New developments from Fingerprint Identification Technology

Fingerprint-it has just released their new range of corporate readers. These connect directly to Wiegand, 485 and RS232.

 

We believe that these readers are in a class of their own. We have all seen issues with low cost readers and we have seen how this has hurt the industry.

This reader is the reader we have been waiting for to fill the gaps

 

Check out

 

http://www.fingerprint-it.com/_sol_BioEntry_Pass.html

 

 

Biometrics and Access Control in South Africa - Fingerprints rule

There is a new kid on the block. Fingerprint Identification Technology presents its new products. These can be found at

www.fingerprint-it.com/products.html

 

 

 

 

Invasion USA: More Illegal Alien Killers Busted

Fingerprint Identification Technology http://www.fingerprint-it.com presents

 

 

 

by Jim Kouri, CPP

Invasion USA: More Illegal Alien Killers Busted

Saturday, July 23, 2005 01:17:54 PM

In less than a year, from September 1, 2004 through June 23, 2005, CBP Border Patrol agents have identified 102,024 illegal aliens involved in major crimes that include: 391 homicide suspects; 136 kidnapping suspects; 525 sexual assault suspects; 849 robbery suspects; 5,154 suspects for assaults of other types; and 10,394 suspects involved with narcotics.

For instance, US Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agents arrested a 31 year-old undocumented Mexican national wanted in connection to a homicide in Florida.

Border Patrol agents stopped a 1993 Aerostar van with Tennessee license plates east of Albuquerque New Mexico. After questioning, it was determined that the driver and the 10 passengers were illegally in the United States. They were all transported to the Albuquerque Border Patrol Station for processing.

Using biometric identification technology, it was determined that the driver, Alberto Hernandez-Ortiz, had an outstanding felony warrant in connection to a 2004 murder that occurred in Fort Myers, Florida in which the victim was stabbed to death. The suspect is currently in custody pending extradition to Florida. The remaining 10 illegal aliens were granted a voluntary return to Mexico.

The technology, the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or IAFIS, enables CBP Border Patrol agents to search fingerprint databases simultaneously using the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and the FBI fingerprint database. It provides rapid identification of individuals with outstanding criminal warrants by electronically comparing a live-scanned fingerprint with a nationwide database of biometrically indexed fingerprints.


In another case, CBP officers at the Paso Del Norte port of entry encountered 29-year-old Alex Daniel Vasquez-Fuentes as he entered the US as a pedestrian Friday morning. CBP officers asked for identification and he presented a birth certificate but no additional documents.

During questioning, Vasquez-Fuentes admitted that the certificate was not his and he was wanted in the Phoenix area. CBP officers obtained a ten-print digital image of his fingerprints and ran the data through the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System and discovered his true identity and that a warrant existed for his arrest. After confirming the warrant with authorities in Maricopa County, CBP officers turned Vasquez-Fuentes over to the El Paso Police Department.

In still another case, CBP officers at the Bridge of the Americas port of entry encountered 37-year-old Jose Guadalupe Reveles Barbosa as he entered the US as a pedestrian Friday afternoon. CBP believed he was attempting to live and work in the US illegally so they sent him to a secondary inspection area. During the secondary inspection, CBP officers performed a National Crime Information Center query on Reveles Barbosa and learned that he was being sought by authorities in Maricopa County for homicide/attempted second degree murder and interfering with judicial proceedings. He was taken into custody and turned over to the El Paso Police Department.


Sources: US Customs and Border Protection, US Border Patrol, National Association of Chiefs of Police
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others, and he's a columnist for TheConservativeVoice.Com. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores. Kouri holds a bachelor of science in criminal justice and master of arts in public administration and he's a board certified protection professional.

 

Fingerprint Identification Technology http://www.fingerprint-it.com presents

Make biometrics part of your security strategy

July 21, 2005

Takeaway: While biometric solutions have been available for two decades, the technology has seen only a very gradual acceptance. But biometrics has had time to evolve, and Mike Mullins says it's time to integrate some applications into your organization's security architecture. Find out what he suggests.

 

Biometrics technology is the stuff science-fiction movies are made of. For decades, we've glimpsed the future of iris scanning, voice recognition, and fingerprint scanning—all in the name of total security.

When biometrics first emerged for computing in 1984, the industry touted it as the cure for the common password. Through the 1990s and early 2000s, several computer hardware vendors tried to entice security-conscious organizations into changing their security authentication models from something you know (such as long and complex passwords) to something you are (such as finger, hand, or voice prints).

But let's face it: To date, the industry has seen only a very gradual acceptance—and often reluctance—to change the standard. New security technology is often hard to accept, particularly in its early stages. However, biometrics has had time to evolve, and it's time to consider integrating some specific biometric applications into your organization's security architecture.

Lock down physical access

If you work in a midsize to large company, ID cards are acceptable as an initial entry mechanism for your exterior controlled spaces. What about after someone has made it inside the building?

Biometrics that use hand geometry or fingerprint scans offer an affordable and scalable solution that can help put an end to that never-ending task of key changes, ID card programming, and door security combination changes. Users are human, and—more often than not—they won't hesitate to loan a key, hand over an ID card, or give out the combination to a door to help someone do his or her job.

It's often difficult to detect this type of misuse, and it can be tough to punish a person if the results of that misuse help the company. But by deploying a biometric entry system for interior sensitive spaces, you can greatly increase the security of those spaces. In addition, you can significantly decrease the change time between granting access and removing access without disturbing current operations.

How much time and money does your company spend changing locks, key codes, and ID cards after an employee no longer requires access? Do the math, and make a pitch based on your calculated savings—you'll win every time and increase your overall security posture.

Secure machines on the move

For most organizations, laptops are part of the computing environment. Some companies assign a laptop to a specific user; others assign laptops to departments, and a pool of users share them based on travel needs.

However, using passwords on laptops can pose problems. These issues include:

• Forgotten passwords: Whenever a user forgets the laptop password, you must change the old password and create a new one before anyone else can use the machine.
• Shared account: Instead of providing each user with an individual account on a laptop, some companies create a shared account with a simple or no password—and that means little or no protection for corporate data.
• Locked accounts: Does this situation sound familiar? A user on a business trip working in a hotel room at 2 A.M. forgets the password and therefore requires after-hours support. This can be the most dangerous scenario because you're more likely to give out the admin password. That means you'll need to change every machine that uses that password immediately.

Using biometric technology, you can better protect your corporate data and your users by enabling them to access the machine without requiring them to remember a complicated password. Determine how much time you spend on laptop access, and you'll likely be able to justify any additional costs associated with biometric access.

Final thoughts

Biometrics can't cure all of your access authentication problems. If a user loses a laptop that contains sensitive data, that data is still in danger.

However, biometrics can simplify and increase your control over your organization's assets. Integrate biometrics within your organization, and gain greater control and flexibility over your security architecture.

Miss a column?

Check out the new Security Solutions Archive, and catch up on the most recent editions of Mike Mullins' column.

Worried about security issues? Who isn't? Automatically sign up for our free Security Solutions newsletter, delivered each Friday, and get hands-on advice for locking down your systems.

Mike Mullins has served as an assistant network administrator and a network security administrator for the U.S. Secret Service and the Defense Information Systems Agency. He is currently the director of operations for the Southern Theater Network Operations and Security Center.

Cash or plastic? How about fingerprint?

Fingerprint Identification Technology http://www.fingerprint-it.com presents

 

Cash or plastic? How about fingerprint? Biometric transactions are faster and more convenient -- and closer than you may think. July 19, 2005: 2:09 PM EDT By Grace Wong, CNN/Money staff writer NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Instead of keeping countless cards and pieces of information that verify your identification, soon there may be only one thing you need: yourself. As identity theft has become the bane of consumers everywhere, technologies aimed at making transactions more secure are gaining ground. Such "biometric technologies" include iris scans, as well as those for fingerprints, palm, skin, voice and face patterns. "In everyday life, the use of biometrics has been growing," said Philip Youn, a consultant at International Biometric Group. The underlying strength of biometrics is that it uses patterns that are unique to each individual. Your fingerprints belong to you alone, and unlike that password to your online bank account, you can never lose it. Where can you see it now? Retail. Albertson's, the No. 2 supermarket chain, is one of hundreds of retailers testing biometric payment systems that let customers pay for purchases with a mere swipe of a finger. It works like this: You register your fingerprint and your bank account with a service provider. The main ones are Pay By Touch and BioPay. When you shop at a participating merchant, you just swipe your finger and the payment is automatically transferred from your bank to the merchant -- you don't have to hand over a card, sign a receipt or punch in a PIN. Earlier this year, Albertson's joined the Pay By Touch network and is testing the service at four of its stores in the Portland, Oregon area. "One thing we've heard repeatedly from our customers is that they would like to speed up the checkout process," Albertson's spokeswoman Shannon Bennett said. The feedback has been "very positive" she said, although the company hasn't announced any expansion plans for the program. So far Pay By Touch has signed up between 100 and 200 merchants while rival BioPay's system includes nearly 60 participants. "Biometric payments are the safest because no information is passed to the merchant," said Donita Prakash, vice president of marketing at BioPay. And because you don't have to present your card at the point of sale, the transaction is faster, Pay By Touch marketing director Shannon Riordan said. Another selling point: biometrics could offer are instant age verification for alcohol and tobacco sales. Computers. Getting started with biometrics for your computer is as easy as picking up a product like the Biopod Password Manager produced by APC. The small fingerprint scanning device, which plugs into a USB port, stores all your passwords in your fingerprint. When you go visit your favorite Web sites -- whether it be Amazon.com or your investment portfolio -- all you have to do is scan your fingerprint. If you don't want to deal with external hardware, IBM, Toshiba and Compaq all sell notebook models already outfitted with a fingerprint reader. The price of the Biopod is about $50 while laptops with the device built-in can sell for as little as $1,300. Travel. If you travel internationally, then soon you'll be carrying some high-tech identification. The Department of State has launched a plan to introduce electronic passports that come with a chip that stores the usual personal information as well as a digital photo which enables biometric comparison through the use of facial recognition technology at international borders. According to State Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore, the electronic passports are still in test mode, but partial implementation is planned for the fall and full implementation in 2006. Fundamentally flawed technology? No biometric technology is 100 percent reliable, and privacy advocates are concerned with another problem -- centralized databases holding huge amounts of personal information. "Whenever you're collecting uniquely identifiable information that you can't change, that's a very bad idea. It's a honeypot for hackers and attackers," Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, said. "Biometric technology would seem like it's a fantastic fix for identity theft, but once the ultimate identifier is stolen, there is no recourse for an individual to prove who they are," she said. While victims of identity theft can get a new credit card number, change their address and even apply for a new Social Security number, they can't change their DNA. Furthermore, there are those who just cannot use certain biometric systems, IBG's Youn said, explaining that some people's fingerprints are damaged, and others are born without readable prints -- although this is a small portion of the population. Representatives from Pay By Touch and BioPay said when it comes to security, users of biometric payment services can relax because both companies don't store pictures of fingerprints. Instead, tiny measurements unique to each finger are recorded as an algorithm. If a hacker breaks into the system, all he or she would find is a number rather than a usable image of a fingerprint, they said. Is a federal law that better protects personal data on the way? Click here.

 

Find this article at: http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/19/pf/security_biometrics/index.htm?section=money_latest

 

 

Fingerprint Identification Technology http://www.fingerprint-it.com Presents

http://www.2theadvocate.com

School Board assures parents about fingerprint policy
By DEBRA LEMOINEFlorida parishes bureau AMITE -- The Tangipahoa Parish School Board attempted to clarify concerns Tuesday night over fingerprint scanners at school cafeterias that some parents fear would make their children's personal information available to Internet hackers.
Technology Director Jake Ragusa said he wanted to dispel erroneous information circulating about the school district's biometric scanners.
The devices take impressions of fingerprints. The scanners were put into operation at two schools during the 2004-05 school year.
A group of parents whose children are students at Loranger Elementary School had complained about the scanners and rallied other parents to ask that the devices be removed.
No objecting parents attended the School Board meeting Tuesday.
The new software that will track school lunches, especially the records required by the federal government for the free and reduced-cost lunch program, cost the school system $92,000, Ragusa said.
The fingerprint scanners themselves are optional and cost $1,000 per school.
Ragusa said the scanners are designed to help reduce paperwork for cafeteria workers and to reduce the risk of students losing their cards or forgetting numbers, which was how the former software program identified students.
Some parents were concerned about how the fingerprints are stored in the computer system.
Ragusa said the computer saves a set of points based on the fingerprint and not the fingerprint itself.
Those points are turned into computer programming language and encrypted on the cafeteria computers' hard drives.
Ragusa also said the fingerprint images taken during the scans in the lunch line are saved in a computer's random access memory and not on the hard drive. "The instant the computer goes off, it (the fingerprint image) is gone," Ragusa said.
He added that information cannot be resurrected out of RAM memory, but erased data from a hard drive can be restored to a degree.
Many parents objected to the fingerprint program, saying any information deleted from a computer's memory can be brought back.
The scanners and the new cafeteria software were tried out at last year at the Loranger school and D.C. Reeves Elementary in Ponchatoula.
About 98 percent of the students at D.C. Reeves went through the scanning process.
In other business, the School Board voted to call an election Oct. 15 to ask voters in Hammond Consolidated School District No. 1 to renew a 10-year, 3-mill property tax to support an alternative education program in the system.
"American Idol" finalist Lindsey Cardinale, a 2003 Ponchatoula High School graduate, sang three patriotic songs to open the School Board meeting.
The board typically opens its meetings with a patriotic song, the Pledge of Allegiance and a patriotic reading. Click here to return to story:http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/072005/sub_fingerprint001.shtml

Biometric Media Weekly news - July 11, 2005

Fingerprint Identification Technology http://www.fingerprint-it.com is proud
to post the Biometrics Consortium's

Biometric Media Weekly

==========================
ISSUE DATE: July 11, 2005
==========================

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Biometric Sales
-----------------

*>>> Regional Grocery Chair Lets Customers Pay by Biometric Scan
Farm Fresh has become the first retailer in Hampton Roads - and one of
the first in Virginia - to roll out a new payment system that lets
shoppers buy groceries with the touch of a finger. The Virginia
Beach-based company has installed biometric technology at checkout lines
in four of its Chesapeake stores. It has plans to put the technology in
all 38 Farm Fresh stores, including those on the Peninsula, by year's
end. The technology was developed by San Francisco company, Pay By Touch.
[Read more]
<http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-46426sy0jul07,0,490478.story?track=mostem
ailedlink>

*>>> Airport Security Goes Digital
Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe's second-biggest airline, is testing
fingerprint technology on boarding cards to make loading planes safer,
faster and cheaper. Lufthansa began a two-week test July 4, with 400
employee volunteers in simulated flight boardings using a Siemens AG
fingerprint reader,
[Read more]
<http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-zlufthansa07jul07,0,2228582.
story?coll=sfla-business-headlines>

*>>> Airport starts using iris screener
Called CANPASS Air, the system takes a black-and-white photo of the
eyeand cross-references the iris with an Ottawa database in about 20
seconds. The program already services seven cities, including Calgary,
Canada.
[Read more] <http://www.fftimes.com/index.php/17/2005-07-07/21901>**

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Information
-----------

*>>> Biometric Information Directory Sold to Grey House Publishing
The Biometric Digest announced it has sold its "Biometric Information
Directory" to Grey House Publishing located in Millerton, New York.
Bill Rogers, publisher of the Biometric Information Directory said, "The
resources of Grey House Publishing will greatly expand biometric
information to both the business community and consumers alike. We are
pleased to have found a company with a long history of publishing an
extensive array of directories focusing on security and identification
information."

*>>> Biometric Consortium ListServ Changes
The Biometric Consortium announced a new web-based interactive Biometric
Consortium Bulletin Board (BCBB) and has been getting some complaints in
the process. You may join the BCBB at http://www.bcbb.biometrics.org.
The BCBB is replacing the existing Biometric Consortium Electronic
Discussion Group (LISTSERV) after a transition period. During the
transition period, both communications venues will be available. The
duration of the transition period will be determined by operational
issues. They do not expect the existing LISTSERV to be available after
September 2005.
[Read more] <http://www.biometrics.org/html/bcbb.htm>

*>>> Terrorist Bombing in London
Another shoe has dropped - this time in London. Such attacks were
certain to occur there, and they are certain to occur in the US. A
central factor underlying the proposal for a Universal Biometric ID
(UBID) system has been the fact that the more technologically advanced
countries are particularly vulnerable to the types of attacks that
terrorists have no reluctance about performing.
[Read more] <http://www.biometricdigest.blogspot.com/>

*>>> BlueBear Network Signs Distributor for IndiaBlueBear Network
International, Inc. (Pink Sheets:BLBR) announced SKG Softnet will present
BlueBear's Integrated Digital Law Enforcement (IDLE) product and the
underlying BlueBear Network technology to courts, law enforcement and other
agencies within the justice community in India.
[Read more] <http://au.biz.yahoo.com/050707/21/59hu.html>

*>>> ComnetiX aims for acquisitions, profitability after narrowing Q3
loss
Biometrics equipment maker ComnetiX Inc. said it will continue to hunt
for acquisitions to grow its business after cutting its losses in half
in the latest quarter and posting higher sales. The Toronto biometric
identification equipment company also said it is aiming to turn a profit
in the next two to three quarters. [Read more]
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/cpress/20050707/ca_pr_on_tc/comnet
ix_2>

*>>> Shares of Biometric, Security Firms Jump
Investors jumped to buy shares of companies that sell biometric
technology, video surveillance and other security services after
Thursday's bombings in London.
[Read more]
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050707/ap_on_bi_ge/explosions
_security_stocks_6>

*>>> IO-key International Receives 'Product of the Year' Award for
Second Consecutive Year
BIO-key International, Inc., a leader in finger-based biometric
identification and wireless public safety solutions, announced today
that Technology Marketing Corporation (TMCR)'s BiometriTech magazine
online ) has named BIO-key's True User Identification as a recipient of
their 2004 Product of the Year Award.
[Read more] <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050707/cgth011.html?.v=17>

*>>> Germany moves forward with e-passports
Germany is moving forward on introducing biometric ID systems. The
German Parliament today approved an electronic passport plan to begin
Nov. 1, with Lufthansa Airlines and Siemens AG of Munich initiating a
test in which passengers' thumbprints will be used to verify identity
before boarding a plane.
Germany will be the first European country to introduce integrated
circuit chips containing personal identifying information and a digital
facial,
[Read more] <http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/36340-1.html>

*>>> 'Hello, fingerprint, please'*
In an effort to check an increase in crimes committed by foreigners, the
government is moving toward introducing compulsory fingerprinting for
foreigners entering and leaving Japan -- a move that is expected to draw
fire from foreign residents in Japan and possibly lead to conflicts with
some foreign governments.
[Read more]
<http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/geted.pl5?ed20050709a1.htm>**

=============================

Are you receiving 64 copies a year of biometric news & information?

Be sure your company's marketing and media relations team know how they
can benefit from /Biometric Digest /& /Biometric Directory/

The Biometric Digest publishes a monthly newsletter with in-depth
articles on the biometric industry. In addition, we publish a Directory
or Source Guide on the industry. This lists more than 540 profiles of
suppliers of biometric products and services. This information is
invaluable for your sales and marketing team in staying informed about
advertising opportunities. Help us make sure that the right people in
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Forward this message to them and suggest they sign up at this link.

=============================

Contracts & Agreements
----------------------

>>> Zvetco Biometrics to Offer Advanced Multi-Factor Authentication
Fingerprint authentication hardware and software developer Zvetco
Biometrics announced a partnership with Aladdin Knowledge Systems Ltd.,
joining the Aladdin eToken Solution Partner Program.
[Read more] <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050706/new006.html?.v=19>

*>>> Liska Biometry Executes Strategic MOU with Saudi Minerva to
Explore Biometrically Enabled ID Management Systems Offerings
Liska Biometry a biometrics solutions provider, announced the signing of
a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Saudi Minerva,
Company. Ltd. of Saudi Arabia, one of the leading security systems
integrators in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
[Read more] <http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050706/65444.html?.v=1>

---------------------------------------------------------

Conferences & Seminars
----------------------

*>>> Year's Conference Schedule Available
Subscribers to the */Biometric Information Directory/* have a full
year's conference available at their fingertips. The schedule is updated
as dates change and are scheduled. For a demonstration of the
Biometric Information Directory,
<http://www.biometricinfodirectory.com>.

-------------------------

*>>> ASIS International 2005
Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, Florida USA
Start Date: 9/12/05 End Date: 9/15/05
http://www.asisonline.org/education/programs/noframe/2005seminar/default.htm
l

*>>> Biometric Consortium Conference BC2005
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
Arlington, VA USA
Start Date: 9/19/05 End Date: 9/21/05
http://www.biometrics.org

>>> Biometrics 2005
Conference: 19-21 October 2005
Exhibition: 20-21 October 2005
Westminster, London, UK
Learn from case studies, market analysis and expert opinion about
technological developments and new trials in the use of biometrics for
citizen identification, transactions, surveillance, physical access
control and logical access control for government and commercial
applications.

The comprehensive conference program is supplemented by a large
exhibition area (free to visitors) housing over 70 developers and
suppliers of biometric systems, system integrators and suppliers of
smartcard and computer security services and products.

For further details contact:
Lyn Aitken, Biometrics 2005 Conference Secretariat
Tel: +44 (0) 1367 718 500
Fax: +44 (0) 1367 718 300
Email: biometrics2005@elsevier.com
Web:
http://www.biometrics2005.com <http://www.biometrics2005.com/>

*>>> The Fall 2005 BIOMETRICS SUMMIT:

Implementing Technologies for Physical Security and Identity Management
In Government And Business
********************
November 1-2, 2005, New York City

For more information, or to opt-in to receive program announcements:

----------------------------------

Call: 888-362-7400, or, 773-695-9400, x1
Email: info@aliconferences.com
Online: http://www.aliconferences.com/conferences.htm

- - - - -
Bill Rogers, Publisher
Biometric Digest