It seems that terrorism is going to get more and more difficult - in part thanks to new automated systems in development at the University of Buffalo.

These systems would use a wide range of biometric identifiers including facial, voice and gait in order to determine the likelihood that a given person is about to commit an act of terrorism.

“The goal is to identify the perpetrator in a security setting before he or she has the chance to carry out the attack,” said Venu Govindaraju, Ph.D., professor of computer science and engineering in the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Govindaraju is co-principal investigator on the project with Mark G. Frank, Ph.D., associate professor of communication in the UB College of Arts and Sciences.

The project, recently awarded an $800,000 grant by the National Science Foundation, will focus on developing in real-time an accurate baseline of indicators specific to an individual during extensive interrogations while also providing real-time clues during faster, routine security screenings.

“We are developing a prototype that examines a video in a number of different security settings, automatically producing a single, integrated score of malfeasance likelihood,” he said.

Source

Hitachi, Ltd. today announced that it will begin the sale of its compact and contact less Finger Vein biometric authentication device and SDK. Full-scale availability and sales begin July in Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania and others. Hitachi developed the product based on the original model designed for the Japanese market and sold in Japan since October 2006. PC users can now guard against illegitimate access or leakage of information on their computers by using the vein patterns in their finger as the key to manage their computer login process. The finger vein unit has achieved its small size, high accuracy rate and low cost by employing a single-chip LSI design with this device.In addition, an SDK is available to allow for development of custom applications or integration into existing application environments.

Following several years of research and development of the finger vein pattern recognition technology at the Hitachi, Ltd., Central Research Institute in 1997, the company received a substantial number of patents. Because of the unique and “non-traceable” nature of the biometric technology, counterfeiting is not possible. Given the progress of today’s ubiquitous information society, the need for practical and accurate biometric solutions is growing at a fast pace. Finger vein pattern recognition meets effectively these demanding requirements and allows for the efficient deployment of biometric authentication devices for a variety of applications. Hitachi has now commercialized the operating system and various applications including PC login devices and validation devices for ATMs for various fields in Japan. The validation device for ATMs is fast becoming a de facto standard, with about 80 percent of the financial institutions in Japan adopting finger vein biometrics as of the end of March in 2007 (Based upon our independent ATM market analysis within Banking sector).

As adoption levels of finger vein pattern recognition increase in Japan, the level of interest in the overseas market is also increasing. To date, Hitachi is seeing sales increases of the device in Southeast Asia, including Singapore. In addition, growth potential is expected in the United States and Europe, particularly for access control and related applications. Hitachi recently installed a system at the Shinkin Central Bank, New York branch.

Hitachi increasingly is focusing its businesses on creating solutions to answer various market trends aiming at the achievement of a safe, comfortable, ubiquitous information society, exemplified by making finger vein technology the de facto standard for high-security biometrics.

Biometric technologies company Cross Match Technologies Inc. expects to raise $114.2 million after expenses from its portion of an initial public offering totaling 11.8 million shares, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.In the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Cross Match said it expects the offering to price between $14 and $16 per share.

Cross Match will sell 8.3 million shares of the total offering. Smiths Group plc, a maker of airport x-ray machines, and former Cross Match Chairman Theodore Johnson will sell the remaining 3.5 million.

Cross Match plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “CROS.”
Source: Forbes

The Australian government is moving towards greater use of biometrics to prevent identity theft which costs A$1.1 billion (C$906 million) annually, the federal Attorney General Philip Ruddock said today.

Addressing the Biometrics Institute’s annual conference in Sydney, Ruddock said the Council of Australian Governments has agreed to investigate how biometric security measures could be adopted by all the state’s and territories.

This is part of the National Identity Security Strategy which aims to strengthen existing identity processes and to make sure procedures are consistent across the country.

It supports the establishment of a national A$28.3 million Document Verification Service announced in the recent federal budget. “We need to beat criminals at their own game and biometric identification can help us do this,” Ruddock said.

And while everyone has a right to privacy, Ruddock said, “There can be no greater invasion of a person’s privacy than the theft of their identity”. He said one challenge with biometric use is the lack of consistent standards.

Read more at InterGovWorld

Presently in its early growth stage, the North American electronic access control (EAC) market looks set for continued growth in the future. The possibility of multi-technology authentication greatly drives market growth, and with increased competition and reduced prices, this market will witness greater venture capital and equity interest. Moreover, with security concerns becoming top priority, the market is optimistic about a buoyant growth period and richer returns from the technological benefits of various segments.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (financialservices.frost.com), North American Electronic Access Control Markets – Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities reveals that revenues in this market totaled $1.32 billion in 2006, and estimates this to reach $4.19 billion in 2010.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants an overview of the latest analysis of the North American Electronic Access Control Markets – Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities, then send an email to Sara Villarruel - Corporate Communications at sara.villarruel[.]frost.com with the following information: your full name, company name, title, telephone number, email address, city, state, and country. We will send you the information via email upon receipt of the above information.

“The North American EAC market is increasingly driven by mandates and other standardization procedures undertaken across the different verticals,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Janani Sankaran. “Biometrics, in particular, is emerging as the fastest growing segment of the North American EAC market, benefiting tremendously from legislations such as the Aviation and Transport Security Act.”
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