Definitive proof that fingerprints are a unique biometric at birth has been published by a team of academic researchers in the journal Cell. But while the paper seems to confirm that they are unique – are fingerprints immutable and reliable?

The US Transportation Security Administration has awarded Dignari a biometric service contract, valued at $23.5 million, for credential and access management services.

The boss of the UK’s Border Force has said that advances in biometrics and data security will soon make physical passports redundant.

In this round up of recent new secure document issues, we record the new Swiss passport and ID card and the Slovak ID card.

Yiannis Theodorou and Debora Comparin warn of the pitfalls in creating closed and non-interoperable systems in this adaptation of their article ‘Modernising Digital-ID Systems: What Open Standards and Open-Source Software Really Mean’.

The programme for the second Optical and Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) conference is now available, demonstrating the importance of bringing together people involved in developing digital systems for identity and financial transactions with the more traditional security document community.

In the patent titled ‘System and method for multi-modal continuous biometric authentication for messenger and virtual assistants,’ the method described uses multiple biometrics in the background during chatbot communications to enhance security without complicating the user experience.

At a time when automated document checks and ID-proofing processes are becoming more and more widespread, the physical credential remains extremely important in securely establishing and underpinning a person’s identity.

Two British politicians have joined forces to promote the introduction of digital ID cards, which has been met with mixed reactions.

Identity solutions provider, Veridos, has announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with biometrics expert Innovatrics and its leading ABIS database, taking Veridos’ holistic VeriDNA solution for civilian use of DNA IDs to the next level.

German researchers who purchased biometric capture devices on eBay have reported that they discovered sensitive US military data stored on their memory cards.

Indonesia is set to receive $250 million in funding from the World Bank Group’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to strengthen the country’s civil registration.

Toward the end of 2022, South Africa’s Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced that the current driving licence card would be phased out and replaced with a card compatible with international standards. Now, more details about the new card are emerging.

Without question, the most significant recent event that impacted everyone around the world was the COVID-19 pandemic. Literally overnight, the way we worked, interacted, transacted, and proved our identities changed.

Holidaymakers travelling to Europe this summer will be spared the anticipated longer queues at European borders, after the EU announced a delay to the rollout of the Entry/Exit System (EES).

Document and biometric verification company, Regula, has recently helped Ecuador to update its national forensic capabilities and has had its devices recognised in two Gartner reports.

PopID’s biometric solution PopPay will be integrated into Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions’ Elera Commerce Platform, enabling the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based facial recognition software that authenticates consumers’ identities.

In the November 2022 edition of this publication, an article examined two use cases of fingerprint readers – smartphones and payment cards.

Registration for the second Optical and Digital Document Security™ conference is now open, with a programme that demonstrates the importance of this event in bringing together people involved in developing digital systems for identity and financial transactions with the more traditional security document community.

A review of this year's headlines.

The Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division, has awarded Thales a three-year contract to upgrade the security features and redesign the appearance of Arizona’s driving licences and ID cards.

The traditional role of identification as a means to uniquely link a person to a document that bestows rights and privileges is being expanded to grant access to all types of government and commercial services.

The issue of biometric authentication of identity is a topic that has a rightful place in this newsletter. There are many aspects to this debate and last month the topics of fingerprint readers and ‘Security vs Convenience’ were explored.

In a very personal account, Lic. Mónica Peralta (Forensic Document Expert) sets out her opinion of what is in store for the ID and Secure Document industry in 2023.

Mobile identification has been gaining steam and COVID-19 has served to further heighten the need for contactless proof of identity.

Infineon Technologies, the German Federal Printing Office and the Fraunhofer AISEC gave a demonstration at Trustech of an electronic passport that meets the security requirements of the quantum computing era.

The UK ID data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, has released a statement warning organisations to assess the public risks of using emotion analysis technologies for ID.

Veridos, a global provider of integrated identity solutions, is set to unveil a new range of security features specifically aimed at protecting the transparent window areas on ID documents, namely Amber ID, Diamond ID and Spectre ID.