Biometrics unifying factor amid big changes in IDs

Biometrics sit at the center of the long chain from manual verification of physical ID documents to reusable digital ID, as seen in the most-read articles of the past week on Biometric Update. Physical IDs designed for manual verification, digital IDs masquerading as tools for manual ID checks and contracts for Veridos, Mühlbauer and Idemia made headlines this week, and will support an identity verification market that a Goode Intelligence forecasts will continue to be lucrative as it evolves.

Top biometrics news of the week

Reusable digital identity is about to disrupt the identity verification market, supported by government issuance of digital IDs, according to new market research from Goode Intelligence. The report estimates revenues from IDV between 2025 and 2030 will exceed $20 billion, and while Verifiable Credentials and digital wallets have big parts of that market, so do technologies for binding people to physical ID documents, like orchestration services, ID document chip scans and biometric liveness detection.

Government agencies like NADRA and official state suppliers beyond the sectors traditional power players are getting in on the market.

The state printer of Kyrgyzstan, Uchkun OJSC, has struck a deal to provide biometric passports to Namibia, and has reportedly made inroads with five other nations, including Ghana. Kyrgyzstan brought its passport production in-country in 2023, and is attempting to strengthen its economy with increased exports.

NADRA is implementing several reforms on the domestic front, including a new definition of biometrics and a requirement for birth registration with a Union Council to receive a CRC. The country’s lower-cost legacy “Teslin” CNIC ID cards are getting updated with bilingual information and QR codes.

A local media outlet calls Veridos and Mühlbauer winning contracts to produce Nepal’s biometric passports “a surprising upset” over incumbent Idemia. Mühlbauer will provide the biometric enrollment system and IT infrastructure based on an $11.6 million bid, and Veridos will supply 6.4 million booklets, along with personalization, for $43.95 million.

Idemia’s identity credential production business remains busy, however, with the Netherlands introducing ID cards for asylum seekers in the ICAO TD1 vertical layout made by the France-headquartered company. The vertical ID cards include sophisticated security features, plus a larger portrait size for easier manual identity verification.

The mobile driver’s licenses issued by four Australian states each support identity and age verification to at least the level of assurance provided by physical IDs, but only if they are used properly. The guidance provided by the states for how to use the mDLs appears to have left businesses with the wrong impression, as the “visual security elements” can easily be faked.

Remotely validating the authenticity of ID cards and passports remains challenging. DHS S&T even emphasizes “Identity Validation” in the name of RIVR, which launched its ID authenticity phase this week. The selfie biometrics matching portion is proceeding in the meantime.

On the other end of the spectrum from validating physical IDs is proving attributes with digital credentials.

Reddit has a bot problem, and World has a proof-of-personhood and age verification solution. The two are reportedly in talks to add a major relying party for World ID.

World’s original pitch included providing infrastructure to support universal basic income, but the company has shifted its messaging to focus on addressing identity verification, or at least attribute verification.

Policy researchers from European University Institute’s Migration Policy Centre have proposed a concept they call the Human Identity Card. The Card would be backed by biometrics, and provide the legal identity to support a UBI scheme.

The Cyber Threat Observatory at the Alan Turing Institute has reviewed more than 31,000 cybersecurity flaws in national identity systems, and presented its findings in a workshop. Broken logins and permissions are the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) most frequently found, perhaps ironically.

Ethiopia-based startup Better Auth announced this week it has raised $5 million in seed funding for its developer-friendly on-premise software. TechCrunch profiles Founder Bereket Engida, who coded the whole thing himself in about six months and has found traction with early-stage AI startups.

The law enforcement side of the market continues to grow and court controversy, meanwhile.

A look at the stringent governance regime for facial recognition use adopted by police in Bristol, Virginia shows an encouraging effort to institutionalize oversight, transparency and legal compliance in the use of powerful technology. It also reveals a partnership between Clearview AI and LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

A pair of alleged false positives involving Facewatch’s facial recognition shoplifting prevention system have thrust the company back into the news. The constant pressure theft places on retailers, however, continues to motivate innovation in computer vision.

Please let us know about any presentations, podcasts or other content we should shout out to the people in biometrics and the digital identity community in the comments below or through social media.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  ID verification  |  identity document  |  week in review