Biometric border processes will be trialled for vehicles at UK maritime ports as part of the Home Office’s development trials.

iProov is among four suppliers involved aiming to enhance security and efficiency in facial recognition checks. The objective of the trials is to identify a trusted provider who is capable of capturing high-quality facial comparison images within vehicles.

The technology should link the confirmed passenger ID with the vehicle registration. With passenger volumes back to normal levels after the pandemic, governments and border agencies have mandated a lot of automatic border control processes across land and sea entry points from installing e-gates, biometric kiosks contactless solutions, and advanced passenger information systems.

The Travel and Hospitality Prism Survey recently found that customer demand is driving digital transformation efforts for 60% of survey participants. Airports are already highly strict on security procedures adopting biometrics for all passengers, however maritime environments are uniquely challenged by infrastructure and space constraints. 

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Interview published by agendaNi

Harmonious data exchange across healthcare systems should unify “disparate data” from “diagnostic systems, public health records, laboratories, pharmacies, and hospitals”, whilst being verified between each party.

The healthcare sector is embracing digital systems and patient portals to make appointments, store data and inform patients about their medical journeys, but there is a lack of data interoperability – data which is easily available between the relevant departments – replaced by fragmented patient information. 

Dermot Boyle, Programme Manager at the Health and Social Care (HSC) Business Services Organisation (BSO) recently spoke about enhancing the interaction of data exchange for the Northern Ireland Digital Identity Service to offer streamlined communication between patient/provider or provider and provider. This can shape smoother delivery of healthcare services for everyone.

“The goal of NIDIS is simple yet ambitious: to link together every citizen’s healthcare record in Northern Ireland, creating a single, comprehensive view of each patient”.

He also argued that the quality of system patient care and being able to use unified patient records to identify current health problems was dependent on data interoperability. It is about binding data to a patient but also allowing essential data to be passed between relevant stakeholders involved in a patient’s care. The Irish and UK healthcare systems have depositories of our data across GPs, pharmacies, the hospital and health and social care trusts, which need to be married together whilst maintaining responsible, secure transactions of data. 

Central to this vision is the unique health identifier underpinning NIDIS, which Boyle says “facilitates seamless data sharing across primary, secondary, and community care settings”.

NIDIS is driven by an Oracle-based technology stack. “The master patient index (OHMPI) is the intelligence engine at the heart of the solution”.

“Oracle APEX will allow us to quickly pivot and build future applications quickly” to support the 24/7 call for the healthcare system.

 “This is not just about moving data around; it is about doing so with accuracy, speed and above all security”. COVID-19 has shown how difficult it is in reality to implement a population health index and efficiently operate data exchange when services were suddenly tested like never before.  He launched the NIDIS programme for data exchange during this time. 

He also said the programme needed to be upscaled with more demographic data, including gender and age-related data, telecommunication details, and specific postcodes to identify displaced populations needing healthcare services.

A digital identity for healthcare – agendaNi

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Submitting biometrics is mandatory to live and access a range of services in Kuwait. Foreign nationals who failed to disclose their biometrics by the deadline on December 30, 2024 will not only be dismissed for a residency permit, but will also be restricted to conduct banking transactions or change jobs. 

Biometric collection in Kuwait is carried out during face-to-face appointments which can be booked via the Sahel app. Facilities set up by the Ministry of Interior are located around Kuwait. 

The deadline was already delayed to September 2024 for Kuwaiti citizens and to December 2024 for Kuwaiti residents, including other Gulf Cooperative Council countries, aged 18 and above. During a 3-month timeframe which ended on June 1 2024, individuals could leave Kuwait freely whilst completing the mandatory requirements for the country’s central biometric database.

The locations of biometric facilities included at land borders, the Kuwait International Airport, security directorates at governates and designated commercial complexes. The Ministry of Interior, which has powers to suspend all citizens’ transactions if they fail to meet this requirement, has definitely acted after this latest December date passed.

The post Kuwait foreign nationals lose freedoms to use services after biometrics deadline passes first appeared on Identity Week.

Italy will make biometric data collection mandatory for all long-term visa applicants for the first time, shifting its immigration procedures more in line with other countries that require fingerprint data for approval of visa applications. 

Long-term visas will be applicable to the immigration policy, which previously stated only short-term Schengen visa applicants needed to provide their biometrics. 

This includes work, family reunification, and study-related visas over 90 days, which will be decided during mandatory in-person biometric appointments. The process will be longer and may create delays, although strengthen security to ensure visas are issued correctly. This may impact foreign students having to spare time to attend their appointments. 

Peak application seasons may see backlogs in appointment availability, further complicating the process.

The data will be valid and collected for 59 months.

 Italy follows a global trend of biometric security measures but is unique in applying it to all long-term visa types. Educational institutions and student organisations are concerned about the impact on Italy’s appeal as a study destination, calling for the government to reduce the expenses or additional steps for students which may discourage them.

By adopting these measures, Italy aims to strengthen its immigration system, but the country will need to balance security enhancements with the operational and financial realities faced by visa applicants.

The post Italy introduces mandatory biometrics for long-term visa applications first appeared on Identity Week.

Optimising workplace identity management, iProov’s biometric authentication platform will be integrated into Microsoft Entra ID as a primary or secondary authentication factor to verify 345 million workers worldwide when accessing company systems. As a leader in biometric identity verification solutions, the collaboration will expand their IAM focus on securing workstations and systems that use Windows login and managing physical access to buildings, as well as in a browser environment outside the office.

With remote working on the rise, employees have flexible access to company systems from any location and IP address which could make distinguishing fraudsters and genuine employees more difficult. 

By integrating iProov’s technology into the Microsoft Entra ecosystem organizations can “add highly secure and user-friendly facial biometrics to ensure that only authorised individuals gain access to shared workstations, facilities, and sensitive systems.”

Securing workforce access is an increasingly urgent challenge as criminals and hostile states adopt newly sophisticated and successful impersonation tactics, including targeted phishing attacks and use of synthetic identities. Fraud at onboarding remains a significant threat to employees as malicious actors can access sensitive logins and overcome weaknesses in two-factor authentication.

According to the 2023 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 81% of data breaches involved compromised credentials, highlighting organisations’ vulnerability to attacks exploiting stolen or fabricated identities.

These evolving threats emphasise the urgent need for organisations to move beyond vulnerable verification technologies like passwords and one-time passcodes to embrace robust identity authentication solutions that leverage advanced technologies like facial biometrics with liveness detection. 

Will Hogg, Strategic Technology Strategist, Microsoft UK said: “Securing workforce access in today’s environment is more critical than ever. By integrating iProov’s technology into the Microsoft Entra ecosystem organisations can add highly secure and user-friendly facial biometrics to ensure that only authorized individuals gain access to shared workstations, facilities, and sensitive systems.” 

Traditional methods of workforce authentication, such as passwords and access cards, are vulnerable to theft, sharing, social engineering, and fraud. Biometric authentication, secured with strong liveness protection, offers distinct advantages in security and user experience, eliminating the need for users to remember complex passwords or carry physical access cards. The uniqueness of biometric traits, such as facial features, means they cannot be shared or stolen, unlike widely-used authentication methods like passwords or cards. Crucially, iProov’s science-based technology strongly ensures liveness, confirming that the person is not only the right person but also the real person and they are authenticating in real-time, providing proven protection against AI-generated deepfakes or spoofing attempts with photos or masks.

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