• Reconstructing 3D face from a single 2D image

    Researchers develop software to make the 3D reconstruction of a face from a single 2D image faster and more accurate; this will be especially useful for recovering 3D shapes when there is only one image to work from, such as an image from a CCTV camera

  • Congress wants tighter look at passengers claiming to be policemen

    Currently, all one has to do at an airport to prove he or she is a law enforcement officer — and, thus, entitled to bring a weapon on board — is show a photo ID and a letter from the law enforcement agency employing them; both documents can be easily forged

  • Finger-vein biometrics on the rise

    A system developed by Hitachi transmits infra-red light into a part of the finger being scanned, which is absorbed by hemoglobin in the blood, causing the person’s vein pattern to show up as dark lines; the image can be captured by a special digital camera; some say the technology will replace fingerprint biometrics for ATMs, car locks, and more

  • More schools turn to biometrics

    Many parents object to their children being fingeprinted in school — the fingerprints are used to identify students in the cafeteria, library, and even to take attendance in class — and there is the question of cost, but school administrators see many benefits in installing biometric systems

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  • Getting one's name off no-fly watch list a major hassle

    The U.S. lists 28 organizations as terrorist organizations; their total membership is estimated to be around 180,000 (of about 120,000 are members of the recently added Iranian Revolutionary Guard); yet, the U.S. terrorism no-fly watch list now contains more than 700,000 names — and it is growing by thousands every month; if your name got on the list by mistake, it is not easy to have it removed

  • Emphasis shifts to analytical tools rather than building sturdier walls

    The $169 million PayPal paid for Israeli on-line security specialist Fraud Sciences is part of a larger trend in security: “Security is less a matter of keeping everyone outside the outer wall and more one of detecting them sneaking through the premises,” as one analyst put it

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  • Spam, Q4 Email Threat Trends of 2007

    A steep rise in attacks using social networking techniques which target user psychology and behavior patterns; spammers launched attacks by predicting user behavior patterns, such as looking for easy cash and discounted gifts during the holiday season, and preying on consumer trust to generate interest in cheap pharmaceutical products and stocks

  • As TWIC is implemented in more ports, hurdles emerge

    Port managers worry that there are still some unresolved issues with TWIC, the port employee credentialing system; one example: Will the card typically be used as a flash pass or will the readers need to be used? If readers have to be used, just think of this: A truck has long mirrors on the outside of the cab, preventing the driver from getting close enough to a reader to submit a fingerprint; moreover, truckers often have dirty hands, which may make it difficult to read the fingerprints; there are other issues

  • Fingerprint scanning pulled from Valley schools

    Arizona school district began to fingerprint students without notifying parents, or asking for the parents’ permission; the parents rebelled, the State Senate is discussing a bill to outlaw such fingerprinting, and the school district retreated: Fingerprinting will stop, and the fingerprint database will be deleted

  • Scottish Tories launch campaign against "ineffective" ID cards

    Scottish Tories launch new criticism of the U.K. government for a national biometric ID; “Despite what Gordon Brown and the Labour government says, ID cards won’t stop terrorist attacks and won’t prevent identity fraud,” leader says.

  • Manchester airport installs first-in-U.K. iris scan access control

    The majority of airports around the world use access control cards to regulate the movement of people, but these typically require human presence at each entry point; the 25,000 staff at Manchester airport will now be using iris scans to enter restricted areas; double-door access system governed by iris recognition cameras

  • FBI takes biometrics database proposal to U.K.

    FBI, U.K. National Policing Improvement Agency in talks over the U.K. joining the FBI’s ambitious Server in the Sky database project; new database, in which the FBI plans to invest some $1 billion, will track down the world’s most wanted criminals and terrorists

  • Unisys awarded CBP $62 million RFID reader contract

    This year, various forms of U.S. IDs will be equipped with vicinity RFID technology; DHS selects Unisys to install RFID readers at the 39 busiest U.S. land border ports of entry

  • Atlanta's Hartsfield second in U.S. to collect ten fingerprints

    DHS begins collecting ten fingerprints from international visitors at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; Washington Dulles airport began doing so in late November; eight additional U.S. airports to implement ten-fingerprint requirement in 2008

  • Gordon Brown on national biometric IDs

    The debate in the U.K. over the wisdom and effectiveness of a national biometric ID rages on, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown weighs in; he says: “We shouldn’t rule out a way to protect people’s identities”