XST-II Data Centre

PDF Biometrics. An Introductory Presentation. (PPT/PDF 481k)

PDF New Trends in Biometrics (PPT/PDF 1,966k)

PDF BRI Rankings 2012 (617k). Overview of BRI results and world rankings 2009-2012.

XLS BRI Results 2012 (36k). Database of BRI Results 2009-2012 available for download in spreadsheet format (XLS) 

2017-05-16 World Bank's Mission Billion — World Bank: The World Bank Group’s Identification for Development (ID4D) initiative launched a High Level Advisory Council to advance the realization of robust, inclusive and responsible digital identification systems as a sustainable development priority. ID4D brings global knowledge and expertise across sectors to help countries realize the transformational potential of digital identification systems. It operates across the World Bank Group with global practices and units working on digital development, social protection, health, financial inclusion, governance, gender, and legal issues. ID4D also focuses on ensuring integration of digital identification systems with civil registration and vital statistics (CVRS).

Aadhaar Biometrics Initiative, India — World Bank Live: Aadhaar, India's massive initiative to create a unique system for the biometric identification of its residents. Aadhaar has already assigned 12 digit identification numbers to over 300 million people and will eventually enroll all of India's 1.2 billion residents

2009-01-03 Deportee scams biometric screener ... — Kyodo News: A South Korean woman entered Japan last April passing through Japan’s biometric immigration screening despite her previous deportation record, Justice Ministry officials have said

2013-01-08 Gangs faking Aadhaar, credit cards busted ... — Times of India News: Three men who manufactured fake identity cards and bank documents have been arrested. The trio allegedly created fake Aadhaar, PAN and voter ID cards, besides demand drafts and cheques at their home

2013-03-14 Fake fingers fool the boss in hospital scam ... — WA Today News: Five doctors at a Brazilian hospital have been suspended for allegedly covering for absentee colleagues by using fake silicone fingers to fool biometric machines

2013-09-12 Apple’s Fingerprint ID May Mean You Can’t ‘Take the Fifth’ — Wired Magazine: There’s a lot of talk around biometric authentication since Apple introduced its newest iPhone, which will let users unlock their device with a fingerprint. Given Apple’s industry-leading position, it’s probably not a far stretch to expect this kind of authentication to take off. Some even argue that Apple’s move is a death knell for authenticators based on what a user knows (like passwords and PIN numbers)

2013-09-23 Hackers crack Apple's fingerprint scanner — WA Today: Just days after Apple made the iPhone 5S available to the public, a group of hackers claimed that they had already cracked the phone's Touch ID fingerprint scanner

2013-09-30 Forget fingerprints - your Iris is your New Identity — Computerworld: At the entrance to "The Vault," the most secure room within the most protected building operated by security services provider Symantec, an iris recognition system stands guard as the last line of defense

2014-01-24 Wacky new devices spell death of traditional passwords — WA Today: The world's most common online password was revealed this week to be "123456", but tech boffins are working hard to ensure the password's days are numbered

2014-02-26 Samsung Galaxy S5 Fingerprint Scanner: First Impressions — Associated Press: Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S5 smartphone will be at least the third to have a fingerprint sensor for security but it's alone in letting you use that for general shopping, thanks to a partnership with PayPal. The sensor brings convenience for entering passcodes and could encourage more people to lock their phones. But fingerprint security isn't foolproof.

2014-04-16 Vein-scanning technology may trump fingerprint scanning for payments — WA Today: Scanning veins in the human hand could become the biometric measure of choice for authentication when we pay for things or want to unlock devices such as smartphones, an Australian professor says. Thanks to the iPhone 5s and Galaxy S5 smartphones, fingerprint scanners are going mainstream quickly. But how will they fare against vein scanning?

2014-04-17 Human microchipping: I've got you under my skin — WA Today: Thousands of technology enthusiasts use it as the ultimate app, enabling them to lock and unlock their homes, cars, computers and mobile phones with a simple wave of a hand. But there's a catch: they must have a microchip inserted into their bodies.

2014-04-22 SmartMetric Brings a Ubiquitous Multifunctional Card Protected by Biometrics to Card Payments — WSJ: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Apr 22, 2014) - SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB: SMME), SmartMetric is continuing its development of its ubiquitous, use anywhere biometric activated card that will provide overtly secure yet easy to use card transactions with built in enhanced security for both the user and merchant. In order for a payments platform to achieve ubiquity, or in marketing parlance, mass user adoption, it must be useable across the broadest number of payments situations as possible.

2014-05-31 NSA collecting millions of faces from Web Images — New York Times: The National Security Agency is harvesting huge numbers of images of people from communications that it intercepts through its global surveillance operations for use in sophisticated facial recognition programs, according to top-secret documents.

2014-09-16 FBI's Facial Recognition System — www.news.com.au: THE FBI has launched its “next generation” facial recognition system — and the implications are terrifying.It not only draws on a database of criminal mugshots, it searches through ordinary people too.Anyone who has ever had a background check when applying for a job could be identified in a police hunt.

2014-10-09 Bank introduces Finger Vein biometrics to deter fraudsters ... — GF Mag: Technology derived from medical scanning is being used by a UK bank in the fight against cybercrime and identity fraud. In early September, Barclays Bank announced its Biometric Reader for corporate banking customers, which uses Hitachi’s Finger Vein Authentication Technology (Vein ID)

2014-12-05 Westpac launches fingerprinting access for online banking on iOs & Android devices — WA Today: Westpac is set to offer customers with smartphones fingerprint access to online banking from January. Making use of the fingerprint recognition available on the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, as well as Samsung's S5 and Note 4, the bank's head of digital Harry Wendt said customers now had a choice of using their normal online access codes, a four digit PIN or, from January, a fingerprint...

2015-03-01 Microsoft and Apple are killing the password ... — ZDNet: New technologies are moving us away from easy-to-guess passwords, but we still need to be careful about how we use fingerprints and other biometrics

2015-03-16 Alibaba uses facial recognition tech for online payments — IDG News Service: E-commerce giant Alibaba Group and affiliated online payment service Alipay are aiming to use facial recognition technology to take the place of passwords

2015-10-22 Don't overdo with biometrics, expert warns — Computerworld: Biometric data such as fingerprint scans is being collected too widely and too casually. Biometric data such as fingerprint scans is being collected too widely and too casually, according to security company Protegrity USA.

2015-10-28 Fujitsu turns to biometrics for data encryption — IDG News Service: The new system improves on current biometric-based security systems. Fujitsu says it has developed software that uses biometric data directly as the basis for encryption and decryption of data, simplifying and strengthening security systems that rely on biometrics such as fingerprints, retina scans and palm vein scans.

2015-12-10 South Africa plans entry biometrics at every port of entry ... — Biometric Update: South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs (DHA) plans to implement biometrics capturing devices at every port of entry by July or August 2016, following the recent launch of its pilot program to collect biometric data at the country’s international airports, according to a report by Corporate Traveller

2015-12-21 Distribution of ECOWAS Biometric ID Cards... — Biometric Update: The Chairman of the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) Commission, Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, recently presented samples of the new ECOWAS Biometric ID Cards at the 48th Ordinary Session of Authority of Heads of States and Governments of the commission in Abuja, Nigeria.

2016-01-14 Fingerprint Scanner Prices Expected To Fall 40% This Year ... — Android Headlines: Fingerprint scanners are becoming more mainstream by the day, with even sub-$200 smartphones from a slew of Chinese manufactures these days sporting them in one form or another. So widespread are fingerprint scanners likely to be this year that tier-1 manufacturers like Samsung are rumored to bring in another type of biometric sensor – the iris scanner – to differentiate its next-gen flagship handset, the much talked-about Galaxy S7.

2016-05-23 How Russia's New Facial Recognition App Could End Anonymity — The Atlantic: FindFace, an app launched by a Russian startup two months ago, lets its users identify strangers from pictures of their faces. It does so by matching the photos against profile pictures from VK—also known as VKontakte—a Russian social networking website similar to Facebook. Its founders have touted the app as great for building friendships or starting relationships with strangers. But the privacy risks are enormous

2016-11-17 NatWest Implements Behavioral Biometrics for Online Banking ... — InfoSecurity Magazine: A top UK bank is rolling out behavioral biometrics to secure online transactions. NatWest, which serves more than 14 million customers in the UK, has been trialing BioCatch technology within Coutts and with some business customers, and plans to pilot the technology with personal banking customers later in 2017

2017-01-22 Facial recognition, fingerprints to replace passports at Australian airports under new self-processing system ... — ABC News: New technology will mean many travellers will soon not need to present their passports when entering or leaving Australia

2017-05-22 New handbag comes with fingerprint security, RFID blocker ... — Planet Biometrics: A new smart handbag developed by FYB London features fingerprint recognition among an arsenal of other tech tools.

2017-05-25 Samsung Galaxy S8 Iris Recognition Cracked — InfoSecurity Magazine: Security experts claim to have cracked the iris recognition system on the new Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone, using just a digital camera and a contact lens. Chaos Computer Club (CCC) hackers explained in a video how easy it was to fool the biometric scanning system in the top-end device

2017-05-25 Thailand to require biometric checks for pre-paid SIM cards ... — Free Malaysia Today News: Fingerprinting would make it more difficult for insurgents to buy pre-paid SIM cards and could help authorities identify bombers in the troubled south. Thailand’s telecoms regulator said on Thursday anyone wanting to use or buy a pre-paid SIM card for a mobile phone in the deep south will have to have their fingerprints verified and face scanned to stop insurgents from using them to trigger bombs.

2017-05-25 US rights body calls for end to DMV face recognition ... — Planet Biometrics: The Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has said that the states’s driving and vehicle authorities should no longer user face recognition, because it violates privacy norms

2018-08-07 2020 Tokyo Olympics chiefs unveil pioneering face-recognition security system ... — Japan Times: Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic organizers are confident that security for the games will run smoothly and effectively after unveiling a pioneering face-recognition ID system Tuesday. The technology, which will be provided by NEC Corp. and used at the Olympics and Paralympics for the first time, allows athletes, officials and others accredited for the games access to restricted areas by identifying their faces, based on images previously collected and stored in a database.

2018-10-01 EU digital identity regulation reaches full effect ... — Biometric News: The European Union’s electronic identification, authentication and trust services (eIDAS) regulation has come into full effect, with all EU countries obligated to recognize official national eID systems. Germany and Italy have already completed the notification process, establishing systems for identity verification checks in line with the eIDAS rules to enable their citizens to carry out online transactions with entities throughout the region.

2018-10-08 Fingerprints Protect Privacy for AIDS Testing in South Africa ... — Integrated Biometrics: A creative, progressive NGO uses biometric fingerprint scanning to redefine confidentiality and AIDS treatment in South Africa.