IBIA Dispels Myths About Face Recognition Technology
(PR Newswire, Aug 31, 2021)
Commenting on the paper's release, IBIA Chairperson John Mears said, "The IBIA and our member companies are committed to the ethical use of our technologies, especially in the area of facial recognition, without racial or other biases. Our mission is to educate and advocate for best practices, policies and laws that balance civil rights and liberties with the need to properly identify individuals. As the NIST paper and our analysis make clear, facial recognition technologies can help eliminate the biases inherent to human review. Questions of bias are ones we take seriously, both in the data our technologies provide and how that data is applied by those using the technology. We look forward to the opportunity to engage more broadly on these important topics and facilitate a thoughtful dialogue on how we can all do better."
A U.S.-Built Biometric System Sparks Concerns for Afghans
(NBC News, Aug 31, 2021)
A biometric system containing the personal information of millions of Afghans is sparking concern among human rights advocates who worry it could be used by the Taliban to identify and potentially harm people who worked with the U.S.-backed Afghan government or international organizations that promoted women’s rights. The system, which was created by the United States more than 15 years ago and eventually shared in part with the Afghan government, contains millions of fingerprints, iris scans and face photos of Afghan people who had their biometric data collected by U.S. and coalition forces, who were assigned to enroll as many people as possible.
How the U.S. Constitution Does and Does Not Protect Your Privacy
(Wdet NPR Station, Aug 31, 2021)
As WDET examines various provisions of the Constitution this summer, that idea of whether there is fairness in the distribution of these rights is a key piece in looking at the Constitution through the lens of equity. When it comes to privacy, is that right respected equally for all Americans? And how have civil rights and other issues having to do with equality fit into existing protections around privacy? In this age of big tech, big data and the proliferation of social media, looking at our right to privacy has never been more urgent.
How Behavioral Biometrics can Stop Social Engineering and Malware Scams Dead in Their Tracks
(Security Boulevard, Aug 31, 2021)
As more and more human interaction takes place virtually, behavioral biometrics have gained popularity as a friction-free way to verify users online. A behavioral biometrics solution looks at a user’s actions (e.g., how they type) as well as their habits (e.g., the time of day they usually log in) to verify identity without prompting the user to type in a password or take other steps. Behavioral biometrics solutions are known for detecting bots masquerading as humans and flagging fraudsters who have stolen someone else’s online account. But their uses go far beyond that. Flexible and versatile, behavioral biometrics can also counter many other types of human fraud — that is, attacks that involve humans or mimic human behavior.
Law Firms and Cyber Attacks: InfoGov Isn't Just for Corporate Legal Teams Anymore
(JD Spura, Aug 31, 2021)
From the beginning, Information Governance, or InfoGov, has been focused on helping Corporations manage their data, often involving the legal, compliance, and IT departments working together. But what about a corporation’s outside counsel? More and more, law firms are being targeted in ransomware attacks because they house or have access to their corporate clients’ data but often don’t have the same robust information security measures in place that their corporate clients utilize.
'China's Surveillance Creep': How Big Data Covid Monitoring Could Be Used To Control People Post-Pandemic
(BusinessWorld, Aug 31, 2021)
China has used big data to trace and control the outbreak of COVID-19. This has involved a significant endeavour to build new technologies and expand its already extensive surveillance infrastructure across the country. In our recent study, we show how the State Council, the highest administrative government unit in China, plans to retain some of those new capabilities and incorporate them into the broader scheme of mass surveillance at a national level. This is likely to lead to tighter citizen monitoring in the long term.This phenomenon of adopting a system of surveillance for one purpose and using it past the originally intended aims is known as function creep. In China, this involves the use of big data initially collected to monitor people’s COVID status and movements around the country to keep the pandemic under control.
Conference & Exhibition: October 5 - 6, 2021
(, Aug 31, 2021)
Connect:ID is a conference and exhibition bringing together the brightest minds in the identity sector to promote innovation, new thinking, and more effective identity solutions. Key areas of focus include secure physical credentials, digital identity, and advanced authentication technologies, such as biometrics.
