The introduction of biometric systems at airports provided some of the week’s most popular articles on Biometric updatealong with multimodal biometric systems for government programs. Idemia is involved in two airport projects, one currently going through a contract dispute and another revolutionizing immigration processing, and Goode Intelligence foresees massive growth in digital traveler identities. Idemia has also won a U.S. government contract, and the American Army’s new biometric data capture capability is nearing production launch. A new patent application to protect biometric templates from Mastercard and China’s new national digital ID also made headlines this week.
Top biometrics news of the week
Idemia is currently installing a biometric automated border control system at the first of several South African airports. Although the system is due to go live in November, it has been accused of causing delays at airports. It is unlikely to be a coincidence that a former project partner is challenging the system in court.
Singapore is currently implementing passport-free immigration at Changi Airport using Idemia’s iris and facial biometrics. The system is now available to Singapore residents and will process all arrivals in September before being rolled out at other land, sea and air border crossings.
Digital identity is booming in the travel industry and can serve as a model for other industries on how to make the customer experience seamless, according to the latest report from Goode Intelligence. The report predicts that digital identity in travel will generate revenue of $4.6 billion by 2029, representing a compound annual growth of 22 percent during the forecast period.
Idemia I&S will provide the US IRS with hardware and software for a multi-biometric identification system under an exclusive supply agreement to be used in the investigation of tax evaders. IRS criminal investigators are expected to use MBIS Cloud to analyze fingerprints, latent fingerprints, palmprints, latent palmprints and facial biometrics.
The U.S. Army has taken a step toward the launch of its Next Generation Biometric Collection Capability in 2025 with the successful completion of field tests. The $28.3 million NXGBCC system adds voice modality and represents a shift from the legacy BAT-A to a software-based capability.
UPSTO has published a patent application from Mastercard for a biometric template enrollment approach that could increase the integrity of remote self-enrollment. The application describes the use of multiple scans to ensure that different individuals cannot include their biometric data in the same template for future authentications.
The Chinese government has begun testing its national digital ID, days after announcing its intention. The system is designed to protect citizens’ privacy, but has raised fears of pervasive online tracking and increased social control. The beta test includes the acceptance of the digital ID by 81 apps, including 10 for public services.
British police say they will use retrospective facial recognition to catch those responsible for violence and property damage during anti-immigration riots. Some of the rioters decided to help them by filming their attack on a van using facial recognition and then posting the footage online. Meanwhile, uncertainty continues to loom over the regulatory landscape after the Commissioner for Biometrics and Surveillance resigned.
According to the World Economic Forum, the ASEAN region’s digital economy could reach $2 trillion by 2030. Indonesia’s president says digital payments in the country will reach $760 million by then, while new projects, adoption, capacity and enforcement policies in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines reflect regional ambitions.
Lawmakers in New York and Virginia have questioned Socure’s compliance with data privacy laws and complained about its practices. The company responded to all objections, pointing out that it is fully compliant with the law and that one objection indicates a lack of understanding, the other concerns that residents of other states do not appear to have.
The combination of active and passive identity authentication is a practical requirement in the age of deepfakes, where nothing is trusted, writes Patrick Harding, Chief Architect at Ping Identity, in a Biometric update Guest post. The AI capabilities that fuel deepfake identity fraud can also be used against it, as another part of the multi-faceted approach the problem requires.
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Article topics
biometric authentication | biometric identification | biometrics | digital ID | digital identity | facial biometrics | week in review
