• Beyond fingerprinting: Alternative biometric technologies advance

    As more organizations turn to biometric technology to help them perform their missions, they show interest in a variety of technologies — vein architecture, retinal scan, facial recognition, and more; these are good times for innovative biometric companies

  • Voice biometrics gaining acceptance

    Banks are interested in applying voice biometrics to Internet banking; voice profile eliminates the need for remembering identifiers such as PINs, passwords, mother’s maiden name, or for having special equipment such as PIN pads or fobs

  • Biometrics help soldiers in Iraq

    Biometric readers connected to databases allow soldiers in Iraq quickly to identify suspects at check points and those arrested during night raids

  • TSA to examine airport passenger screenings

    TSA to undertake a sweeping review of airport security practices; private jets’ owners and passengers will have to provide personal information to be screened by border patrol

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  • Heathrow's Terminal 5 will open in two weeks

    The new, beautiful terminal — it also has an impressive view of the airport and its surroundings — will open on 14 March, and begin operations on 27 March; the mixing — and fingerprinting — of both international and domestic travelers; transfers to other airlines; and tight security checks pose problems

  • Mounties smash massive identity-theft ring

    Royal Canadian Mounted Police discover thousands of stolen and forged credit cards, licences, passports, personal records — and printing and embossing machines to manufacture IDs, passports, and print forged money; largest such ring in Canadian history

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  • Coast Guard, US-VISIT expands biometrics-at-sea to Florida Straits

    Since the program began in November 2006, the Coast Guard has collected biometric data from 1,526 migrants and prosecuted 118 of those migrants; program was tested in the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and judged successful, is now being expanded to the Florida Straits

  • Integrating smart cards with biometrics a growing market

    The market for integrated smart cards and biometric products earned $249.1 million in 2007 and is expected to reach $822.2 million by 2013; market driven by growing interest in national biometric IDs; market grew in 2006 by 55.2 percent, despite many of the national ID projects not operating at full scale

  • Experts: By 2015 biometrics would do away with long lines at airports

    The future of airport security checks: Automated gates would confirm an individual’s identity using biometrics before checking their biographic data for any updates in their security/legal/journey status against various databases

  • Indian high-tech companies tighten security procedures

    Indian high-tech and software companies, with their constant need for new employees, are easy targets for terrorist infiltration; these companies now take much tougher approach to vetting — and continuously checking — employees

  • Florida airports will require 10 fingerprints from foreign visitors

    To beef up efforts to catch terrorists and criminals, DHS starts new program in Florida airports — program which requires all foreign visitors to have all ten fingers electronically printed

  • Lockheed Martin wins FBI database contract

    Lockheed Martin built and maintains the FBI’s current ten-fingerprint database, so it was expected to win the contract for the agency’s new database — and it did; contract potential value is $1 billion

  • Nursery installs fingerprint scanner at door

    Fingerprinting students in school is controversial, and many parents object to it; less controversial is installing fingerprint scanners at nurseries’ doors, to make sure that only parents and authorized personnel are allowed in

  • EU moves toward biometric border checks

    There are 300 million crossings per year at EU member states’ border crossings — 160 million crossings by EU citizens, 60 million by non-EU without visa, 80 million by non-EU with visa; EU wants to introduce biometric IDs to know who is coming in

  • Digitus Biometrics shows networked access control solution

    Georgia-based biometric specialist shows a networked version of its stand-alone fingerprint access control system; the new version adds encrypted TCP/IP communications, enabling security administrators to control Digitus units anywhere in the world from a single location