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| March 11, 2008
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Dear readers,
The Biometrics Info provides you with the latest news on biometrics, smartcards and network security. We provide you with this free service 2 or 3 times a week depending on the news available.
We provide a RSS feed for daily use. During the week all the news will be available through the RSS feed with a weekly summary on friday through the Biometrics Info e-zine.
We carefully selected the newsarticles for this Biometrics Info and we hope you appreciate this edition.
Enjoy reading.
Reinier M. van der Drift
BioXS
English
TheTrainline selects First Ondemand technology to secure m-payments
UK ticket retailer TheTrainline has recruited First Ondemand to supply a security system for a new e-ticketing service which will allow travellers to purchase tickets by mobile phone and download them to a smart card.
The new Trainline Smart system, to be piloted later this year - will let customers buy train tickets by mobile phone or via the Internet before downloading them onto a smartcard either at home with a plug-in reader, or at stations. Users then validate tickets by tapping them against a reader at railway stations fitted with gates, or with a handheld version onboard the train.
The system is based on the government-defined ITSO smartcard standard. All new rail franchises are now required by government to adopt the smart card technology. The new standard will also eventually be used as an upgrade to the London Underground Oyster smart ticketing system.
TheTrainline says its system will start to be rolled out next year and it expects the service to account for up to 50% of rail ticket sales by 2012.
NXP Introduces New Security and Performance Benchmark With MIFARE Plus
NXP Semiconductors, the independent company founded by Philips, today announced MIFARE Plus, a revolutionary contactless smart card IC that offers breakthrough security and performance for the cost-sensitive automated fare collection (AFC) and access control markets. MIFARE Plus is the latest addition to NXP's MIFARE portfolio, features multiple levels of security, including Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption, and an easy migration path from existing MIFARE Classic implementations. NXP's MIFARE family of chips is the leading technology in the market for contactless smart card ICs and is used in major national and regional transport networks worldwide.
"For both transport operators and passengers, MIFARE Plus offers unprecedented levels of security, privacy, compatibility and performance for entry-level smart cards, and is ideal for ticketing systems," said Henri Ardevol, general manager, automatic fare collection, NXP Semiconductors. "The IC has been designed from the ground up to address the security and privacy needs of the 21st century and thus complements well our current MIFARE portfolio.
Ontario Privacy Commissioner hails major advancement in a privacy-enhancing technology for voice biometrics
TORONTO, March 10 /CNW/ - Today, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, in conjunction with PerSay (Israel, www.persay.com) and Philips priv-ID (Netherlands, www.priv-id.com), is announcing a major advancement
forward in developing a privacy-enhancing technology for biometrics - the successful combination of Biometric Encryption (BE) with voice biometrics. Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, first became aware of Philips' work in biometric encryption in 2006 when she learned
of their priv-ID biometric encryption system. Shortly after the release of her paper, Biometric Encryption: A Positive-Sum Technology that Achieves Strong Authentication, Security AND Privacy, she was contacted by Bell Canada regarding PerSay's work in voice biometrics.
CNW Group
Date: 2008-03-10 |
Drive time for facial recognition
Biometric technology catches on with DMVs, but privacy concerns slow broader reach
After a driver sits for a photo at the Illinois Secretary of State office to renew a license, officials use facial-recognition technology to give the resulting image a close look.
First, state officials verify that the face matches the images portrayed on previous licenses issued under the driver’s name. The second, more extensive run-through determines if the same face appears on other Illinois driver’s licenses with different names. Since starting the program in 1999, the state has uncovered more than 5,000 cases of multiple identity fraud, said Beth Langen, policy and program division administrator at the Illinois Secretary of State office. The state pays Digimarc Corp. about 25 cents per license for the service, she said. “We are very pleased. It is a fraud for which we have no other tool” to combat, Langen said.
About 40 percent of the nation’s drivers are set to undergo such facial-recognition database checks when they renew their licenses in 20 states. It is just one sign that after years of ups and downs, facial-recognition technology in government agencies is gaining momentum on several fronts.
Washington Technology
Date: 2008-03-10 |
Gardens company poised to profit from tighter security
PALM BEACH GARDENS — If you're a foreign visitor coming through one of the nation's 10 busiest airports these days, you have to spread each digit of both hands on an optical scanner.
Then the government takes a picture of your fingerprints.
It may sound simple, but it's actually sophisticated technology. The US-VISIT program last month completed installing 10-finger biometric scanners to identify terrorists and, over time, to keep track of who comes in and out of the country. Through US-VISIT, the Department of Homeland Security for the past five years has been tightening the nation's porous borders by installing a computerized entry-and-exit system to collect fingerprints and photographs and run background checks.
For Cross Match Technologies, a biometric-device manufacturer in Palm Beach Gardens, US-VISIT - which stands for United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology system - could mean millions in new business.
PalmBeachPost
Date: 2008-03-10 |
Math + communication = success
A conversation with Barbara Humpton, Lockheed Martin Corp.’s project manager of the FBI’s $1 billion Next Generation Identification biometric system
Barbara Humpton comes from a family of mathematical whizzes, but her skills as a communicator play an equally important role in her success. She is now Lockheed Martin Corp.’s project manager of the FBI’s $1 billion Next Generation Identification biometric system.
The project will upgrade the agency’s fingerprint identification system, let the FBI collect photographs and palm prints, and more easily share data. Humpton spoke with Washington Technology reporter Alice Lipowicz about the challenges of government contracting.
Q: How did you get interested in government information technology work?......
Washington Technology
Date: 2008-03-10 |
Sagem Morpho Delivers First Rapid Remote Fingerprint ID System in U.S. to Florida's Department of Law Enforcement
Sagem Morpho, a leading developer of biometric solutions, today announced that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is the first public safety organization in the United States to deploy a statewide fingerprint identification system dedicated to remote rapid identification.
The Sagem Morpho Rapid ID system enables Florida public safety officers in the field or other remote locations to positively identify sex offenders, probationers, and individuals with Florida criminal records in less than 15 seconds.
Lumidigm Completes Work for Local Law Enforcement
Lumidigm Inc., the multispectral imaging biometrics company, recently delivered a report consisting of biometric performance study results from the testing of Lumidigm Venus fingerprint sensors to the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department in New Mexico. This report was commissioned by the Sheriff's Department as part of its exploration of the use of biometrically-enabled technologies for drunk driving interdiction. The Sheriff's Department received a Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) technology grant to commission the Lumidigm report.
Lumidigm uses unique and patented multispectral analysis to produce biometric fingerprint images. Biometric data collection is not the only possible use of multispectral technology. Lumidigm sensors can potentially be configured to collect additional information, such as the presence of alcohol. "The potential implications for law enforcement personnel as it relates to DWI enforcement is very encouraging," said Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White.
Who guards the guards: Security
Who predicted the death of the password -- and spam? Why is PKI not ubiquitous? Who makes these daft predictions anyway? ZDNet.com.au looks at how the security market was supposed to shape up, according to so-called "experts".
There's always something dangerous about being in the prognostication business, but the Internet poses special challenges for those looking into the future. With global reach and permanent memory, it's hard to escape what may have seemed like a reasonable, albeit optimistic, forecast at the time.
Bill Gates has most notoriously copped the pain of Internet-assisted reminiscing, after his 2004 edict that Microsoft would free the world of spam by 2006. That statement, made during a speech to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, was an uncharacteristically confident -- even for him -- vote of confidence in the software giant's ability to control something that was seemingly far beyond its control.
Coast Guard tests fingerprinting at borders
WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard is using a new weapon to fight illegal immigration: electronic fingerprinting.
A test program in which Coast Guard sailors take digital fingerprints from people picked up on boats headed to Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic has led to more than 100 prosecutions in the past year. The fingerprints are e-mailed to the U.S. mainland by satellite and are checked against a government database that shows deportation orders and criminal records. Those prosecuted were charged with attempted illegal entry into the USA, Coast Guard data show. The Coast Guard says the prosecutions are deterring other potential illegal migrants, who in the past were not identified and typically rode back to the Dominican Republic on Coast Guard boats.
USA Today
Date: 2008-03-11 |
Florida Adopts GE Security Solution to Launch Transportation Worker Credentialing System for Seaports State Wide
BRADENTON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE Security, Inc., a business of GE Enterprise Solutions (NYSE:GE - News), today announced the state of Florida has successfully deployed GE’s Identity Commander™ solution to all 12 deepwater seaports and its Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Tallahassee headquarters as the basis for an operational transit worker identity card system.Identity Commander, an integrated identity and credential-management security platform, supports the production of a worker identification credential based on the federal-government-approved PIV II specifications. GE’s solution delivers biometrically enabled enrollment, credential personalization and issuance capabilities. In tandem with biometric identity management from ImageWare Systems, Inc. (AMEX:IW - News), it is biometrically based in order to be compliant with anticipated federal credentialing programs. The statewide solution employs fixed and mobile card readers that have proven to be a challenge elsewhere.
EDS Wins 5-Year, $179Mn IT Contract from US
EDS, a US-based IT service provider, has won a five-year, USD 179-million IT support services contract from Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC). The contract has a base period of one year with four extension options of one year each. Services offered by EDS will allow DMDC to continue expanding its role within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The contract entails EDS to support DMDC with modern technologies, systems, and application software, ensuring the security and integrity of DMDC systems. The company will use technology of its Agility Alliance team members—Sun Microsystems and Oracle—along with ActivIdentity’s identity assurance solutions and Booz Allen Hamilton’s personnel systems expertise.
Emerging Markets Now
Date: 2008-03-11 |
South Africans will need ID cards
Britain is no longer sleepwalking into a surveillance state - the age of George Orwell’s Big Brother is already upon us, or so government critics would have us believe.
Innocently walking down a street in London will mean a person’s face is picked up by one or several of the UK’s 4.2 million CCTV cameras. It is estimated that, on a normal day, someone’s image will be captured more than 300 times. Then, there are all the speed cameras on the roads, the proposed expansion of the DNA database, and the planned introduction of biometric ID cards.
We’re going to have identity cards so we’re told. The final vestige of freedom and democracy is to be eliminated and now Big Brother will have no problems keeping an eye on us. By the end of this year, South Africans living or moving to Britain will be required to get a British ID card.
The South African
Date: 2008-03-11 |
Club Sentry Selects SecuGen(R) Hamster(TM) Fingerprint Readers for Use with Biometric Check-in Software
SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 10 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- SecuGen is pleased to announce that Club Sentry, Inc. has chosen SecuGen's Hamster fingerprint readers for integration with Club Sentry's club management software. The Hamster readers will be used to scan fingerprints of members when they check-in and check-out through Club Sentry's Biometric ID software module.The Biometric ID module interfaces with the Hamster fingerprint reader and Club Sentry's Base Module that provides basic functionality any membership organization would need to track members, residents and employees. Check-in, Member tracking, custom membership creation, e-mail or postal delivery mail-merge letters, employee tracking, security and a wide variety of reports make up the Club Sentry Base Module. Advanced modules include Billing, POS, Credit Card processing, Photo ID, ID Card Printing, extra Workstations and Dual Screen Check-in, as well as the Fingerprint module.
Send2Press
Date: 2008-03-10 |
Deutsch
Biometrie und Verschlüsselung: Notebook gegen Datenklau sichern
Es ist äußerst ärgerlich, wenn das Notebook verschwindet - gestohlen am Flughafen, in der Bahn liegengelassen. Oft werden dann die Daten vom Besitzer noch höher bewertet als der Rechner selbst. Daher heißt es, sie für Unbefugte unzugänglich zu machen. Bei Windows XP und Vista erledigt das Encrypted File System (EFS) die Verschlüsselung - aber nur von einzelnen Dateien und Ordnern. Für Hacker ist das eine überwindbare Hürde. Bei Apples Betriebssystem Mac OS schützt das Programm FileVault lediglich jeweils die Verzeichnisse einzelner Benutzer. Die Vista-Versionen Ultimate und Enterprise warten mit Bitlocker auf. Es verschlüsselt das Laufwerk, auf dem das Betriebssystem installiert ist. Daten und Ordner auf anderen Partitionen können nur mit EFS geschützt werden. Allerdings liegt die Datei mit den "Schlüsseln" für EFS auf dem von Bitlocker geschützten Laufwerk.
TecChannel
Date: 2008-03-10 |
Nederlands
Tweaker kraakt eenvoudig beveiliging Padlock-stick
De beveiliging van Corsairs Padlock-stick blijkt op eenvoudige wijze te kraken. Een tweaker heeft door het solderen van een weerstand de pincodebeveiliging van de usb-stick weten te omzeilen.
Gegevens op een Padlock usb-stick zijn volgens de fabrikant alleen toegankelijk door de juiste pincode in te voeren. Tweaker '_ferry_' kreeg van een Padlock-stick in handen en dacht daarbij meteen aan de beveiligde usb-sticks, die eerder al onder onze handen sneuvelden. Als rasechte tweaker besloot hij zelf de handen uit de mouwen te steken.
Het openmaken van de stick resulteerde in een afgebroken component van de pcb, maar daardoor liet _ferry_ zich niet ontmoedigen. Met wat soldeerwerk was het euvel snel hersteld en een paar metingen later bleek de stick bij het invoeren van de juiste code een van de verbindingspennen tussen de twee pcb's te activeren. Door deze verbinding handmatig actief te maken met behulp van een weerstand en een batterij, slaagde _ferry_ er in om de gegevens op de stick te achterhalen zonder eerst een beveiligingscode te moeten invoeren.
Tweakers.net
Date: 2008-03-10 |
Analisten voorspellen terugloop ICT-uitgaven
Maandag 10 maart 2008, 12:31 uur - Verschillende analisten hebben deze week hun voorspellingen gedaan voor de ontwikkelingen in de ICT-branche. Al met al is het een lijst geworden met meer dan 600 voorspellingen op het gebied van trends, verwachtingen en schattingen.
De inhoud varieert van nieuwe gadgets tot ontwikkelingen in markt. De verslechterde economische situatie en de samensmelting van nieuwe media spelen een belangrijke rol in de ontwikkelingen. Verschillende rapporten verwachten een afname van bedrijfsmatige IT-uitgaven. Amy Cravens van Compass Intelligence verwacht dat de verminderde economische groei ook zorgt voor een afname van de groei in de IT-sector. Was deze in 2007 nog 5,3%, in 2008 wordt deze geschat op 3,9%.
Cravens zag in het verleden al dat IT-uitgaven erg gevoelig zijn voor economische schommelingen: "ICT-budgets zijn kwetsbaar," zegt de Compass analiste. "Zodra een bedrijf moet bezuinigen, zijn de ICT-uitgaven vaak als eerst aan de beurt. Gewoon omdat het makkelijk is." De verwachting is wel dat de groeivermindering niet hard doorzet. In 2009 zou de groei terug moeten zijn op 4,8%.
InfoWorld
Date: 2008-03-10 |
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