Canadian faces to be precise. Just recently announced by the Canadian passport office are plans to start building a computerized database storing the faces of every Canadian. The system will scan the faces of those crossing Canadian borders while checking if they match the faces of those on a ‘wanted’ list.
A regional trial will be conducted in spring 2007 with the aim of making the tool available to passport offices across the country by fall 2007.
SafeNet, Inc., setting the standard for information security, today announced its Hardware Security Modules (HSM), have been selected by government immigration departments in fourteen countries including Australia, Finland, France, Iceland, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand to secure the Electronic Passport Projects.
E-Passport Projects are managed by local government immigration departments as a preventive measure to combat irregular immigration and unauthorized data alteration. The passport is embedded with a chip containing personal information, a biometric identifier of the passport holder and a digital signature. Digital signatures are a proven technology for data protection which reduces the risk of fraud and in turn reduces passport theft.
The authenticity of a digital signature is only as trustworthy and secure as the corresponding digital signing key. SafeNet HSMs are purpose-built hardware appliances that protect the digital signing key. The SafeNet HSM family of products comprises a range of hardware security solutions for digital identity applications, available in both embedded and stand-alone versions, to meet customer needs. SafeNet HSM products feature true hardware key management to maintain the integrity of encryption keys. Sensitive keys are created, stored and used exclusively within the secure confines of the hardware security module to prevent compromise.
Three more Co-op supermarkets will be kitted out with Pay by Touch, a pioneering new way to pay for your groceries with a simple index finger scan. The system is already in place at three Co-op stores in the Oxfordshire area, and following a seemingly succesful trial, is spreading outwards.
A Mid Counties Co-op spokesman told silicon.com the society has extended the trial to get a better insight into customer opinions. “We were very pleased with the trial but we decided we needed more knowledge under our belts,” he said.
Recent research by the society found that of the 1,000 shoppers questioned, half had already signed up to the scheme or planned to do so soon. Co-op’s spokesman said: “It’s been received well by elderly people - they like the idea of going out without having to carry a bag with a purse in it.”
The Co-op has not given figures for how long the next phase of the trial will last or how many people have signed up to the scheme. The spokesman said: “We’ve had good feedback and good sign-up. We’re happy with the way it’s going.”
The three stores will be situated in the Forest of Dean, Highworth and Swindon.
BiometriTech magazine has named AuthenTec’s newest biometric fingerprint sensor Product of the Year for 2005 - the third time in the past four years that the company has received the distinction for its innovative biometric solutions.
BiometriTech (www.biometritech.com), produced by Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC), gave the latest honor to AuthenTec’s EntrePad 1610, the world’s smallest fingerprint sensor with the most trusted security for notebook, tablet, and desktop PCs. The sensor already is adding security and convenience in PCs from Lenovo and ASUS, with additional PC models and manufacturers being introduced in the coming months.
“Each year BiometriTech magazine bestows its Product of the Year awards on companies that have demonstrated excellence in technological advancement and application refinements in the biometrics industry. AuthenTec has demonstrated to the editors of BiometriTech that its EntrePad 1610 fingerprint sensor goes the extra mile,” said Rich Tehrani, President and Group Publisher of BiometriTech.
According to a new report from industry analyst firm Aberdeen Group, RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification, may face tough times ahead. Difficulties in finding sufficiently experienced RFID staff may cause a migration to the use of biometrics, and even spur the development of new data-collection methods.
Read more at PC Mag.