IDentification Authentication - Denver and Nebraska police using Morpho fingerprint identification devices

The Denver police department will be equipped with Morpho’s MorphoIDent handheld fingerprint devices to help officers identify suspects who lie about their identity, according to a report by CBS Denver.

The City of Denver announced the $260,000 purchase of the fingerprint identification technology as part of its 2016 budget.

National Database - Hungarian government proposes storing biometric data of citizens

October 1, 2015 - 

Hungary’s Interior Ministry proposed a new bill last week that creates an authority to oversee the storing of facial data of citizens based on photos from their identification documents, according to a report by Budapest Business Journal.

The proposal for the bill states that the Hungarian government would be able to provide this biometric information to Hungarian law enforcement authorities, such as police and intelligence services, on a request basis.

NIN, The National ID Number of a Man

The National Identity Management Commission, NIMC has said that the Non- Intelligent 11 digits National Identification Number, NIN is what will genuinely reveal the identity of registrants at any point in time.

The NIN will be pulled and given to Nigerians and legal residents after successful enrollment.

The Director Corporate Communications of the Commission, Mr Okwudiafor Anthony, who revealed this further explained that the National Identity Management System is entirely different from mere Photo Card issuance that was carried out in previous schemes.

The Future of Buying and Selling

Ali Mohammad Al Khouri, Director General of the Emirates Identity Authority presented a paper at the Middle East Retail Forum.  The title of the paper was “The impact of ID Management Infrastructure on the Commerce Sector”.  In it he stresses the security advantages of a biometrically verified ID.  It is not to hard to see that in the future it will be necessary to be a part of the biometric database in order to buy or sell anything.

In our last post here on "News of the Beast" we discussed how the UN was going to tap the experience and knowledge of the UAE's Emirates Identity Authority for a global system of biometric identification.  This time we see more of what Emirates ID is planning for future and this gives us a good idea of where the rest of the world will be going as well.  It's about buying and selling.

UAE's Emirates ID projects pave way for future eCommerce economy

Ali Mohammad Al Khouri, Director General of the Emirates Identity Authority, has stressed that the strategic projects being developed by the Authority fall in line with the UAE vision to lay the foundations of a secure modern digital economy in the country and keep pace with the accelerated transformation witnessed by businesses and industries around the world.

Dr. Al Khouri underscored that the infrastructure of digital identity plays a fundamental role in combating identity theft crimes which are threatening the global eCommerce market whose value is estimated at $2 trillion. He considered that development of trusted standard mechanisms for online identity verification should enhance customers’ trust in the modern “virtual” economic environments and double fold the value of eCommerce market.

In his paper presented at the Middle East Retail Forum in Dubai, Dr. Al Khouri said that the advanced identity verification mechanisms provided by Emirates ID have the potential to develop eCommerce in the UAE and make a quantum leap in the service sector at government and private levels. This should in turn boost the sustainable development in the UAE and enhance its global competitiveness.

In the paper entitled “The impact of ID Management Infrastructure on the Commerce Sector”, Dr. Al Khouri stated that the infrastructure developed by Emirates ID to verify and authenticate personal identity in the UAE should contribute in facilitating transformation into secure electronic environments and eliminate the challenges related to identity verification and authentication.

During the two-day forum, Dr. Al Khouri pointed to the growing challenges related to security of commercial transactions in light of statistics showing a rise in identity fraud and theft worldwide, particularly in the last two years.

He underlined the international report’s findings that the biggest challenge facing the business sector globally is to control fraud and verify customers’ identities, which necessitates setting up a mechanism for validating personal identity, noting that the UAE has gone far on the road of securing and boosting eTransactions through the advanced features of the ID card and the digital authentication centre which allows online instant validation of authenticity and reliability of the data embedded in the ID card.

Dr. Al Khouri highlighted that, more than ever, the rapid changes taking place in the contemporary world led to restructuring business and industry sectors, considering that these changes have remarkably revolutionised consumers’ behaviour making them more reliable on digital channels than traditional ones amid the unprecedented prevalence of internet, smart devices and social media networks.

http://www.albawaba.com/business/uae-id-530018

MasterCard With Just Your Mark

Mastercard appears ready to do away with passwords and begin using biometrics for online identity verification.  They have joined the FIDO Alliance.  FIDO stands for Fast IDentity Online.

MasterCard joining push for fingerprint ID standard

SAN FRANCISCO — MasterCard is joining the FIDO Alliance, signaling that the payment network is getting interested in using fingerprints and other biometric data to identify people for online payments.

MasterCard will be the first major payment network to join FIDO. The Alliance is developing an open industry standard for biometric data such as fingerprints to be used for identification online. The goal is to replace clunky passwords and take friction out of logging on and purchasing using mobile devices.

Apple's new iPhone 5s smartphone has a fingerprint sensor, but the tech giant is not part of FIDO. However, Google is part of the Alliance, and devices running Google's Android operating system will have fingerprint sensors by next year.

The addition of MasterCard will help FIDO expand its standard to more types of transactions. The company's experience handling the multitude of existing payments-industry standards will also be valuable.

"Our involvement with the FIDO Alliance, as well as other activities across the industry, will help deliver strong security for consumers, merchants and issuers, as well as a great consumer experience," said Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer at MasterCard.

Joining FIDO will give MasterCard different ways of identifying people and help it decide when to use those techniques, depending on the situation.

FIDO is trying to standardize lots of different ways of identifying people online, not just through biometric methods.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/10/02/mastercard-fingerprint-fido/2910241/

10,000 Israeli's have gotten on the Mark they are Set to Go....

That 10,000 Israelis have signed up for biometric ID cards proves there's nothing to fear from them, says Interior Minister Gideon Saar.

Over ten thousand Israelis have signed up for a pilot project that provides them with a “smart” Israeli identity card that includes biometric information. 

The project is now operating in over a dozen cities, and is currently voluntary, although it is likely to become mandatory in the future.

The project opened about a month ago, and so far the response to it has been very positive and welcome, said Population Authority officials. Residents of the thirteen towns where the program is currently operating can go to their local Population Registry offices, submit their fingerprints and have their photos taken by a special camera that will analyze their facial characteristics, and be issued a smart identity card. More cities are to be added in the coming weeks, and by the end of the year the program will be operating in 28 cities.

The benefit for Israelis, according to the Interior Ministry, is that they will receive an identity card that will be next to impossible to duplicate, and will put a stop to instances of identity theft and fake ID cards.

According to the Ministry, tens of thousands of illegal workers and illegal PA Arabs are using phony ID cards, either totally fabricated or using real information about Israelis. Over 130,000 ID cards are lost or stolen each year, the Ministry said, constituting a major security threat that can be solved by the biometric cards.

The new program is voluntary, and is a pilot program designed to allow officials to determine if there are any problems with the biometric system. The program has been a controversial one; the law authorizing implementation of the biometric database was passed in 2009, but was challenged immediately by activists and privacy groups, as well as numerous MKs.

Among the reasons for opposition to the program, which will gather intimate details on Israelis, is the possibility that the data could be stolen, or even worse, used by the government to impose controls on individuals by limiting their access to services, and tracking them using biometric information.

“The information is well protected and will prevent identity theft,” Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar said. Regarding the fears that the information could be used in a negative manner, Sa'ar said that “there is no basis for the panic that has taken hold of some. The numbers of those requesting the cards is evidence of the faith the public has in the program, and its understanding the great need to defend individuals against identity theft and to ensure that we remain at the forefront of technology,”

Disagreeing with Sa'ar was Labor Party head MK Shelly Yechimovich, who said that implementation of the program would cause “irreversible damage” to Israel. “You can cancel credit cards that have been stolen, you can change a password that has been compromised, but you cannot change your fingerprints and face,” she said, pointing out the risks in holding such information in a database that would be a major attraction for hackers. “We all know that it is just a matter of time before corporations or hostile forces get hold of this information. The information will no doubt be used in a negative manner and will endanger many Israelis, such as IDF soldiers who will also have to give over their details in the program.”

Source

Aadhaar number is a gateway to the Number of the Beast

New Delhi: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chief Nandan Nilekani said the Aadhaar number was a gateway for delivery of public services such as medicines, rations and banking.

Speaking about the unique identification project at the World Bank in Washington, Nilekani said Aadhaar eliminates duplicates and points to the right beneficiary for transferring benefits.

While the Aadhaar project began enrolling citizens in 2009 and is said to have completed 380 million enrolments, the Indian government in January launched an Aadhaar-based direct benefits transfer scheme and dubbed it a ‘game-changer’.
World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim said the Aadhaar project could be a potential solution for other countries as well.

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/Vb1sGPu4NvmI6DyZCc0fPP/Aadhaar-number-a-gateway-for-delivering-public-services-Nil.html