News Source For The Physical Security Industry

A face, though—that’s different. We’re stuck with our faces. It’s prohibitively expensive to change them beyond recognition, if it’s even possible. Facial recognition and other biometrics bind data about us to us like nothing else. And, once corporate metadata can recognize and glom onto our bodies—in all their “everlasting sameness”—we can never escape that link.

As these technologies surge forward and spread outward, there are mounting legal questions about how they’re used, and more importantly, how we consent to that use. One lawsuit underway in Illinois against Facebook (and a similar case in that state against Shutterfly) accuses the service of running afoul of state “biometric privacy” statutes (laws that remain unique to Illinois and Texas).

ZKAccess, a leading provider of biometric and RFID security solutions, is pleased to announce the release of its EC10 Elevator Control Panel, a secure, scalable, and affordable access control solution primarily designed to control floor access. Floor access can be restricted based on various user credentials, including fingerprint and/or proximity card.

A Chicago man has filed a class action lawsuit against Shutterfly over allegations that the photo-book service is violating a law that restricts the way that companies gather biometric data. Filed Wednesday in Illinois Federal court, the lawsuit follows recent criticism over the use of facial recognition technology by companies to create “faceprints,” which provide a unique identifier based on the facial patterns of an individual.

Chinese researchers have successfully developed the first automated teller machine (ATM) with facial recognition technology to reduce the risk of theft, media reports said. The developers include Tsinghua University and Tzekwan Technology, a Hangzhou firm in eastern China’s Zhejiang province that provides security protection for financial transactions.

China’s Central bank official says technology must be mature and regulations changed before public will be allowed to open accounts using facial-recognition technology. Banks will not be allowed to verify the identity of new customers using biometric information unless certain conditions are met, a central bank official says.

A broad coalition of 34 civil rights and privacy groups, including the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union, has unveiled a list of recommendations regarding the use of policy body cameras in the U.S. The guidelines come after a number of incidents in which police body cameras failed to capture what happened before a fatal shooting.

Natural Security Alliance’s biometric strong authentication standard makes it possible for users to access the full range of electronic services (e.g. online and in-store payments, cash withdrawals, online banking, FIDO services, identity management) with the guarantee that they will retain full control of their biometric data and that their privacy will be protected.

The National Shoplifting Prevention Organization (NSPO), a nonprofit organization of major Japanese retail businesses, is considering developing a biometric database to share facial recognition data in order to combat shoplifting across Japan, according to a report by The Japan News.

The NSPO said it would consider allowing retail stores to share the facial data with other stores in the same industry or other establishments in the region.

USAA, a financial services company that caters to members of the U.S. military, is offering facial and voice recognition on a mobile app for authentication and fraud prevention. USAA is home to 10.6 million active and former military members and their families. USAA members residing in the states will soon be able to log into their accounts through mobile devices using biometric recognition. This will make USAA the first U.S. financial institution to offer facial and voice recognition on a mobile app as added protection against fraud and identity theft.