Biometrics Security News and Information

Advancements In Fingerprint Recognition

Advances Being Made

In the world of Biometrics, really also just like in any realm of the IT sector (including wireless), advances are being made every day, and just about every second.  Biometrics Technology is coming along at a very fast clip, at least much more so now than a decade, when I first started in the industry.  So with this in mind, I bring to you another advancement made in Fingerprint Recognition. 

The Biometrics Vendor is known as “Lumidigm, Inc.”, and here are the details of this advancement:  “Lumidigm today announced that its new Mariner fingerprint reader extends the reliable reading accuracy of multispectral imaging to popular, value-conscious, Windows PC-based biometrics applications. The new Mariner sensors make biometric authentication simple and affordable for real business applications in industries ranging from healthcare to transportation, logistics, passenger ID, heavy industry, construction and others that require the durability and reliability that have been unavailable until now. Up to 20 percent more reliable than conventional sensors, the Mariner sensor quickly and easily delivers a high-quality fingerprint to Windows PC for authentication . . . Mariner’s multispectral imaging reads both surface and subsurface fingerprints in the cold, hot, wet, dirty and dry conditions that impede traditional biometric sensors.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9118/).

My Take

While at first glance, one would probably say, “What is so special about this, it is just like any other SSO which is out there?”  To a large extent, this is true, but there are a couple of things about this one which sparked my interest, and thus I felt which warranted a Posting.  First, the advancement being made here (while I am sure at a macro level there is nothing much new about it) is what is known as “multispectral imaging”.  Although I am not a scientist or engineer to into the technicalities of all of it, based from what I have read about it, this advancement allows a much crisper image of the fingerprint to be taken, in fact, if my thinking is correct, one get a 20% more composite image a fingerprint than with the traditional sensors, which is primarily that of the optical technology (though there are others in use as well, such as infrared imaging, and ultrasound technology). 

Second, given this breakthrough of sorts, this new Biometrics solution being offered can fit into a wide array of applications as well different types of markets.  Most of the SSO’s I have written about are the ones which are primarily used at home computers, or the corporate office of SME’s.  For example, as you can see from the above quote, such applications which are suitable for this Biometrics solution include transportation, logistics, construction, heavy transportation, etc.  In other words, those industries where more “dirt and grime” are involved, thus the need to get a very, very accurate image of the fingerprint.  And from within these industries, specific  applications can include time and attendance, checking out laboratory equipment (that’s a new one here for me), etc. 

Third, most of the SSO’s I have written about have been very broad in their platform usage.  While this is a good thing in the sense that these can work on both closed source and open sourced software, this is probably one of the very few times (in fact, I think it is the second time) that an SSO has been developed for the Windows OS, and all of the applications which surround it.  The latest OS, Windows 7, makes use of what is known as the “Windows Biometric Framework”.  This functionality into the OS has allowed it be compatible with just about every type and kind of Fingerprint Biometrics Technology that is out there.  As a result, there has been a plethora of Biometrics Vendors offering this type of technology with Windows 7.  So this Biometrics solution as described in this Posting is probably trying to capitalize on that trend as well. 

But over time, as the future Windows OS’s become more advanced (or more clunky), it will be interesting to see if the WBF will be expanded to allow for other Biometrics Technologies to come into the foreplay, such as Iris Recognition, Facial Recognition, Keystroke Recognition, Voice Recognition, etc.  If this does indeed happen, watch for a huge rush for the Biometrics Vendors to stake their claim as well, as the Fingerprint Biometrics Vendors have.  This could very well give another good boost to the Biometrics Industry as a whole.

Big M and A Activity

More Economic News

As we hear the gloom and doom of the current economic situation, with mass layoffs still coming, and the United States close to defaulting on its debt, there is one glowing light amidst all of this chaos:  yep, it’s Biometrics.  In the last few weeks alone, I have written a couple of Postings in which private venture capital is flowing through the Biometrics Industry, at a time, when IT in general, is getting its budget slashed all over Corporate America.  Well, today, I bring you more positive economic news again:  This time it is a huge merger and acquisition activity.  The Biometric Vendors involved are “L-Identity Solutions, Inc.”, and “Safran”. 

The details:  “After completing all required approval procedures, Safran today announced that it has finalized the acquisition of L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc., a leading identity management solutions provider in the United States, for a total cash amount of $1.09 billion ($12 per share), which was originally announced in the press release on September 20, 2010. Following this transaction, Safran becomes the world leader in biometric identity solutions . . . L-1’s businesses (biometric and identity management solutions: access control, secure credentialing and enrollment services) generated sales exceeding USD 450 million in 2010. L-1’s financial results will be included in Safran’s consolidated financial statements, effective today . . . Assuming this acquisition had been completed in 2010, Safran’s security business sales would have totalled Euro 1.4 billion in 2010, with a total of more than 7,200 employees of which 2 200 are in the United States.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9117/).

My Take

Well, I am far from being a financial analyst, but I can offer my views as a technical writer.  These are two HUGE Biometric Vendors.  First, Safran consists of a subsidiary called “Morhpo”.  From my knowledge, this division is gargantuan in the Physical Access Entry realm of applications.  They probably have some of the best developed and proven technology with regards to Fingerprint Recognition, and they are massively involved in the National ID Card and e-Passport across many nations around the world. 

Second, L-1 Identity Solutions is another big Biometrics Vendor. I know in the past they have eaten up other reputable Biometric Vendors, one of them being Identix, Inc.  At the time, even I was involved in reselling their Fingerprint Recognition devices.  L-1 I would say in some ways is like a Microsoft version in the Biometrics Industry, as it has a huge portfolio of offerings, products, and services.  But most notable, based from the Postings I have written in the past, they are probably best known for their applications in the Federal Government sector, and providing Biometric solutions to the military (especially in the War on Terrorism, where Biometrics is being heavily used to verify/and or identify terrorism suspects). 

So you put these two Biometric Vendors, and yep you got it, a powerhouse for a Biometrics Vendor.  In terms of specific numbers, the total value of this deal is in excess of $1 Billion, which translates to $12 per share to the buyer.  There will be more than 7,000+ employees, some of which 2,200 will be based here in the United States.  Now that this merger and acquisition is completed, I think we will see even a much bigger role globally in terms of Security solutions, obviously.  Once again, I think the biggest dominance will be in the National ID Card and e-Passport applications, especially for providing these to developed countries who want to adopt it. 

And of course, we will probably see an escalation in the military use of Biometrics as well, at least here in the United States.  Hopefully, as a result of this new size, there can be an impact made as well in terms of the public acceptance of Biometrics as well.  But probably the best news of all:  From what I have read, there appears to be no lay offs, or people losing jobs.  So now as we are seeing the Biometrics Industry being washed amidst in new cash, this sector is also creating jobs.  Perhaps our so called electors at Capitol Hill can take a look at this, and learn something about real job creation and growth.

NYC World Trade Center Security: An Update

The Weekend

Well, how was everybody’s weekend???  Mine was actually really great.  This past Sunday, my beautiful girlfriend Anita, me, and her Mom ventured into the city to try out some Greek food at a famous restaurant in the city known as “The Parthenon”.  We also hooked up with the brother and sister in law there as well.  And believe it or not, I actually got down on my hands and knees and asked Anita’s mother, Mary, for permission to marry her.  To my relief, she gave a very resounding “YES!!!!”.  But on the way traversing across the I-290 West corridor, we took notice of the spectacular Chicago skyline. 

One of the buildings which stood out was the Trump Tower, and of course, who cannot forget about the Sears Tower???  All of these images triggered memories of the World Trade Center in NYC, and 9/11.  In fact, just last week, I was looking up images and information to see how the construction of the Freedom Tower was coming along.  And with all of this in mind, it is today I came across a Press Release which provides a further update, but from a Security standpoint.  The Biometrics Vendor mentioned is Diebold, Inc., and here are the details of it:  “Exercising its large-scale security integration capabilities, Diebold, Incorporated is managing the installation, integration and maintenance of a complex security software system for the new World Trade Center (WTC) site in New York City. The comprehensive Situational Awareness Platform Software (SAPS) system will collect, correlate and display information from a wide variety of the WTC site's critical security systems, as well as provide identity management capabilities . . . Diebold's integration efforts will connect an array of systems to the WTC security command center via a single interface, giving operators unified control and views of the entire WTC site. To ensure centralized management, Diebold will integrate numerous devices and technologies, including identity, credential and access management (ICAM) systems; video surveillance systems; intrusion and fire alarms; building management systems; vertical transportation; digital intercom; radio communication; Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) detection systems; and vehicle scheduling and management systems”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9114/).

My Take

First, it is interesting to note that this all encompassing solution is primarily software based.  It is known as the “Situational Awareness Platform Software”, or “SAPS” for short.  As you can see from the above quote, this Security solution will collect and analyze information and data from all of the new WTC’s Security systems, and provide a comprehensive over view of what is happening.  Really, in a way, this can be likened to an all inclusive Security dashboard of sorts, giving a Security Administrator a panoramic view of what is going on at the WTC.  The Security Technologies employed in this regard are numerous and many, and include card access systems, CCTV Cameras, video surveillance, network intrusion devices, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) detection systems, car and vehicle systems, the whole works. 

Wow, it seems like that the whole Security Armageddon is being used here.  And of course, I am sure that Biometrics is being used (primarily for physical access entry), although any specific technologies were not particularly mentioned.  And SAPS will sprawl through much of the WTC real estate.  For example, it will cover 11 different buildings, 5 major skyscrapers, the 3^rd largest transportation hub in NYC, the 9/11 memorial, and even a few retail and museum venues.  So as you can see, this is a very complex and a very huge undertaking, and hopefully, this time, the lessons of 9/11 will be learned and applied. 

Meaning, it is not all just about technology, but the human component is also just as very much important, especially being vigilant about erratic or irrational behaviors.  Other larger plans for this Security model include mass notification software and even vehicle screening software.  The bottom line is that yea, this all sounds impressive, but let’s hope it works.  All it takes is a penetration the weakest point, and all of this fall apart.  So while it is important to look at the macro Security environment, it is just as equally important if nor more to look at the micro Security environment as well.

That Thing Called Gesture Recognition

A New Biometric Technology???

Lately, in the Press Releases and in the news, it seems like that this new thing called “Gesture Recognition” is starting to make waves.  Where it has really hit the most is in market research, especially used by media advertising campaigns to see how potential customers will react to certain advertisements, either on the traditional TV airwaves or online.  Well, it appears now that Gesture Recognition could be gaining an extra foot hold in the market place.  How so???  Through the use of intellectual property, namely through the use of patents.  A Biometrics Vendor known as “Biometric Signature ID, Inc.” has just announced it has received a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 

The details:  “Biometric Signature ID, Inc. (BSI) announced today that they received their second patent for their dynamic gesture biometric technology used for identity proofing from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patented technology captures the movements made with various input devices such as your mouse, touch screen, finger or other body movements to enroll and create a biometric multi-factor password that is used to identify the “Who” is trying to gain access to devices or systems. BSI is the only software company with patented dynamic, biometric technology that exceeds government recommendations in the $12.6B Identity and Access Management (IAM) authentication market.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9108/). 

My Take

I have always wondered what Gesture Recognition is all about.  When I first heard of it, I thought it was something like hand movement, facial movement, etc.  In other words, looking at the physical movements of the body as a whole, or in much larger segments.  But today, as I wrote this Posting, it finally dawned on me what it is all about.  At least in the context of this Posting, all a user has to do is use a mouse, and their particular movements on the mouse is then captured, and the unique features extracted.  Really in a way, this is similar to Keystroke Recognition, or more particularly, Signature Recognition. 

How this is works is that a user points their mouse into a selected image, and clicking various types  and kinds of objects within that particular field.  It is these particular patterns of movements from the mouse which are captured.  Although it all sounds very simple, the applications for this are very powerful.  Given the advent of everything being done online, this Biometrics solution holds great promise for document security and authentication, especially when it comes to using digital signatures.  As a result, the various market segments which can be served include:

*Healthcare;

*Finance/Banking;

*Online education;

*Cloud computing and Virtualization;

*Uses in the Federal Government where paperwork abounds.

Really, if you think about it, anything which is delivered as a web service or Software as a Service can use this Biometrics SolutionIt is also highly anticipated that this Biometric solution will be used heavily as a Multimodal Biometric Solution.  If this is the case, it will for sure give a run to the other Multimodal Biometric Solutions in place, all of which are based upon Physical Biometrics.

This would truly be the first Multimodal Biometric solution which relies primarily upon Behavioral Biometrics.  It is not just movements from the mouse which can be captured, but also other bodily movements which can fit in that sphere of the screen on your computer.  But in the end, to me, this type of Behavioral Biometric is just a subset of Signature Recognition and Keystroke Recognition, where pressure, timing, speed, etc. are also measured.  But, hey it sure would be great to add another Biometric to the world: Something which is called Gesture Recognition.

 

Biometrics: Our Saving Grace???

Down South

You know, whenever I write Postings for this blog site, I usually don’t pay attention to the geographic location (OK, I guess I do, when I compare the state of Biometrics in the United States versus the rest of the world), I mean heck, news is news, right???  Well, today I came across a story which put the geography perspective back in mind for me. It struck me, in three years of writing, I have never really written anything about the south.  So, today’s Posting addresses that.  The setting is in Tennessee, where a very large Biometrics Vendor known as “L-1 Identity Solutions” has announced it has just won a very lucrative down there. 

Here are the details:  “L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc., a supplier of identity solutions and services, was named the exclusive provider of digital fingerprinting services for the State of Tennessee in a contract valued at $40 million. The three-year contract with the Tennessee Applicant Processing Services (TAPS) program includes two additional one-year renewals for a potential combined contract duration of up to five years . . . The fingerprints are necessary for citizens employed as child care workers, school employees and real estate and insurance agents. The prints are also required for those seeking a State and/or Federal license permit, such as commercial drivers seeking to transport Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) and citizens seeking to carry a handgun. The State may add more groups to the L-1 fingerprinting network over time.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9104/). 

My Take

As you can see from the above quote, this is a very valuable contract, at some $40+ Million.  And, it is not just one contract, it appears that this can be renewed up to two more times, for an entire time period of five years.  When you factor all of that into account, this contract could well be worth over the $40 Million.  This Biometrics Solution is meant for the TAPS program, and is intended to enroll all kinds of and types of workers involved in the social field, such as child care workers, employees of the various school districts in Tennessee, HAZMAT employees, people wishing to carry a gun, etc. 

The Biometrics Technology of choice once again is Fingerprint Recognition, and the primary purpose of this application is to identify any criminal activity of social worker applicants when they are applying for a certain job, or are needing licensing by the state of Tennessee.  With this system in place, what would take months, now will just take a matter of a few days, thus relieving some of the stress and burden of the state government.  In other words, an entire Fingerprint Recognition network will become available, for all local offices.  It is anticipated over time that some Fingerprint Recognition locations will be established, and enroll 175,000 people on an annual basis. 

It is expected that an applicant will not have to travel more than 60 miles from their home in order to reach a Fingerprint Recognition location.  So overall, this is nothing surprising, that the government has awarded such a huge contract.  After all, the Federal Government here in the United States is the biggest customer and contract awarder of Biometrics.  But I find it interesting how an entire state awarded the contract, I have not seen too much of that lately.  But whatever it is, this is for sure good news that there some solid investments and contracts being awarded in the Biometrics Industry.  I just hope that it is a sign of things to come, and perhaps, Biometrics could be the saving grace of the American economy.  Now, that would truly be an irony in of itself.

The Federal Government Protecting Our Identity

Protecting Our Identity

As many of us know, Identity Theft is becoming fast a global problem.  Although it has been around for a long time, it has not really received a lot of press or media coverage until mid way through this decade.  It primarily exploded with the advent of wireless communications and wireless applications.  Boy, in some ways, I kind of long for those days when I was growing up, when life was just a little bit simpler.  Now, with the way technology is advancing, the Identity Theft hackers are well ahead of the Security Vendors who are trying to find and deploy solutions as quickly as they can. 

And yes, this even includes the Biometric Vendors.   It has become literally a cat and mouse game, as I have eluded to before in previous Postings.  Until now, trying to address the issues of protecting our identity was pretty much a private sector effort, at least here in the United States.  But now, there is now a serious move by the Federal Government to address this issue. 

Here are some of the details:  “With increasing dependency on information systems and advances in cloud computing, the smart grid and mobile computing, maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of citizens' personally identifiable information is a growing challenge. A new draft document from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) addresses that challenge by adding privacy controls to the catalog of security controls used to protect federal information and information systems . . . Personally identifiable information (PII) is information that is unique to an individual, such as a social security number, birth information, fingerprints and other biometrics. In the wrong hands, PII can be used in identity theft, fraud or other criminal activities. Today, more than ever, citizens are concerned that their personal information is protected as it is processed, stored and transmitted across computing clouds or mobile devices in the federal government and in other areas such as health care and banking. Protecting PII is a key goal of the federal government.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9109/). 

My Take

Yea, it is good to see the Federal Government finally stepping up to the plate on this one.  True, balancing the budget and job creation is very important right now, but so is protecting the identity of each and every citizen here in the United States.  So, as you can see from up above, there will be a new document coming out from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to address these challenges, and how our own Federal Government can protect us.  This will be known as the “Privacy Control Catalog”, and based from what I read about, it will be a subset of some much larger piece of legislation (knowing how much our Federal Government loves to use acronyms all the time, even I got lost trying to figure it all out).  I know you might be thinking, and that is how can we be sure our own Federal Government can protect us??? 

Well, they have the resources to do, the problem is deploying them in the most efficient manner and finding the funding to do so.  Hey, it is what it is right???  Not much we can do here.  But, there is one thing that we can actually do.  And that is, to create a regulatory watch group, created in the private sector, to have oversight of the activities in the way and the manner the Federal Government is trying to protect identity.  There is always a fear amongst us as to how the Federal Government has their oversight on us, so the best way is to create this sort of watchdog group.  It is certainly well within our rights, and something which can be done (maybe not so easily), but it will take a lot of time to accomplish. 

When people think of Identity Theft, a black hole image is often conjured up in our mind.  For example, where does it originate, who is launching the attack???  Unfortunately, there is not a lot we can do in this regard, since it has become such a complex and huge problem.  But what we can do, is make sure that the people who are trying to protect us in this regard are doing their job.  And who knows, by taking such a proactive approach in the private sector, the Federal Government will be receptive and can take into account all of the steps they are doing to protect their own citizens. 

This will hopefully reduce the black hole phenomenon we are in, and the resultant factor will be people trusting of our own Federal Government in general.  And another resultant of this will be a big boon to the Biometrics Industry:  The fear of Big Brother watching will be eliminated.

Give Me More Of The Green Stuff!!!

Money, Money, Money

Remember that famous song by that long time music ABBA???  Yea, everybody would love to have money, especially in today’s times.  Probably the one sector which is really craving for cash is the SMB market.  With given how tight credit has become, banks of all types and kinds are becoming extremely reluctant to loan out money.  But, there are always other avenues, as this Posting will explore.  Two Press Releases came out today in which two different Biometric Vendors received the critical funding needed.  So, here we go . . .

Emotion Recognition

The Biometrics Vendor known as “Affectiva” has just announced that it has received a very sizable chunk of change, valued at over $5 million.  The inside detail:  “ Affectiva, an emotion measurement and communication technology startup, today announced it has completed a $5.7 million Series B financing round led by WPP’s consumer insight division, Kantar, and Myrian Capital . . . Affectiva will use the financing to accelerate the development and marketing of Affdex, a software solution for emotion recognition. Recently launched, the Affdex system reads emotional states such as liking and attention from facial expressions using a webcam. Affdex employs advanced computer vision and machine learning techniques to recognize and automate the analysis of non-verbal responses, and it applies scientifically validated and patented methods to interpret viewers' emotional responses quickly and at scale. Today, Affdex hosts the world’s largest database of facial expressions . . . In addition, the financing will support the next generation of Affectiva’s Q Sensor . . . The Q Sensor quantifies emotional excitement by measuring electrodermal activity (EDA), motion and temperature. It provides objective biological data that can measure emotions in natural settings.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9103/). 

So, first of all, who has ever heard of Emotion Recognition as a Biometric Technology???  I for one never have.  But I am assuming it is very along the lines of Gesture Recognition.  It seems like that the money will be used primarily for software development, for the Emotion Recognition technology.  From the best I can understand, it seems that the facial expressions are captured via a webcam, and from there such facial states like electrodermal activity, temperature, and of course, motion of the face.  These are then translated into variables such as excitement, anxiety, stress, etc. 

The biggest market potential for appears to be market research related to brand loyalty and purchasing decisions (just like the Gesture Recognition Postings I have written about).  But much more advanced technology is used to analyze this, including machine learning algorithms and computer vision.  It is interesting to not as well that this Biometrics Vendor claims to have the world’s largest database of facial expressions.  Just think about this one:  Facial Expression + Facial Recognition = A great Security solution.  Hopefully the Biometric Vendors pick up on this potential.

Ammunition Protected by Biometrics

In Michigan, a Biometrics Vendor known as “LEID Products, LLC” has just announced it has received $250,000 in seed money.  The details:  “Auburn Hills, MI-based LEID Products, LLC, a cutting edge technology company offering electronic storage solution with asset tracking and management software, announced today that in June the company was awarded $250,000 from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund . . . LEID Products manufactures electronic locker, cabinet and gun rack storage with biometric asset protection and control. LEID’s proven Biometric Access Control Systems (BACS™), streamlines operations at military facilities, medical facilities, crime and research labs, law enforcement departments, universities/colleges, libraries, and large corporations by securing, tracking and providing full accountability to clients’ critical assets, evidence, medications, and weapons.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9101/). 

So as you can see from the above quote, this Biometrics Vendor primarily specializes in creating Biometric Solutions for asset protection, and military/law enforcement applications.  This includes protecting guns, ammunition, artillery, and yes, even safes.  I have written about the Biometric safe before, in which something like Fingerprint Recognition is being used in order to gain access the safe (forget the combination dial, that is way too “analog” compared to Biometrics).  But this market is now coming down to the personal level, which includes Biometric jewelry boxes. 

So who knows, this Biometric Vendor could make their mark their as well (no pun intended).  Unlike how the money will be used by the Biometrics Vendor just up above, this one will use it primarily for market penetration and sales/marketing development, in order to branch out their product  and service lines, and reach newer customers.

Security Documents Needed When You Travel

The e-Passport Revisited

It has been some time since I have talked about the e-Passport and National ID Card, and since these tend to be hot button topics, and a favorite topic of mine to discuss, I thought I would touch up on the subject in today’s Posting.  One would think that with the global economy the way it is, and the fear of another huge debt crisis in Europe, that the demand for the National ID Card and e-Passport infrastructures would surely wane.  After all, these great tools of secured documentation to have, but perhaps not deemed as necessary to spend crucial money on as is job creation.  But quite to the contrary, the demand for it is picking up, especially in the European region.

According to some recent market research, as of this year so far, some 225+ million electronic identity documents were delivered, which stands at an 18% increase in demand as opposed to 2010.  It is further expected that over the course of the seven years, this demand is expected to grow by 7%, and that market capitalization should reach almost 7.5 billion Euros by the year of 2014 (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9095/). 

But, keep in mind that these statistics are just for electronic documents, in general.  For the e-Passport and the National ID Card, there are other factors, cited by market research which will fuel the demand for these infrastructures.  There are three main reasons:

*It is being used in just about every country:  For example, from what I have read, Canada is the only developed country left to adopt the e-Passport (which comes as a huge surprise to me).  It is the developing nations, which are fast adopting the e-Passport, especially that in the Asian Pacific region.  China is expected to launch trials of its own e-Passport sometime this year.

*The need to count and recognize citizens in every country:  Here, the results seem to be mixed.  For instance, India has launched the world’s largest Biometric project to count its citizens, whereas the United Kingdom just recently nixed their own efforts (despite its legislation passed in 2006 called the
“Identity Cards Act”.  Germany will be launching its own National ID Card (some 80+ million will be issued), France will launch theirs, as well as Turkey (some 75+ million cards will be issued, using some 100,000 Biometric readers and scanners).  The major Biometric Vendors are also witnessing a growth for technology in the use for a National ID Card infrastructure, and the demand for this is expected to keep up pace with the e-Passport.

*A strong demand for Biometrics in general:  It seems that worldwide, the demand for Biometrics is growing very strong.  The market applications and the needs very.  These cut across such spectrums as Identity Theft, creating a secure drivers’ license, registering and keeping track of voters in national and local elections, Internet and Cybersecurity, protecting the national electrical power grid of the United States, and making sure that the poor citizens in the developing nations of the world get their fair share of entitlements and benefits from their respective governments. 

So as one can see, the demand for National ID Cards and e-Passport infrastructures will continue to grow very strong in demand in the foreseeable future.  This will probably only be fueled by as the world continues to grow in population.  But while this is all great news, especially from an economic view, I have one very strong concern: 

The technical aspects involved.  And the biggest problem I foresee is with creating a set of Best Practices and Uniform standards that each and every country can use.  It makes no sense to have all this demand and all of the technology deployed, if it is not interoperable with the infrastructures of all of the countries around the world.  While I am sure there are many other technical concerns to be addressed, I foresee this to be the biggest one as the world comes together with their e-Passport and National ID infrastructures.

A New Rx For The Doctor

More Medical News

As you know, Biometrics is making a major play in the medical world.  A lot of this is due to the fact of Federal Government Legislations and Mandates, with regards to patient privacy of their medical records.  But as Biometrics is being adopted by the medical sector, the convenience of using it is also being realized.  For instance, rather than having to remember hundreds of passwords to login into the hospital network and access patient records, with a single swipe of the finger, access can be very easily granted.  And even, Biometrics is being used to register new patients when they visit their doctor’s office, or the hospital.  This has greatly reduced wait time, especially in the emergency room. 

Well, in today’s Posting, we are seeing Biometrics being used once again in the medical sector.  The details:  “Recently launched PatientClick EHR, a leading provider of web-based electronic solutions for medical practitioners transitioning from paper to electronic medical records – has been Dragon Certified. With the pressure on for medical providers to make the switch cost-effectively and with as little disruption as possible, PatientClick uniquely bridges the gap in providing a service that stands-out from the pack by allowing physicians to leverage voice recognition technology to effectively use EHR in their daily routine . . . We designed PatientClick with both the physician and the staff in mind, with a specific emphasis on its easy-to-use technology . . . Key benefits include multiple methods for physicians or clinical staff members to create medical encounter notes through interface with Dragon Medical and Nuance Dragon Medical . . .”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9086/).

My Take

This application is unique from a number of perspectives. 

First, in the past, whenever I have written about Biometrics in the medical sector, the angle I took was mostly about the healthcare worker using it-such as the nurses, licensed practicioners, etc.  This is the first time I have written about a solution primarily developed for a physician’s use. 

Second, the Biometrics Technology which has been employed in the past has been primarily Fingerprint Recognition.  Again, this is the first time I have seen Voice Recognition being used.  Truly, a different type of Physical based Biometric.  Third, in past writings, Biometrics was primarily used for just one type and/or kind of application.  This is pretty much for the singing onto a network, or a computer, as described above.  Essentially in just one computer monitor, a physician can access medical histories, results of lab tests, Rx’s, pharmacy records, medical insurance information/data, etc.  In other words, a physician will be able to “ . . . view and access every aspect of a patient’s chart on one screen.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9086/)

Some of the key benefits derived from this unique Biometrics solution include:

*The obvious ease of access to patient files;

*Streamlined efficiency in the medical office;

*Strong ease of use;

*Providing more than one method to prepare medical notes and histories on a particular patient;

*Strong levels of Security meeting the demands of legislations and mandates, especially that of HIPAA.

As we now see Voice Biometrics making the foreplay into the medical world, it will be quite interesting to take note of what other Biometric Technologies enter into the scene.  What will be next???  Facial Recognition??? Keystroke Recognition???  Signature Recognition??? 

Who only knows.  But I think, in my viewpoint, Signature Recognition will be the next one to make a rather dominant scene.

Food For The Week

The Start Of The Week

Well, here we are, the start to another week.  It’s hard to believe that this month, or for that matter, this year, is going by so fast.  Heck, I still I remember the blizzard we had back when in February.  But as we have this warm weather, there is one thing on people’s minds: 

The social life, and getting together with friends.  And of course with social life, food will be the main thing which comes to people’s minds.  So with this as the background, food is the topic we start off this week in these series of Postings.  But, with food, there is also Biometrics.

Biometrics At the Food Service Line

A Biometrics Vendor known as “Fujitsu” has announced it will be deploying its award winning Vein Pattern Recognition technology at the Pinellas County School District, based in Florida. 

The details:  “All food service program transactions will be done using PalmSecure biometric technology and the MCS Software POS system. The use of palm vein biometric scanning for food service program transactions has many advantages. For example, a simple palm vein scan rapidly identifies the student, assuring the student's identity thereby reducing waste and impersonation, while providing a level of reliability not found in legacy fingerprint systems which often malfunctioned or simply froze, causing repeated disruptions in the student cafeteria service . . . The Fujitsu PalmSecure sensor uses a near-infrared light to capture a student’s palm vein pattern, generating a unique biometric template that is matched against the palm vein patterns of pre-registered users. Unlike other readers, a PalmSecure device does not come into contact with the skin, making it extremely hygienic, non-intrusive and unrestricted by external factors such as skin types and conditions.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9088/). 

Using Biometrics at the lunch counter line at the school district is really nothing new.  It is very often used in those places where subsidized lunches are served (this is where very low income students can qualify for lunches, paid for by the Federal Government).  This is so to keep students honest, and that exact accounting can be followed, in terms of the number of lunches served, and the monies collected, all reportable to the Federal Government. 

But from what I can garner, it seems like that this Biometrics solution described up above is not being used for a subsidized lunch program, rather, it is being used for general purposes, primarily for again for accuracy, and even convenience.  Traditionally, Fingerprint Recognition has been used, but now, Vein Pattern Recognition is being employed.  This of course has many advantages also, but one is that of hygiene.  With kids at a school lunch line, comes the perception of contracting ailments (after all, kids do get sicker more often than adults), with direct contact with the Fingerprint Recognition device.  But since Vein Pattern Recognition requires no direct contact, this misperception should be alleviated.

Biometrics At the Pizza Parlor

Pizza parlors are often a popular place to hangout on a Friday night, and even on the weekends.  But now, you may be seeing Biometrics used here as well.  A Biometrics Vendor known as “Digital Persona, Inc.” has announced that Pizza Hut will be adopting its Biometric Solution. 

The goop:  “DigitalPersona, Inc., a global provider of authentication and endpoint protection solutions, today announced that Pizza Hut franchisee Rage, Inc. has rolled out DigitalPersona  U.are.U Fingerprint Biometrics in 118 Pizza Hut locations throughout the east coast in South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia to reduce employee theft. By deploying fingerprint biometrics as a part of their Speedline Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, the Pizza Hut restaurants have improved employee accountability, reduced unauthorized discounts and decreased payroll fraud.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9090/).  Some of the immediate benefits are:

*Elimination of buddy punching;

*110% proof that management authorization for any kind or type of activity has been legally authorized (in other words, an employee cannot steal a manager’s ID number, and expect to open a cash register with that);

*Reduction of cash register shrinkage;

*Improved customer service;

*A substantial decrease in unauthorized employee discounts as well as payroll fraud.

Yea, these are great advantages, but another one I can think of which is not even mentioned (I highly doubt it is even available yet) is: 

Why not pay with pizza with your fingerprint???  I mean it’s a great way to pay, and if you don’t carry cash all the time (like me), it would be certainly very convenient.  But, how about Biometrics being used at one of my most favorite places:  Starbuck’s.  I would love to pay for a Venti coffee with my fingerprint!!!