Security News

Data watchdog tells off outsourcing giant for scanning staff biometrics despite 'power imbalance'
2024-02-26 12:41

A data protection watchdog in the UK has issued an enforcement notice to stop Serco from using facial recognition tech and fingerprint scanning to monitor staff at 38 leisure centers it runs. During an investigation, the Information Commissioner's Office, Britain's regulator set up to enforce data protection law, found Serco Leisure and several associated community leisure trusts had unlawfully processed the biometric data of more than 2,000 employees at all 38 of the leisure facilities to check attendance and calculate pay.

Vietnam to collect biometrics - even DNA - for new ID cards
2024-02-20 04:58

Prime minister Pham Minh Chinh instructed the nation's Ministry of Public Security to collect the data in the form of iris scans, voice samples and actual DNA, in accordance with amendments to Vietnam's Law on Citizen Identification. Ammendments to the Law on Citizen Identification that allow collection of biometrics passed on November 27 of last year.

UK to replace physical biometric immigration cards with e-visas
2024-02-10 10:00

By 2025, Britain is set to ditch physical immigration status documents such as Biometric Residence Permits and Biometric Residence Cards in a bid to make its borders digital, which is in-line with developed countries like Australia. Presently, students, workers, immigrants and their dependents from non-EU countries residing in the UK are eventually issued Biometric Residence Permits, cards which are proof of their immigration status in the country.

Rise of deepfake threats means biometric security measures won't be enough
2024-02-01 18:45

Cyber attacks using AI-generated deepfakes to bypass facial biometrics security will lead a third of organizations to doubt the adequacy of identity verification and authentication tools as standalone protections. Remote account recovery, for example, might rely on an image of the individual's face to unlock security.

UK biometrics boss bows out, bemoaning bureaucratic blunders
2024-01-30 09:30

The farewell report written by the UK's biometrics and surveillance commissioner highlights a litany of failings in the Home Office's approach to governing the technology. "My time as the biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner has been interesting, challenging, and at times frustrating, in part because of a lack of engagement across Whitehall and often an absence of support in obtaining the resources needed to fulfill my functions: at no time have I had a full complement of staff," Sampson wrote.

Chameleon Android Banking Trojan Variant Bypasses Biometric Authentication
2023-12-21 16:21

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered an updated version of an Android banking malware called Chameleon that has expanded its targeting to include users in the U.K. and Italy. "Representing a...

Interpol makes first border arrest using Biometric Hub to ID suspect
2023-12-01 07:25

He probably would have got away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids Interpol's Biometric Hub - a recently activated tool that uses French identity and biometrics vendor Idemia's technology to match people's biometric data against the multinational policing org's global fingerprint and facial recognition databases. Interpol introduced the Biometric Hub - aka BioHub - in October, and it is now available to law enforcement in all 196 member countries.

Watchdog urges change of HART: Late, expensive US biometric ID under fire
2023-09-13 20:00

Homeland Security told to mind costs, fix up privacy controls Twice delayed and over budget, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been told by the Government Accountability Office...

X (Twitter) to Collect Biometric Data from Premium Users to Combat Impersonation
2023-09-04 12:54

"Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes," the company said. The social media behemoth told Bloomberg, which first reported the development, that the change is limited to premium users and that a biometric matching process "Will also help X fight impersonation attempts and make the platform more secure."

Biometric Authentication Isn't Bulletproof —Here's How to Secure It
2023-04-05 14:05

Not only are there ways around biometric authentication, but not all biometric methods are created equal. For optimal security it would be ideal for biometric systems to require a live biometric to be presented at each access point.