biometric
MasterCard Joins FIDO Alliance March To Standardize Biometric Authorization And Other Alternatives
Danielle Walker, Reporter October 09, 2013 Plans include an open standard that would shrink users’ dependency on passwords. Plans include an open standard that would shrink users’ dependency on passwords. MasterCard has joined forces with an organization that aims to eliminate consumers’ dependency on passwords and PINs for authentication. Last Wednesday, USA Today broke the news that the global payment processor planned to become a member of the Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance, which was formed in 2012 by online transaction giant PayPal and a number of other companies to embrace innovative solutions for verifying users’ identities. By early 2014, the FIDO Alliance plans to introduce specifications for an open protocol standard for two-factor and multifactor authentication . The specifications would support biometric technologies, such as fingerprint scanners, voice and facial recognition, and other authentication measures, including one-time passwords (OTP) and near-field communication (NFC), a wireless technology that establishes communication between mobile devices through physical contact. In April, Google joined the FIDO Alliance. Now with the addition of MasterCard, the organization gains another power player in the industry that could give weight to its mission. On Tuesday, Brennen Byrne, CEO of Clef, an Oakland, Calif.-based mobile authentication startup, told SCMagazine.com that MasterCard’s participation in FIDO was a positive step. “The industry in general is looking for new ways to improve [methods] of authenticating,” Byrne said. “So it’s not surprising to me that MasterCard is joining on and taking the FIDO Alliance seriously,” he continued, adding later that “it’s good […]
Source www.scmagazine.com
PayPal Study Finds Consumers Okay With Biometrics
Visitors walk past an eBay and PayPal banner at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in this Feb. 28, 2012, file photo. Apple’s newest iPhone may have spurred some debate over whether it’s a good idea to unlock your phone with your fingerprint, but a new study from PayPal finds that a majority of Americans are comfortable with the idea of using their biometric information instead of the pesky passwords that are currently the norm. The survey, sponsored by PayPal and the National Cyber Security Alliance, found that 53 percent of those surveyed are “comfortable” replacing passwords with fingerprints, 45 percent would opt for a retinal scan, and 41 percent are comfortable with photo identification. This survey was conducted using an opt-in online panel, and its results cannot be projected to the overall U.S. public. Responses to the survey sketch a picture that suggests we’re more reliant than ever on our smartphones but still very unsure about the proper security measure we should be taking on our mobile devices. Two-thirds of those polled said that they keep their smartphones no farther than one room away — and 10 percent said they have their smartphones in hand at all times when not showering or sleeping. But nearly as many people, 63 percent, said that they don’t know or are unsure about what kind of financial information they store on their phones. Follow The Post’s new tech blog, The Switch , where technology and policy connect.
Source www.washingtonpost.com
UINT & Mereal Biometrics Launches Biometric Smart Card With Embedded FPC Fingerprint Touch Sensor
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, October 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The biometric smart card launched by UINT & Mereal Biometrics is a multi-application smart card using Fingerprint Cards’ (FPC) embedded fingerprint touch sensor and processor. It enables biometric fingerprint authentication in a top secure environment with local matching providing privacy of holders as biometric data never leave the card. First applications of the card are physical and logical access control for French Casino Operator Partouche. The smart card is now finalist in the award Discovery category at the upcoming show Cartes in Paris (19-21 Nov, 2013) and will be displayed by Mereal Biometrics in Booth 4N 087 [http://www.cartes.com/Catalogue/EXHIBITOR-LIST/Exhibitor-list/MEREAL-BIOMETRICS/ (search_field)/mereal+biometrics/(sort_by)/az/(limitation)/20 ] . “A new generation of Smart Card is born; for the first time a smart card is having its own embedded biometric fingerprint reader, performs the verification on board and can be used in multiple applications. Introducing biometrics into the smart card market means meeting the toughest industry requirements available when it comes to low power consumption, optimized form factor and robust sensor design. FPC’s fingerprint sensors meet these requirements and we are really excited to now introduce this biometric smart card to the market,” says Philippe BLOT, Chief Executive Officer of UINT ( http://www.uint.fr ). Johan Carlstrom, President and CEO of FPC, comments: “This launch of a biometric smart card is a market break-through and marks a milestone for integrating biometrics into smart cards. Security and protection of privacy has always been top priority in smart cards and the use of […]
Source www.darkreading.com
Biometric Exit Improvement Act: Wrong Solution To Broken Visa And Immigration System
Email Print PDF Several Members of Congress recently released the Biometric Exit Improvement Act in an effort to enhance the U.S.’s security and immigration system. However, the law triples down on a costly policy that adds little real security. Instead of feel-good but ineffective strategies, Congress should reconsider the biometric exit requirement and push the Administration to faithfully execute the U.S.’s existing immigration laws. Biometric Exit Has Consistently Not Been Implemented The requirement for an integrated entry-exit system has been in place since the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. In the following years, several other bills were passed that called for an entry-exit system, with increasing requirements for biometric technology, leading to the creation in 2003 of US-VISIT, a program focused on developing a biometric entry-exit system. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 explicitly required and called for the acceleration of US-VISIT’s efforts to create an automated biometric entry and exit data system. While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made progress on the entry portion of US-VISIT, the exit system largely went nowhere. Congress repeated its demand for a biometric exit system in 2007, setting a deadline of 2009. That deadline came and went with only two small pilot programs. Since then, DHS has continued its slow move to meet this requirement in what the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has called “a long-standing challenge for DHS.” [1] The Biometric Exit Improvement Act would be at least the third law to call […]
Source www.heritage.org