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| March 20, 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
Pay By Touch Abruptly Shuts Down All Biometric Operations
(March 19, 2008) Bankrupt Solidus Networks Inc., which does business under the Pay By Touch name, is ending all of its fingerprint-based biometrics operations effective late Wednesday, the company announced Wednesday afternoon.
In a news release, the San Francisco-based firm said that at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time March 19, one second before midnight, “it will no longer process biometric transactions on behalf of its merchant customers and consumer membership base.”
The company released few details about the cause of the abrupt shutdown. According to a person close to the matter, however, the decision to put an end to Pay By Touch's once ambitious biometric plans reflects skepticism among the company's creditors about the near-term prospects for the technology. These creditors will likely take over the company's remaining core assets, which now include a loyalty and data-management unit, this source says.
Digital Transactions
Date: 2008-03-19 |
Understanding anonymity and the need for biometrics
Every time we leave our homes, we enter a world dominated by strangers and anonymity. Although facial or voice recognition may help us authenticate a few of those we encounter, what about the many people we don't know? In particular, how do we authenticate ourselves to each other when we need to know who we are dealing with?
Confusing privacy with anonymity has delayed implementation of robust, virtually tamper-proof biometric authentication to replace paper-based forms of ID that neither assure privacy nor reliably prove identity. The debate over Real ID and sensitivity to creation of any form of national ID reveal a fear that anything that identifies us to others will intrude on privacy. This has led to a preoccupation with forms of ID rather than the fundamental question of how we can reliably identify ourselves to each other. This is a crucial issue: We live in a society where we are often unknown to the people we encounter, including people who need to know exactly who they are dealing with.
The Industry Standard
Date: 2008-03-19 |
Another Hot New Technology Turns Cold
For every hot new technology that takes off, many don’t. And they’ll fail for any number of reasons other than the technology itself, as Pay By Touch’s demise reminds us.Pay By Touch, a privately held Silicon Valley startup, was going to revolutionize the way we buy things using biometric technology. Instead of swiping a credit card or using old-fashioned cash, we would pay for groceries by scanning our fingerprints. There are some benefits to the idea: It’s more secure because no one can duplicate your fingerprint; it’s private because you don’t have to present your credit card or a check; and it liberates people from the tyranny of wallets.
But it’s also futuristic, which is often frightening, and solves problems that not many people think of as problems. (If you don’t think that the general public is indifferent to data privacy and security, consider the indifference with which people greet news of data breaches and the eagerness with which they hand over personal data.) Making something like this stick always requires more than just a cool piece of tech.
The Walll Street Journal
Date: 2008-03-19 |
Firms' biometrics records 'can be hacked'
The growing use of biometrics to identify individuals is "insecure and in need of immediate attention," according to an IT systems company.Fujitsu Siemens said biometrics is increasingly being used in the business world to verify whether individuals really are who they say. By 2013, Fujitsu Siemens predicts biometric identity technology will be so widespread in the private sector that the number of people included would rival that of the proposed national ID schemes.
Within five years, 95 percent of the UK population will be identifiable through biometrics and other means.
But the tracking and monitoring of people could be a risk if security controls were not tightened up, the IT company said.
TechWorld
Date: 2008-03-19 |
bioMETRX Signs Deal to Expand Business Through Acquisition and Funding
JERICHO, N.Y., March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- bioMETRX, Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: BMRX) announced today that an agreement has been reached with Biometric Investors, LLC, that paves the way to expand the company's reach across vertical consumer and OEM markets.
Biometric Investors has agreed to convey assets to bioMETRX in connection with a comprehensive financing. Biometric Investors, LLC has an $8.5 million secured investment in Sequiam Biometrics. "We are taking the necessary steps to secure the assets in which we have a perfected security interest. We believe that these assets combined with the resources of bioMETRX and it's experienced management team, will have significant contributing value," commented Robert Hoyt, managing partner at Crestview Capital, the majority owner of Biometric Investors, LLC.
The Earth Times
Date: 2008-03-19 |
Show your ID
You're an individual; you're unique; and you have the fingerprints to prove it.
Since fingerprints were first used as a means of identification in 1892, they have become the golden standard for identification. Everyone — including monozygotic twins who have identical DNA — has their own unique set of prints.
But, as countless movies and episodes of 'CSI' have shown, fingerprints can be tampered with. Easily removed or unintentionally damaged through occupational hazards, fingerprints can also be easily duplicated.
As concerns with identity theft and security increase, we are turning to more sophisticated ways of proving our 'identity'.
Fingerprinting is one of the most basic forms of biometrics, which is a method of identifying humans based on one or more intrinsic physical or behavioural traits. The method works by comparing an input sample with a template...
Privaris and OSI Security Devices Partner to Offer Innovative Wireless Access Control Strategy
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA and CHULA VISTA, CA--(Marketwire - March 19, 2008) - Privaris, a leading provider of personal, wireless identity verification solutions, and OSI Security Devices, Inc., a leading provider of standalone and integrated smart reader locking hardware, today announced a partnership to provide organizations with an end-to-end wireless access control and identity verification solution. Disrupting the access control market, OSI™ Wireless Access Management Systems (WAMS) and Privaris' plusID have become interoperable to offer customers a secure, wireless biometric solution that can literally be implemented overnight at a fraction of the installation and maintenance costs of traditional access control solutions.
MarketWire
Date: 2008-03-19 |
Tactical Biometric Collection and Matching System and ImageWare's Biometric Engine Recognized by Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren for Technical Excellence and Superior Performance
SAN DIEGO - (Business Wire) ImageWare Systems, Inc. (AMEX:IW), a leading developer of identity management solutions, announced that the Navy’s Tactical Biometric Collection and Matching System (TBCMS) team recently received the Technology-to-Sea Excellence Award for technology excellence and superior performance. The TBCMS team utilized ImageWare’s award-winning IWS™ Biometric Engine® platform in the highly successful rapid development and field testing of a “first of its kind” capability for a mobile, multi-biometric identity management prototype solution. The award was given by the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Dahlgren.
As the prime contractor of the TBCMS project, ImageWare developed a mobile, multi-biometric identity management prototype solution based on its IWS Biometric Engine product and supporting devices that included multi-modal biometric capabilities (face, finger and iris) ruggedized for mission-critical objectives.
The Earth Times
Date: 2008-03-18 |
Stanford researchers developing 3-D camera with 12,616 lenses
Camera technology produces a "depth map" of the scene. The possible uses range from facial recognition to 'in vivo' biological imaging.The camera you own has one main lens and produces a flat, two-dimensional photograph, whether you hold it in your hand or view it on your computer screen. On the other hand, a camera with two lenses (or two cameras placed apart from each other) can take more interesting 3-D photos.
But what if your digital camera saw the world through thousands of tiny lenses, each a miniature camera unto itself" You’d get a 2-D photo, but you’d also get something potentially more valuable: an electronic “depth map” containing the distance from the camera to every object in the picture, a kind of super 3-D.
EureAlert
Date: 2008-03-20 |
So what's the easiest box to hack - Vista, Ubuntu or OS X?
Tired of all the knee-jerk banter from fanboys about whose operating system is the most secure? So are the organizers of the CanSecWest security conference, which will be held in Vancouver later this month. And with a contest awarding as much as $25,000 worth of prizes, they're likely to breathe fresh life into a stale debate.
This year's Pwn2Own competition will place three brand-new, fully patched laptops side by side: a Fujitsu U810 running Vista Ultimate, a Vaio VGN-TZ37Cn running Ubuntu 7.10 and a MacBook Air running Leopard. The first person to remotely run code on each one gets to take the machine home, and is automatically entered into the running for a $25,000 award from TippingPoint, whose Zero Day Initiative pays bounties to researchers for responsibly disclosing vulnerabilities.
The Register
Date: 2008-03-20 |
British police to use CCTV images to identify criminals
LONDON, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Police in Britain will use close-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to "recognize" criminals, Sky News reported Wednesday.
The newly unveiled Facial Images National Database project will feature photographs enhanced using "facial mapping" techniques, according to the report.
Combined with computerized facial recognition techniques, CCTV cameras could trigger an alert when a known criminal is spotted.
David McIntosh, chief executive of software group Omni Perception, said the move would be very beneficial to police work."These are very important early steps and they will eventually build a good database," he said, adding that the quality of the photographs was paramount to the success of such a project and that an increasing number of police stations were able to take good quality pictures.
Facial imaging is already being used to improve policing efficiency in some areas. The software will also allow the CCTV cameras to identify strange behavior, including that of terrorists or street robbers.
China View
Date: 2008-03-20 |
Deutsch
Bundesregierung will Iris-Scanner auch am Flughafen München einsetzen
Die Bundesregierung erwägt, das dreijährige Pilotprojekt zur "Automatisierten Biometriegestützten Grenzkontrolle" (ABG) am Flughafen Frankfurt/Main, das eigentlich Ende 2007 auslaufen sollte, in den Dauerbetrieb zu überführen, auszubauen und die Kontrollautomaten auch am Münchner Flughafen aufzustellen. Das geht aus einer Antwort der Bundesregierung (PDF-Datei) auf eine kleine Anfrage der FDP-Fraktion (PDF-Datei) hervor. Der Bundesrechnungshof überprüft das 1,5 Millionen Euro teure und von Datenschützern kritisierte Experiment.
Heise Online
Date: 2008-03-18 |
Nederlands
Biometrisch profiel scholieren handig voor scholen
Amerikaanse scholen zijn zeer te spreken over scholieren die met hun vingerafdruk betalen, omdat op deze manier verloren lunchpasjes of vergeten identificatienummers tot het verleden behoren. "Een scholier kan nooit zijn vinger vergeten," zegt Beverly Blough. Naast het betalen van de lunch worden biometrische kenmerken zoals gezichts- en stemkenmerken ook afgenomen om spijbelen tegen te gaan, boeken te lenen en de schoolarts te bezoeken. Het grootste voordeel dat betrokken partijen noemen is de toegenomen efficiëntie. Om zorgen over de privacy weg te nemen worden in het geval van de vingerafdrukken niet de afdrukken zelf opgeslagen, maar wordt er een "data punt" gecreëerd dat weer aan een nummer wordt gekoppeld. Ouders zijn minder positief en vooral bang voor identiteitsdiefstal. "Ik denk dat het tegen hun burgerrechten is en de privacy schendt," aldus een ouder die vorig jaar beleidsmakers vroeg om beperkingen voor het gebruik van de technologie op te stellen. En de kritische ouders lijken succes te boeken, want in sommige staten is biometrie op scholen verboden.
Security.nl
Date: 2008-03-19 |
Nedap lanceert nieuwste versie van AEOS
19-03-2008 - Nedap kondigt de lancering van AEOS 2.2 Enterprise Edition aan. De nieuwe functionaliteiten in AEOS 2.2 bieden security managers nog meer mogelijkheden om de toegangsrechten van mensen en voertuigen efficient te managen en te controleren.
De beslissing die we in 1999 gemaakt hebben om een compleet nieuw, volledig op IP en open IT standaarden gebaseerd security management systeem te ontwikkelen werpt nu zijn vruchten af zegt productmanager Joffry Maltha. Extra filters zijn toegevoegd in het beheermenu, zoals tijdschema en locker filters. Daarnaast kan er in AEOS 2.2. bij de foto's in het security management systeem een geldigheidsdatum opgegeven worden....
Beveiligingsnieuws
Date: 2008-03-19 |
Kamer: Mifare-chip vervangen door open beveiliging
Donderdag 20 maart 2008, 07:15 - De Tweede Kamer denkt aan toegangspassen met open versleuteling of biometrie als vervanging van de Mifare Classic-chip. Ook moet fabrikant NXP worden aangeklaagd.Dat bleek woensdagavond tijdens het spoedoverleg dat de Kamer voerde met Guusje ter Horst, minister van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties (BZK). Gesproken werd over de beleidsmatige, technische en juridische implicaties van het lek dat de Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen ontdekte in toegangspassen voor (overheids-)gebouwen.
NXP aanklagen
Diverse Kamerfracties, de SP voorop, wil dat de minister laat onderzoeken of de fabrikant van de chips, NXP, niet aansprakelijk is voor het leveren van een product dat niet voldoet. Volgens Ter Horst neemt NXP hiervoor echter geen verantwoordelijkheid, ook omdat de chip slechts onderdeel is van een hele beveiligingsketen.
Maar ze sloot niet uit dat de chipmaker een schadeclaim aan de broek krijgt. "Als de leveringsvoorwaarden daar enige ruimte toe laten, zullen we niet schromen daarvan gebruik te maken."
WebWereld
Date: 2008-03-20 |
Big Brother is watching hooligans
Gezichten en vingers van voetbalfans mogen niet gecontroleerd worden bij voetbalwedstrijden. De stem van hooligans wel. Dit concludeert Tjitse van den Bos (26) in zijn masterscriptie Nederlands Recht.
"Ik had eigenlijk nog geen flauw idee waarover ik mijn scriptie wilde schrijven. Toen ik hoorde over het onderwerp biometrie en privacy ben ik eens rond gaan neuzen. De KNVB bleek net drie pilots achter de rug te hebben waarin ze hebben geëxperimenteerd met biometrische controles bij voetbalwedstrijden. Ik was gelijk lyrisch, met dit onderwerp kon ik mijn passie, voetbal dus, met mijn scriptie combineren.
Het doel van deze pilots was dat mensen met een stadionverbod het stadion niet in zouden komen. Vrij ambitieus dus. Naast controles van vingerafdrukken bij de ingang en het identificeren van gezichten in stadions met camera's, is gekeken of dit bereikt kon worden met spraakherkenning bij een telefonische meldingsplicht.....
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