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Ohio reviews law gateway after facial biometrics furore
NEWS/COMMENT ...Continued from page 3 recently, the Delhi high court directed Delhi University to implement a biometric attendance system to ensure participation of teachers in the teaching process, reports the Times of India. Biometric systems to verify the identity of IELTS test takers have been implemented globally. IELTS is the International English Language Testing System. The IELTS security protocols now incorporate finger scans in jurisdictions where this is permitted. John Gildea, head of IELTS at the British Council, says, “All necessary steps have been taken to comply with privacy laws and the framework of each local jurisdiction. IELTS is available in more than 900 locations across 130 countries, so the British Council and IDP IELTS have taken a deliberate and respectful approach to implementing these new biometric measures in a manner that is in keeping with the integrity of the IELTS test.”
market
Synaptics snaps up Validity Sensors
S
ynaptics Inc, human interface solutions provider, has agreed to acquire Validity Sensors, Inc, a provider of biometric fingerprint authentication solutions for smartphones, tablets and notebook PCs. “Biometrics has long been of interest to Synaptics as it complements our existing touchbased solutions and offers an exciting new way to interact with devices,” says Rick Bergman, president and CEO, Synaptics. Synaptics will pay approximately $92.5m in stock and cash at the closing plus potential performance payments over a multi-year period for total potential consideration of up to $255m.
market research
Global biometrics revenue to be $6.15bn in 2019
T
he global biometrics market earned revenues of $1.48bn in 2012 and analyst firm Frost & Sullivan estimates this will reach $6.15bn in 2019. Its report ‘Analysis of the Global Commercial Biometrics Market’ covers hand geometry, voice, and signature technologies in addition to fingerprint, facial and iris biometrics. Frost & Sullivan believes increasing awareness of biometrics across industries will spur the global commercial biometrics market. While 12
Biometric Technology Today
historically the adoption of biometrics has been concentrated in the government sector, recent years have witnessed considerable demand for applications such as ATMs, retail points of sale, and finance. Iris and face recognition algorithms have undergone substantial advancements and are gaining prominence, while fingerprint technologies remain the most popular, reports Frost & Sullivan. “Better end user recognition of the unique capabilities of biometric technologies, including enhanced security as well as physical and logical access control in applications, has helped vendors win a number of projects and contracts,” says Frost & Sullivan senior research analyst Ram Ravi. “Focus on building robust, error-free and efficient solutions will create added revenue-generating opportunities for biometric vendors.”
law enforcement
Ohio reviews law gateway after facial biometrics furore
I
n Ohio, US, Attorney General Mike DeWine has created the OHLEG Advisory Group to examine not only facial recognition, but the entire Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway (OHLEG) system in the face of controversy about the scope of the system. Ohio has operated OHLEG, a platform allowing law enforcement to access and search databases for the past 10 years. No databases are created through OHLEG, which provides access to existing databases.
COMMENT The education sector is one that holds great potential for the use of biometric technology, as there is a need to authenticate people reliably and quickly en masse. However, the combination of young people and new technology is one that always raises concern and this has been the case in education. In the UK, privacy concerns were met with legislation when the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 set out requirements for schools and colleges to obtain the consent of one parent of a child under 18 for acquiring and processing the child’s biometric information. It also gives the child the right to stop processing of their biometric information regardless of any parental consent. In schools and further education colleges for 16-19 year olds, biometric technology is mainly used for registration or payment, for meals for example. In the higher education arena, at university level, there is increasing use of biometric technology too. Only last month Human Recognition Systems (HRS) implemented a student identity and attendance verification platform for over 1,500 students at the University of Sunderland’s London Campus. The institution aims to simplify meeting UK Tier 4 immigration requirements, through HRS’ MVerify platform, which enables the automated capture and verification of student identity documentation. However, separately, academics have become concerned about the linking of biometric data collected at university and government immigration requirements. This
led to nearly 300 academics from universities across England writing to The Independent newspaper expressing concern over the fingerprinting of international students at the universities of Sunderland and Ulster, reports The Belfast Telegraph. Lecturers were objecting to being appointed immigration officers by the back door and warned that they will be mobilising to resist this. This comes against a backdrop of increasing use of biometric technology to make sure people are who they say they are when taking tests and exams. The IELTS global English language test for higher education and global migration has introduced security protocols that incorporate finger scans in jurisdictions where this is permitted, along with high resolution photography of each test taker. IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment. They report that governments accepting IELTS test results have welcomed the measures and positive feedback has also been received from test takers themselves, who appreciate the time that is saved by the use of finger scanning technology to enter test rooms on test day. The benefits of using biometric authentication for fast and reliable authentication of multiple students simultaneously, without the need for easily forgotten or forged documentation or cards, seem undeniable. And with the majority of privacy hurdles now overcome, it is to be hoped that border control does not become the stumbling block for biometrics acceptanceå in higher education. Tracey Caldwell
November/December 2013
market
Synaptics snaps up Validity Sensors
S
ynaptics Inc, human interface solutions provider, has agreed to acquire Validity Sensors, Inc, a provider of biometric fingerprint authentication solutions for smartphones, tablets and notebook PCs. “Biometrics has long been of interest to Synaptics as it complements our existing touchbased solutions and offers an exciting new way to interact with devices,” says Rick Bergman, president and CEO, Synaptics. Synaptics will pay approximately $92.5m in stock and cash at the closing plus potential performance payments over a multi-year period for total potential consideration of up to $255m.
market research
Global biometrics revenue to be $6.15bn in 2019
T
he global biometrics market earned revenues of $1.48bn in 2012 and analyst firm Frost & Sullivan estimates this will reach $6.15bn in 2019. Its report ‘Analysis of the Global Commercial Biometrics Market’ covers hand geometry, voice, and signature technologies in addition to fingerprint, facial and iris biometrics. Frost & Sullivan believes increasing awareness of biometrics across industries will spur the global commercial biometrics market. While 12
Biometric Technology Today
historically the adoption of biometrics has been concentrated in the government sector, recent years have witnessed considerable demand for applications such as ATMs, retail points of sale, and finance. Iris and face recognition algorithms have undergone substantial advancements and are gaining prominence, while fingerprint technologies remain the most popular, reports Frost & Sullivan. “Better end user recognition of the unique capabilities of biometric technologies, including enhanced security as well as physical and logical access control in applications, has helped vendors win a number of projects and contracts,” says Frost & Sullivan senior research analyst Ram Ravi. “Focus on building robust, error-free and efficient solutions will create added revenue-generating opportunities for biometric vendors.”
law enforcement
Ohio reviews law gateway after facial biometrics furore
I
n Ohio, US, Attorney General Mike DeWine has created the OHLEG Advisory Group to examine not only facial recognition, but the entire Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway (OHLEG) system in the face of controversy about the scope of the system. Ohio has operated OHLEG, a platform allowing law enforcement to access and search databases for the past 10 years. No databases are created through OHLEG, which provides access to existing databases.
COMMENT The education sector is one that holds great potential for the use of biometric technology, as there is a need to authenticate people reliably and quickly en masse. However, the combination of young people and new technology is one that always raises concern and this has been the case in education. In the UK, privacy concerns were met with legislation when the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 set out requirements for schools and colleges to obtain the consent of one parent of a child under 18 for acquiring and processing the child’s biometric information. It also gives the child the right to stop processing of their biometric information regardless of any parental consent. In schools and further education colleges for 16-19 year olds, biometric technology is mainly used for registration or payment, for meals for example. In the higher education arena, at university level, there is increasing use of biometric technology too. Only last month Human Recognition Systems (HRS) implemented a student identity and attendance verification platform for over 1,500 students at the University of Sunderland’s London Campus. The institution aims to simplify meeting UK Tier 4 immigration requirements, through HRS’ MVerify platform, which enables the automated capture and verification of student identity documentation. However, separately, academics have become concerned about the linking of biometric data collected at university and government immigration requirements. This
led to nearly 300 academics from universities across England writing to The Independent newspaper expressing concern over the fingerprinting of international students at the universities of Sunderland and Ulster, reports The Belfast Telegraph. Lecturers were objecting to being appointed immigration officers by the back door and warned that they will be mobilising to resist this. This comes against a backdrop of increasing use of biometric technology to make sure people are who they say they are when taking tests and exams. The IELTS global English language test for higher education and global migration has introduced security protocols that incorporate finger scans in jurisdictions where this is permitted, along with high resolution photography of each test taker. IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment. They report that governments accepting IELTS test results have welcomed the measures and positive feedback has also been received from test takers themselves, who appreciate the time that is saved by the use of finger scanning technology to enter test rooms on test day. The benefits of using biometric authentication for fast and reliable authentication of multiple students simultaneously, without the need for easily forgotten or forged documentation or cards, seem undeniable. And with the majority of privacy hurdles now overcome, it is to be hoped that border control does not become the stumbling block for biometrics acceptanceå in higher education. Tracey Caldwell
November/December 2013