Biometrics & Identity Authentication

Gaping boarding-pass security hole about to close

With all the millions spent on air travel security, it is still possible to get though airport security using a fake boarding pass; this hole is being closed by an encrypted 2-D bar code that includes all the information from a boarding pass and is digitally signed to ensure the data has not been altered

TWIC deadline for Florida -- and the U.S. -- looms

Florida port workers have until 13 January 2009 to pay the $132 and register for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential card; entry to all U.S. ports will require the TWIC card as of 15 April 2009

U.K. passports costs rise by 39 percent to pay for biometrics

Fingerprinting and facial scanning are costly procedures, and the Home Office attempts to recoup the cost of adding biometric data onto the document

Some federal agencies fail to meet secure ID October deadline

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had set 27 October as the deadline for agencies to issue the cards to all federal employees and contractors; 28 percent of the federal employee workforce and 30 percent of contractors who require the cards have received credentials

Fingerprint "developer" can read a letter from its envelope

U.K. researchers find that disulfur dinitride polymer turned exposed fingerprints brown, as the polymer reaction was initiated from the near-undetectable remaining residues; what is more, traces of inkjet printer ink can also initiate the polymer, allowing detectives to read a letter from the residue it left on the envelope

Briefly noted

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Briefly noted

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Global Entry arrives in Atlanta

U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents who pre-register for the program may use the Global Entry kiosk as an alternative to the regular passport control line

Use of cheap RFID chips make new U.S. passports vulnerable

Americans can now apply for the U.S. Passport Card, which is also known as the Pass Card; the RFID chips are cheap Class One Generation Two models, which are vulnerable to cloning

National ID projects drive Asian biometrics market growth

Dublin, Ireland-based Research and Markets has released its "Biometrics Markets in Asia Pacific" report. The Asia Pacific (APAC) biometrics market is still in its early growth stages with National ID and e-Passport programs contributing to a large portion of the growth, the report says. National ID projects provide the widest and largest user base for biometrics in Asia at present. Invariably, every national ID project which has been implemented, or is in the pipeline, employs fingerprint or thumbprint as the biometric key. The Malaysian national ID card employs the thumbprint as the identifying key. India, which is still in the pilot stage of the issuance of national ID cards, employs fingerprints as the identifying key. Other large-scale implementation projects such as the Chinese national ID and the Japanese national ID are expected to take to biometrics shortly. The high cost of implementing a biometric system, however, has been a restraint globally and the same is likely to be the case in the APAC region.