Aird Bill Eliminating Use Of Facial-Recognition Technology By Police Now Set To Become Law
(The Progress Index, Apr 08, 2021)
Starting July 1, a de facto ban on use of facial-recognition technology will go into effect across Virginia, meaning that most police departments will not be allowed to use or buy it without legislative approval first. House Bill 2031, sponsored by Del. Lashrecse D. Aird, D-Petersburg, had cleared the General Assembly during its winter session this year, but Gov. Ralph S. Northam sent it back with an amendment to exclude commercial airport police services. On Wednesday, during its annual reconvened session, both the House of Delegates and state Senate agreed to the governor's amendment, putting a bow on the legislation. Facial-recognition technology converts images into algorithms that is then used to determine if the person's face matches any within specific databases. Some mobile phones use facial-recognition to unlock, but the technology addressed by Aird's bill would apply to tech used by police or sheriff's departments, including campus police departments.
CBP Officers, Facial Biometrics Detect Two Cameroon Impostors To U.S. Passports At Dulles Airport
(U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Apr 08, 2021)
STERLING, Va. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers identified two Cameroon women as impostors at Washington Dulles International Airport on Monday with the help of biometric facial comparison technology. The two women arrived at a CBP primary inspection booth separately after their flight arrived from Brussels, Belgium on Monday afternoon and each presented a U.S. passport to a CBP officer. CBP’s biometric facial comparison technology reported a mismatch between each woman and the true bearers of the U.S. passports.
Demand for Security Solutions in BFSI and Government Sectors Driving Biometrics Middleware Market
(Fact.MR, Apr 08, 2021)
NEW YORK, April 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The biometrics middleware market has registered a temporary slump in demand through 2020 owing to restrictions on industrial activities and limited applications in commercial establishments due to the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak. However, potential applications of touchless biometric solutions have helped to partially nullify the effects of the pandemic on the biometric middleware prospects through 2021.
How Digital Health Passes Bring Biometrics In Aviation Much Closer
(Phocus Wire, Apr 08, 2021)
The year is 2021, the world is gradually emerging from a global pandemic and corporate and leisure travelers are desperate to get back to the skies. While generally most agree that digitalization has accelerated during the pandemic, travel is faced with huge challenges to reopen safely. Airports and airlines are already highlighting the challenges they face of ramping up, while having to maintain social distancing measures and therefore move passengers through the various checkpoints rapidly. Heathrow Airport said recently that it was taking 20 minutes to process the COVID-related paperwork for every passenger and stressed the need for digital health passes as the way forward. But digital health passes could have a much more long-term benefit as they boost the development of biometrics, particularly facial recognition, in travel, to create a far more seamless experience.
US Army Seeks Base Entry Control Biometrics Proposals
(Biometric Update, Apr 07, 2021)
U.S. Army officers want proposals for two biometric access control systems and one biometric data cleaning application. One proposed project, called Pandemic Entry and Automated Control Environment (with the Strangelovian acronym Peace), would replace the common access cards carried by Army personnel. The cards offer access to bases, some computers and commissary goods. They also are potential carriers of viruses and (more realistically) an attractive target for thieves.
Thousands Of US Government Agencies Using Facial Recognition Without Permission
(Tech Radar, Apr 08, 2021)
Over 1800 government bodies in the US have been using the Clearview AI facial recognition tool with little to no public oversight, in a clear violation of an individual's privacy, according to newly assembled data. Clearview AI is a US-based startup that offers its namesake searchable facial-recognition database to law enforcement agencies. The company’s process for building its database of images has been called into question. In fact, its data-collection practices are currently under investigation in both the UK and Australia. But data provided to BuzzFeed News via an anonymous source claims the publicly funded agencies that have used Clearview AI include local and state police, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Air Force, state healthcare organizations, offices of state attorneys general, and even public schools.
BIO-key Expands Channel Alliance Partner Program in Africa, Adding Kenya-Based Cyber Security Provider Kristel Communication to Sell its Biometric and Identity and Access Management Solutions in High-Growth East African Markets
(Yahoo! Finance, Apr 07, 2021)
NAIROBI, Kenya and WALL, N.J., April 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIO-key International, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKYI), an innovative provider of identity and access management (IAM) solutions powered by biometrics, today announced it has added Nairobi, Kenya-based Kristel Communication Ltd., a leading provider of cyber security solutions in Africa, to its BIO-key Channel Alliance Partner Program. Kristel Communication will sell BIO-key’s PortalGuard cloud based Identity as a Service (IDaaS) solution and its biometric hardware and software solutions to commercial and government accounts through its reseller network in Kenya and other East African countries.
