx offers the most complete and robust products available in the market.”
About Qualiserve:
For over 10 years, Qualiserve has offered comprehensive IT infrastructure and systems management to some of the largest multinationals and local companies in Brazil. Additional services include web hosting, ERM, VoIP telephony, and cloud computing. The Company is headquartered in São Bernardo / São Paulo and has offices across Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro, Manaus and Santa Catarina.
Press Release:
SecurLinx Corporation joins forces with iPulse Systems to provide best in class solutions forbiometric access control in North and South America.
Morgantown, WV September 19, 2012
SecurLinx Corporation has been awarded Tier 1 Platinum Partner status for North America by iPulse Systems of Kempton Park, South Africa. SecurLinx-Brasil will enjoy the same designation for South America. The partnership will enable SecurLinx to integrate the iPulse product line into its access control middleware solutions. “Customers at the high end of security require an end-to-end solution including hardware and software that is completely integrated into their existing information technology infrastructure,” stated Barry Hodge, CEO of SecurLinx. “We evaluated a number of potential suppliers and found iPulse to offer the most robust and interoperable solution available today.” The integration process has been completed and the systems are available for immediate delivery in both markets. The scalable solution is cost effective for a single door and capable of managing access for the largest facility or enterprise.
Gary Chalmers, CEO of iPulse Systems added, “As a specialist manufacturer of biometric hardware, iPulse Systems always looks for partners with an innovative and aggressive approach to high level integration into their software solutions when launching into a new market. SecurLinx have created a seamless solution that provides localized content for our internationally competitive hardware solutions.” “The iPB platform is robust, intelligent and extremely cost effective,” continued Chalmers, who also added “We believe this combination of biometric hardware and software offers the best price to performance ratio available in the market today.”
About SecurLinx:
A wholly owned subsidiary of SecurLinx Holding Corporation (FRA: S8X) and located in Morgantown, West Virginia, SecurLinx is an advanced technology and software development company. The Company offers middleware products and systems applied to information sharing, secure access, and biometric identification. SecurLinx adds increased security, productivity, and seamless information management solutions in targeted markets where secure access to physical locations or information sharing networks is critical to the enterprise.
About iPulse Systems:
iPulse Systems is a South African based technology design company that specializes in developing biometric technology solutions at a hardware, firmware & SDK level for integration into best-of-breed existing software solutions, and where required, building niche market software solutions for specific vertical markets.
[End press release]
We’re extremely pleased with the relationship we have built with the good people at iPulse and we look forward to what lies ahead.
SecurLinx Holding Corporation (FRA: S8X) has continued its expansion plan with the establishment of SecurLinx Brasil.
Based in São Paulo, it will have primary responsibility for marketing biometric identity management solutions for business and law enforcement across Brazil, but will also operate throughout Latin America.
This announcement is the culmination of a six month process of business development market research and regulatory filings required by the Brazilian Central Bank and Revenue Authorities. “The country’s dynamic economy, large population, and security needs have drawn our attention for quite some time. We are excited to be in a position to offer our solutions in the Brazilian market where high-quality, high-technology solutions like the ones we offer are eagerly adopted,” said SecurLinx CEO Barry Hodge. According to Hodge, this gives SecurLinx a foothold in one of the world’s fastest growing and most promising security markets. “We are currently in discussions with potential integration partners that we expect to further multiply our reach and accelerate our market penetration over the next six to twelve months.”
The full text of the press release and a pdf of it is available here.
I’ve been down here in São Paulo helping to get things moving with our new operation here, hence the lighter-than-usual blogging. We’re proud to share the news of our new Brazilian venture and excited for what the future holds.
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| São Paulo sidewalk |