Mobile Biometrics

From law enforcement, to military, public transportation, border control, and commercial shipping authorities, mobile biometrics are quickly becoming a lifesaver to these industries in order to speed up processing of people and goods.

In a fast paced society of higher productivity, international competition, and just-in-time manufacturing, it is becoming a necessity to implement systems that can deliver the demands of our global economy. Governments and industry are turning towards mobile biometrics to meet this need.

Governments are implementing mobile biometric solutions for passport processing, voter registration, and SIN and SS cards to help reduce ID misrepresentation and lower the risk of human error.

Law enforcement are supporters of mobile biometrics, as it speeds up the identification of individuals in-the field, saving time, resources and quickly identifying threats.

Employee time-keeping, access control and security systems, are mobile biometric applications being used by commercial businesses to improve productivity, and reduce loss & waste.

Fraudsters get the red flag

Security company Active Customer Credibility Scan and Security Alerts (ACCSSA) is bullish about using technology to curb escalating fraud in the car rental industry.
ACCSSA has partnered with MaxID, a South African company which managed the IEC fingerprint machines this year. ACCSSA offers its subscribers a handheld MaxID device which scans driver's licences, IDs, passports and performs barcode decryption. It is also a smart card reader that scans fingerprints and credit cards.

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Handheld Touch Screen Device May Lead to Mobile Fingerprint ID

Newswise — The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Hostage Rescue Team had a problem—they needed a small, portable tool to identify fingerprints and faces, but couldn’t get anyone interested in building a solution for such a limited market.

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N.C. busts reveal production of fake IDs is booming

By Julie N. Chang | The News Herald and The Associated Press

Published: December 3, 2009

MORGANTON - Makers of counterfeit identification cards are growing more common and sophisticated as it becomes more difficult to live without the government-issued IDs, North Carolina officials said.
The state Department of Motor Vehicles made more arrests for driver's license fraud in the first 10 months of this year than all of last year.
Morganton Department of Public Safety Maj. Billy Bradshaw said his department hasn't run into any significant incidents involving fake IDs, but officers have seen IDs on which teenagers and adults altered their birthdates. They occasionally find illegal immigrants with fake IDs, he added.

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Datamax-O'Neil Acquires Extech Data Systems Division To Expand Its Printer Portfolio And Grow Market Share

The Acquisition Represents the First Step in Datamax-O'Neil's Long-Term External Growth Strategy to Gain Market Share and Strengthen Its Leadership Position in the Global Auto-ID Market by Broadening Its Product Offerings and Global Presence

Orlando, FL -(Marketwire) - Datamax-O'Neil, part of Dover Corporation's (NYSE: DOV) Product Identification Platform and global provider of label and receipt printing solutions, has acquired Extech Instruments' Data Systems Division, one of the world's leading developers of portable printers for enterprise-wide applications. Extech Instruments, based in Waltham, Massachusetts is a subsidiary of FLIR Systems. The acquisition expands Datamax-O'Neil's portable printer portfolio, and strategically positions the company to gain market share and significantly grow its global customer base.

Read Full Story at Data Collection Online

States get 16-month reprieve from REAL ID

DHS has extended the deadline for implementing Real ID to April 2011; thirteen states which opposed the measure because the federal government did not provide much money for its implementation, and because the measure’s security requirements were considered too burdensome, will now have more time to work out their differences with DHS.

Read Entire Story at Homeland Security NewsWire

National Identification Cards (Ghanacard)

The printing of National Identification Cards (Ghanacard) is scheduled to begin in 2010, the National Identification Authority (NIA) has said.

The authority is just awaiting the conclusion of a contract awarded for the installation of a local area network (LAN) and a high value uninterrupted power system (UPS) for the constant supply of power to the card printer to safeguard the printing process.

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Mobile Phone Madness

There are recent reports that the Indian government has recently blocked as many as 25 million Chinese-made phones which were without valid International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers. The Indian department of telecommunications instructed all operators to block cellphones without the all-important IMEI. Why is the IMEI important to the Indians as well as to us and every other country in the world? Because without them it is impossible to prove who made or received specific phone calls as they cannot be traced to a specific handset. There are obvious benefits to this for criminals and terrorists, both of which groups have exploited this loophole in the recent past. The Chinese handsets without IMEI tend to be low-end and from smaller manufacturers who cut costs by skipping the IMEI programming stage before wholesaling.

The same phones that are on sale in India are on sale in Pakistan, and come with the same problems with a few local additions. Aggressive marketing by the cellular companies to meet subscription targets has opened a Pandora's Box of unregistered SIMs, multiple fake SIM registrations against a legitimately registered card and the sale of IMEI-less handsets. The cellular industry here (according to an industry website) is of the opinion that our systems of registration and ownership of mobile phones and their associated software are as yet immature, and there needs to be a 'streamlining' of issues relating to mobile ownership. The PTA has so far blocked over 10 million numbers and PTA officials are quoted as saying that all unregistered mobile phone connections will be blocked before the introduction of a new SIM verification system. The rapid growth of the mobile phone networks has been truly transformative of the way we live our lives and do our business. As ever, the regulatory systems lag behind the technology, and few could have anticipated the phenomenal growth in the telecom sector over the last decade. Our precarious security situation makes the plugging of holes in the regulatory process essential – and if that means knocking out of the system phones without an IMEI then so be it.

ID Card Printers    |  Mobile Identification and Verification Handhelds

The EMEA Biometrics Market Offers Significant Growth Opportunities, Says Frost & Sullivan

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LONDON, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The biometrics market has gained steady momentum in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa) in recent years. The various government projects newly issued are expected to counterbalance the negative impact that the current economic recession is having on the commercial and financial sectors. Infrastructure security developments like e-Passports, the national ID programme, as well as seaports, and airports will be driving the market.

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New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.autoid.frost.com), EMEA Biometrics Market, finds that the market earned euro 216.1 million in 2008 and is anticipated to reach euro 1,058.0 million by 2015, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.5 per cent from 2008 to 2015. Technologies covered include: non-AFIS, face recognition, iris recognition, hand geometry as well as voice and signature verification.

"There is great demand for more reliable, accurate and secure measures to validate and authenticate individuals for both physical and network/IT access," notes Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Matia Grossi. "Hence, biometric technologies including fingerprint, face and iris recognition are increasingly finding use for physical/logical access control, transactional authentication, time and attendance, travel/identity documents and border control applications."

The convergence of security for physical and logical access control through the use of smart cards with embedded fingerprint biometric technology is a major market driver. It is projected to become the standard in many organisations for secure identity management.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) 9303 mandate and European Commission (EC) 2252 passport regulation will likely push the deployment of biometric passports. Biometric national IDs, driving license and healthcare card schemes are also expected to gain momentum in additional European countries in the next three years.

"The Schengen Visa, which features embedded fingerprint biometric technology, will continue to boost revenues for border control solutions," adds Grossi. "The iris recognition immigration system (IRIS) programme is currently functional in airports including Birmingham, Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester and Stansted. It is set to be widely adopted in other UK and European airports in the next three to five years."

Customers still perceive biometric solutions as key value additions to their security deployments; however the severe budget cuts on spending for high capital-intensive investments in the current economic climate have negatively impacted the market. For example, the Department of Transportation in the United Kingdom withdrew tenders for the development and implementation of a facial recognition pilot scheme that was intended to develop into a full system in November 2008.

"Biometric vendors need to reiterate the cost benefits of their products," advises Grossi. "They should constantly redefine their product portfolio and the value added services they provide and ensure a faster return on investment (ROI) for the end user."

If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an e-mail to Joanna Lewandowska, Corporate Communications, at joanna.lewandowska@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.

EMEA Biometrics Market is part of the Automatic Identification & Security Growth Partnership Service programme, which also includes research in the following markets: Electronic Physical Security in Banking and Finance, Electronic Physical Security in Retail, European Security Services Market, European Intrusion Detection System Market and, Opportunities in the European Access Control Market. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

Pradonet Extends Battery Life and add Internal GPS to the ST4EX Mobile Identification Handheld

Pradonet Technologies USA , a leader in providing mobile id verification solutions , today announced the release of two new extended life batteries and internal GPS for the popular ST4EX mobile biometric identification handheld terminal. The ST4EX Mobile ID Handheld Terminal now has two options of battery power, one being a upgrade to two 1550mAH batteries and two being one single 3100mAH battery. In addition the unit will now include a internal GPS module.
Both new rechargeable battery options allow the ST4EX handheld biometric terminal to operate continuously for up to 12 hours. In addition, the extended batteries are as before hot swappable in the field without losing any valuable data. The internal GPS added to the ST4EX allows users to pinpoint locations of all transactions taking place on the handheld.
“We have managed to add more field usage to the already popular small and lightweight St4EX handheld platform. The additional battery life allows for more modules to be added without subtracting power usage, such as a digital camera or barcode scanner. The addition of the GPS module allows the data being captured to be pinpointed to a precise location ” says Chief Executive Officer Chuck Weiglin
About Pradonet

Pradonet develops, manufactures and markets numerous Mobile and Handheld ID software, hardware, biometric devices. Our portable Mobile ID Hardware allows for Government Agencies, Systems Integrators and Access Control Companies to easily connect to existing ID systems for accurate ID verification and authentication. For more information visit www.pradonetusa.com