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| March 02, 2006
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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
10-for-your-Bio
In today's episode of the “10 for your Bio” we welcome Leon Kuunders from Trusted-ID.
We asked Leon the 10 questions. Click to read the interview and see what Leon has to say about biometrics and the biometric industry.
English
Face Recognition Feature Readied For Vodafone Handsets In Japan
By W. David Gardner, TechWeb News
A face recognition technology with a one second validation feature from Oki Electric will be offered on a Vodafone Group handset in Japan this April, according to an announcement Tuesday by Oki.
The Face Sensing Engine (FSE) is designed to utilize a 3.2-megapixel camera with 2X optical zoom to authenticate a user's facial features and eliminate the need for password entry or fingerprint verification. The FSE technology will be embedded in the Vodafone 904SH handset, which is manufactured by Sharp.
"An owner's face can be instantly verified," said Masao Miyashita, president of Oki's Network Systems Company, in a statement. "Going forward, we will provide such solutions to the embedded market for entertainment devices as well as to the mobile phone market."
Software to make your media center 'listen'
No one to talk to when you get home from work? One Voice Technologies has a technological solution.
Its One Voice software add-on for Windows XP Media Center is designed to allow users to control their TV, stereo and computer via verbal commands. The One Voice slogan is "Just say it to play it." The purpose of the product is ease of use, and the underlying technology is voice recognition.
"If you have 900 music albums, you have to see the screen, scroll through menus and selections, or type in the artist's name to find what you want. With the voice control, you can simply say 'Play John Mayer,' and it scans through your collection, makes a match and plays it," said Adam Fitch, sales and marketing manager for One Voice.
Renesas Teams with Smart Card Provider on Embedded Security
For use in its security IC used in embedded security applications, Tokyo-based semiconductor giant Renesas Technology Corp. said today it has licensed the high-security Java Card operating system from Munich, Germany-based Giesecke & Devrient GmbH (G&D).
G&D provides smart card based solutions for telecommunications, electronic payment, health care, ID, transportation, and Internet security applications.
Security ICs are specifically designed microcontrollers based on high security smart card chip technology.
Reed-Electronics
Date: 2006-03-01 |
Software Review: The Revolution Arrives
The concept of the "paperless office" has been around for nearly three decades, long enough for it to have become an almost meaningless piece of jargon- the revolution that never happened. Yet in 2006, the ability to electronically store and retrieve data is finally living up to its name, and is driving a revolution in document management that is central to the operation of nearly every size of business.
Three factors have driven the emergence of stronger, more flexible electronic document management systems since the turn of the century:
* The cost of data storage has dropped significantly, and is forecast to continue to drop in the decade to come. This means that both internal and external data storage becomes more feasible.
* The turbulence of the new millennium, from hackers and terrorist attacks to flood and fire, has driven home the necessity of data retention, secure off-site storage, and limited-access procedures.
* Government regulation and oversight requirements are demanding more robust audit trails, access controls, and workflow solutions even in small to midsized enterprises.
Editorial | The Ports and Security
The U.S. seaport security system, to borrow a phrase from the 9/11 commission's report, is blinking red.
The warning signs about gaps in security are multiplying. It was bad enough that Congress and high-level Bush administration officials were out of the loop about the proposed deal that would put operation of six major U.S. seaports under the control of a firm from the United Arab Emirates.
Despite the jingoistic clamor over the deal, the nationality of port operators is a secondary concern to others that are being raised now thanks to the flap. Most troubling are the security breakdowns attributable to good old-fashioned bureaucratic bungling here at home.
Philadelphia Inquirer
Date: 2006-02-28 |
Fujitsu Siemens Computers launches LIFEBOOK Q2010
Fujitsu Siemens Computers, a European IT provider, launched on Tuesday (28 February) its new LIFEBOOK Q2010 laptop at the Geneva Motor Show, Switzerland.
According to the company, the LIFEBOOK Q2010 weighs 1kg and is 20mm thin, and its design features titanium joints, magnesium housing and a black piano lacquer finish. The LIFEBOOK Q2010 reportedly features: 12.1in WXGA-TFT display; embedded UMTS; VoIP-ready integrated array microphones; Intel Centrino mobile technology; six-cell battery enabling up to 8 hours of operation; port replicator with integrated dual-layer multi-format DVD burner; integrated fingerprint sensor, SmartCase Logon+ software and TPM Modul 1.2
IWS™ Biometric Engine™ Mobile Acquisition Identity Management Solution Receives FBI Certification
San Diego, CA – ImageWare Systems, Inc. (AMEX: IW), a leading developer and provider of identity management solutions, today announced that the Company’s IWS™ Biometric Engine™ Mobile Acquisition Identity Management solution has received certification from the FBI, providing integrated ten-print based fingerprint management for civil and law enforcement use.
With this certification, government, law enforcement and public safety organizations now have the ability to deploy field-proven biometric identity management capabilities from remote locations that meets the FBI’s highest level of Image Quality Specifications (IQS) for submittal to its Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). The certification was obtained using the Cross Match Lite-Ue fingerprint/palmprint livescan device.
Precise Biometrics launches open source initiative for cost-effective replacement of passwords with fingerprints
Precise Biometrics AB (publ), which develops and sells world-leading and user-friendly biometric security solutions based on fingerprints and smart cards, is now launching Microsoft Windows XP® login as an open source code with support for Precise Match-on-Card(TM). On the web site launched today, www.matchoncard.com, the company gives users the opportunity to download the source code at no charge. The company is also introducing the product Precise 100 XS - the most cost-effective biometric fingerprint reader on the market.
Precise Biometrics
Date: 2006-03-02 |
Feds may soon check all workers' IDs
WASHINGTON — Congress is headed toward approving a plan that would require employers to check every worker's Social Security number or immigration work permit against a new federal computer database.
Critics see the move — aimed at stemming illegal immigration — as the beginning of a government information stockpile that could be used to track U.S. residents.
"We're getting closer and closer to a national ID card," says Tim Sparapani, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.
USA Today
Date: 2006-03-02 |
Biometrics: The Keyboard Has a Good Memory
Biometrics: The Keyboard Has a Good Memory
San Antonio city employees CU has deployed a password management product that remembers user keystroke patterns for less user invasive authentication.By John Adams
Steve Schipull admits to being at least a little skeptical when he first saw the biometric password product that would eventually become part of his firm's employee authentication arsenal.
"It was like, 'Okay, you just type on your keyboard and you get in,'" says the evp of finance and technology for the San Antonio City Employees FCU. Schipull was referring to Biopassword, a product that provides a password and user authentication by remembering the finger-typing pattern of a specific user. The user types in his password, and his typing pattern serves as a second level of authentication.
Bank Technology News
Date: 2006-03-01 |
ImageWare Systems Align with HP for Multi-Biometric Authentication and Identity Management Solutions
YONKERS, N.Y., Mar 02, 2006 (ASCRIBE NEWS via COMTEX) -- ImageWare Systems, a developer and provider of identity management solutions, announced that its multi-biometric identity management software will be available on HP technology platforms. The alliance will enable public and private sector customers worldwide to easily deploy comprehensive and scalable identity management solutions. "ImageWare is very pleased to form this relationship with HP," said Jim Miller, chairman and CEO, ImageWare ystems. "In addition to the benefits of working closely with HP, it also confirms what our customers already know, that ImageWare delivers reliable and proven identity management solutions for a diverse range of applications."
American Stock Exchange
Date: 2006-03-02 |
New biometric passports in Slovenia
Slovenia is joining the list of Visa Waiver Program countries whose citizens will be able to acquire new biometric passports before October 2006, as required by the United States. Currently there are 27 countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program, including Slovenia, whose citizens
can enter the territory of the United States without Visa.
The selection process of the manufacturer of Slovenian biometric passports is best described as chaotic. The two manufacturers of the current
non-biometric passports, Cetis and Mirage Holography Studio, immediately revealed their aspirations to produce a new passport when the government cancelled a contract for non-biometric passports in February 2005. They confirmed the existence of prototypes of biometric passports before the government even issued the first tender in March.
A Closer Look: Biometric Security in the Workplace
Jon Dunn reporting
Your eyes, fingers, face, even your veins. They all tell a lot about you as a person. Soon you may need all of them just to get around.
Almost everyone has a card key for work these days. Here at KSL the security is pretty tight. Without the card, you're not really going anywhere.
But take X-Mission Internet. Behind these doors rest giant Internet servers, full of sensitive information. So to get in here, you're gonna need your finger.
Grant Sperry, X-MIssion "It is a much better system than handing out key cards. People can lose key cards. They can be handed to people that aren't verifiable. You can not tie a key card to an individual."
Biometric cards for vehicle owners
KUALA LUMPUR: Biometric cards with the owners' thumbprint will replace paper-based vehicle registration cards by the end of the year. This is to stop the increasing number of car thefts and forgeries. Once implemented, owners will get the chip-based biometric cards when they renew their road tax. The biometric card, the size of a credit card, will carry details and the thumbprints of the owners aside from information on the vehicle. The personal details will be linked to the National Registration Department to counter fraud. There are some 15 million vehicles registered in the country. The General Insurance Association of Malaysia reported that an average of 2.3 vehicles were stolen every hour in 2000. By 2004, car thefts had increased tenfold resulting in losses of more than RM750mil.
The Star Online
Date: 2006-02-28 |
US Biometrics Corporation is Awarded Contract with United States Federal Government through General Services Administration (GSA) as an Authorized Federal Supplier.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. --(Business Wire)-- March 1, 2006 -- US Biometrics has been awarded a supply contract through the General Services Administration to provide key fingerprint biometric products to the various departments in the United States Federal Government and any other entity that purchases off the GSA contract.
The products being supplied have been proven to be very unique and successful in the commercial marketplace, and now will be available to all government entities with access to the GSA contracts. Examples of products contracted for include:
-- AccessQ(TM) - Biometric access control for physical entrances. This device's rugged steel construction, two-factor authentication capabilities, indoor/outdoor features, and Numerical Access Control availability (NAC) make it a standout in the marketplace.
BIO-key Announces the Availability of its IdentityMatch(TM) Fingerprint Identification Solution
WALL, N.J., March 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BIO-key International, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BKYI - News), a leader in finger-based biometric identification and wireless public safety solutions, announces the general availability of its new IdentityMatch(TM) automated fingerprint identification system. IdentityMatch provides law enforcement with the capability to store and search fingerprints and associated demographic data in a local or regional database where it can be used in a variety of ways, including: IdentityMatch allows law enforcement personnel to capture fingerprints in the field and using BIO-key's patented Vector Segment Technology®, then analyzes and categorizes fingerprints the same way a fingerprint expert would -- only faster. IdentityMatch also enables multiple law enforcement agencies to regionally share fingerprint data with other agencies.
Saflink SureAccess Reader Can Improve Security at Seaports, Airports and Other Critical Facilities
BELLEVUE, Wash., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Saflink® Corporation (Nasdaq: SFLK - News), a leading provider of solutions that verify identity, secure access and increase productivity, today announced Saflink SureAccess (TM), an all-weather, smart card, biometric reader that reduces the threat of unauthorized access to critical facilities. With dynamic threat protection, the reader allows Saflink customers to immediately strengthen access assurance requirements with multifactor authentication in response to changing threat levels.
Viisage has $56M added to State Dept. contract
The U.S. State Department added $56 million to a Viisage Technology Inc. contract -- making it $121 million total -- even as the firm reportedly eyes bidding for a massive British identification-card contract under consideration.
Viisage (Nasdaq: VISG) sells systems used to issue tamper-proof documents such as passports and driver licenses. The State Department contract was originally awarded to Trans Digital Technologies, a Virginia firm Viisage acquired in 2004 for $50 million.
Last month, Billerica, Mass.-based Viisage spent $28 million to acquire Martinez, Calif. iris-scanner maker SecuriMetrics, and the company expects to complete by July a merger with Identix Inc., a Minnesota maker of fingerprint scanners. The combined company will be based in Stamford, Conn.
BizzJournal
Date: 2006-03-02 |
Call for Papers for ISSE Conference this October
A call for papers on topics including Identity Management and Biometrics has been issued for the (ISSE) Information Security Solutions Europe conference in Italy this 10-12 October 2006. Short abstracts of one page can be submitted by 4 March 2006. TeleTrusT (the Association for the Promotion of Trustworthiness of IT-Systems), ENISA (the European Network and Information Security Agency) and eema (the Independent European Association for e-Business) are organising the Conference in Rome. The event will be hosted by ISCOM, the Institute for Communications and Information Technologies in Italy.
ISSE is the only independent, European focused conference for the presentation and discussion of technical, commercial, organisational, legal and political concepts for information security as well as privacy and data protection. The focus of ISSE is on security as a part of business processes and electronic transactions.
The event will examine one of the biggest challenges in managing security in applications; issues such as return on investment, total cost of ownership, risk management as well as interoperability are of great importance.
AuthenTec CEO to Present Company Overview and Showcase Advances in Biometric Fingerprint Sensors At USBX Security Growth Conference March 7-8
SANTA MONICA, Calif. & MELBOURNE, Fla. --(Business Wire)-- March 2, 2006 -- AuthenTec CEO Scott Moody will present a company overview and showcase recent advances in biometric fingerprint sensor technology and applications at the USBX Security Growth Conference in Santa Monica, California March 7-8. The invitation only conference will be held at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel.
AuthenTec, the world leader in fingerprint sensor security, innovation and sales for more than five years, recently introduced the EntrePad 1610 - the world's smallest and most secure fingerprint sensor for PCs -- and announced a host of new customers using the company's sensors. The company is the number one supplier to the PC, wireless and access control markets, with sensors in more than 7 million devices worldwide
ID Management Gets Set For Prime Time
If there's one software application that any organization must have today, it's identity management. Not long ago, comprehensive ID management was not honed enough to enter the market.
Now it is. Several established security vendors have rolled out some form of ID management, and others are taking steps to acquire the technology. Take Bedford, Mass.-based RSA Security, which in the past few months purchased authentication services provider Cyota in an effort to bolster its financial-services expertise. Hewlett-Packard announced plans to buy Trustgenix, which makes software that allows users to authenticate their identities to access accounts on multiple sites.
Compliance Pipeline
Date: 2006-03-02 |
EBF and BioSecure announce major partnership agreement
The European Biometrics Forum (EBF) is delighted to announce its partnership with BioSecure, the Biometrics for Secure Authentication Network of Excellence. BioSecure is a project of the 6th Framework Programme of the European Commission and integrates many of Europe’s key researchers in biometrics.
This partnership will allow BioSecure access to EBF members and their network including manufacturers, service providers, end-users, administrations and policy makers. The EBF will use its communications facilities to widely disseminate and promote BioSecure activities including events, news and results. In return, BioSecure will support EBF events by providing dedicated sessions focusing on issues linked to technical challenges in biometrics.
Francais
Identifier une personne par les veines de sa paume
Le lecteur d'empreintes digitales est le contrôle biométrique actuellement en pointe dans les aéroports européens. Mais le Japon va déjà plus loin. Le groupe nippon Fujitsu a lancé un boîtier, appelé PalmSecure, qui identifie une personne par les veines de la paume de sa main. Deux banques testent depuis plus d'un an cette technologie pour les retraits d'argent : l'usager n'a qu'à placer sa main à quelques centimètres de l'appareil. Sa paume est alors illuminée par une lumière infrarouge, l'hémoglobine des veines palmaires absorbe ces rayons, réduisant leur réflexion. En quelques secondes, la photographie numérique ainsi obtenue peut être comparée aux données archivées dans le fichier de la banque.
Nederlands
Vodafone toont telefoon met VGA en gezichtsherkenning
Vodafone KK, de Japanse afdeling van Vodafone Group, heeft vandaag een nieuwe telefoon onthuld met functies zoals een VGA-scherm van 480x640 pixels en een beveiligingsysteem dat de gebruiker authenticeert op basis van het gezicht. De beveiligingsmodule, die als vervanging moet dienen voor de pincode- en vingerafdrukbeveiligingen die in de huidige toestellen toegepast worden, maakt gebruik van een kleine camera die direct onder het hoofdscherm zit. Hij kan binnen een seconde het opgenomen beeld vergelijken met de opgeslagen gegevens en bepalen of het hier daadwerkelijk gaat om de rechtmatige eigenaar. Mocht dit falen, bijvoorbeeld doordat de ruimte onvoldoende belicht is, kan alsnog toegang worden verkregen door het juiste antwoord te geven op een controlevraag.
’Marokkaan uit de disco weren moet kunnen’
Het weren van groepen Marokkanen of Antillianen bij de discodeur moet mogen. Identificatie bij de portier zou moeten gebeuren met een irisscan of vingerafdruk. Het allure van het ’eerste grote studentendebat’ van studentenvereniging Laurentius en D66 mag wat mager zijn geweest. De discussie was hard en met name LPF’er Joost Eerdmans, tevens kandidaat voor Leefbaar Rotterdam, deed een paar pittige uitspraken.
Ruim zestig studentikoze types en politici trotseerden gisteravond de hardnekkige putlucht van sociëteit ’Huesca’ aan de Kralingse Infirmeriestraat. Wereldkampioen debatteren Lars Duursma was speciaal uitgenodigd voor de verbale begeleiding van lokale en landelijke kopstukken. Ruim een half uur te laat schoven naast Eerdmans ook Tweede-Kamerleden Boris van der Ham (D66) en Anton van Schijndel (VVD) aan tafel voor de eerste ronde. Thema: uitgaan en veiligheid.
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