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Tag: biometrics

  • Lawmakers Want Info on Amazon’s Plans for Customers’ Palm Prints

    Lawmakers Want Info on Amazon’s Plans for Customers’ Palm Prints

    Amazon is once again in the spotlight over privacy, with lawmakers wanting to know what the company plans to do with customer palm prints.

    Amazon rolled out palm print biometric scanning as a way for customers to pay without having to use their card. The technology is already in use in Amazon Go, Amazon Books and Amazon 4-star stores, as well as some Whole Food locations.

    Lawmakers are concerned about the company’s plans, according to TechCrunch, writing a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy to express those concerns. In particular, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) questioned whether Amazon would use the biometric data in its advertising business.

    “Amazon’s expansion of biometric data collection through Amazon One raises serious questions about Amazon’s plans for this data and its respect for user privacy, including about how Amazon may use the data for advertising and tracking purposes,” the Senators wrote.

    Amazon already has access to a wealth of information from their e-commerce operations and cloud business. It’s easy to see why there would be concern about them also having access to biometric data, especially if they plan to use it for anything other than a convenience service for their customers.

  • Illinois Facebook Users Will Receive $350 From Settlement

    Illinois Facebook Users Will Receive $350 From Settlement

    Illinois Facebook users will be receiving roughly $350 from the landmark privacy case against the social media giant.

    In January 2020, Facebook tentatively agreed to a $550 million settlement in an Illinois class-action lawsuit over the state’s biometric privacy law, with the final amount reaching $650 million. The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act prohibits private companies from collecting or using biometric data — such as facial recognition, voiceprint or fingerprint data — without written notification and written consent.

    In the first true test of the law, the Illinois class-action suit against Facebook took the company to task for violating that law. Facebook uses biometric data in a number of ways, including using facial recognition for photo tagging recommendations.

    According to the Chicago Tribune, some 1.6 million Illinois Facebook users will be receiving payments to the tune of $350 each. The payments were originally estimated to be closer to $400, but an additional 200,000 claims lowered the amount.

    Either way, the settlement should serve as a warning to companies to do a better job of respecting their users’ privacy.

  • MasterCard Is Using Facial Recognition for Online Purchases

    MasterCard Is Using Facial Recognition for Online Purchases

    Biometric security is on the rise, by all reports. One recently suggested that by 2019, over 770 million biometric authentication applications will be downloaded each year. Right now that number is about six million.

    Apple and other smartphone makers are pushing it forward with fingerprint ID systems. Will biometrics ever completely edge out the password? Maybe. Hopefully. The password is terribly insecure, as we’ve seen over and over again.

    Anyway, MasterCard wants to get in on this biometrics push by letting users confirm online purchases with their faces.

    According to a report from CNN, MasterCard is set to launch a small pilot program (500 cardholders) that will allow people to use facial recognition to confirm purchases. Once you download the MasterCard app and buy something, you’ll receive a confirmation alert.

    From CNN:

    If you choose fingerprint, all it takes is a touch. If you go with facial recognition, you stare at the phone — blink once — and you’re done. MasterCard’s security researchers decided blinking is the best way to prevent a thief from just holding up a picture of you and fooling the system.

     

    MasterCard said it doesn’t actually get a picture of your finger or face. All fingerprint scans will create a code that stays on the device. The facial recognition scan will map out your face, convert it to 1s and 0s and transmit that over the Internet to MasterCard.

    Cool.

    MasterCard says it has plans to launch the feature publicly soon, after the trial period.

    “The new generation, which is into selfies … I think they’ll find it cool. They’ll embrace it,” said MasterCard’s Ajay Bhalla.

    Oh, this is about selfie love? Ok, you’ve ruined it.

  • PayPal Will Let You Approve Payments Using Your Fingerprint On The Galaxy S5

    PayPal Will Let You Approve Payments Using Your Fingerprint On The Galaxy S5

    Sooner or late, we’re all going to be using biometric data when shopping for anything. While it’s not exactly a fool proof method, it’s certainly better than the current magnetic strips found on credit and debit cards. While such a future is still years away, early adopters who use PayPal can start authenticating purchases with their fingerprints in March.

    PayPal announced today that it has partnered up with Samsung to offer the first fingerprint authentication system at retail shops. The catch is that those wanting to use the new authentication system will have to own the new Samsung Galaxy S5 as it sports a fingerprint scanner on the bottom of the device. By using this scanner, shoppers will be able to approve payments with their finger.

    It’s noted that this is just the first step in PayPal’s Fast IDentity Online Alliance which is moving to replace passwords with stronger security standards. Biometric data is apparently safer than passwords even though it’s been proven that fingerprints can be spoofed just as easily as anything else.

    While fingerprint thieves are certainly worrisome, a more pressing concern is how secure PayPal is going to be with your fingerprints. The company notes that all your financial information is stored in the cloud and never on your device. The fingerprint scanner instantly communicates with the cloud to authorize purchases and doesn’t store biometric data on the device or on PayPal’s servers. In short, the worst that can happen is hackers breaking into PayPal’s servers and stealing your financial information. While that’s certainly bad, they at least won’t have your biometric data which will one day be the most important identifier you have.

    PayPal says its fingerprint authentication system will be available at the Galaxy S5’s launch in April. The service will be available in 26 markets, including Australia, Brazil, Russia, the UK and the U.S.

    Image via PayPal/YouTube

  • Biometric Security is Coming to the Mobile Workplace

    With the workplace becoming more mobile and bring-you-own-device programs beginning to become popular, more businesses than ever now need potent mobile security. While the mobile security software industry will certainly become a major segment of the business-to-business tech market in the coming years, mobile hardware security will also become a billion-dollar market by the end of 2014. This new market will be led by a variety of solutions, including features such as the latest iPhone’s fingerprint scanner.

    Market research firm Gartner today issued a report showing that the use of biometric mobile authentication will rise significantly in the coming years. The firm estimates that only 5% of the organizations it surveyed are using the technology currently. By 2016, however, Gartner predicts that 30% of these organizations will be using mobile biometric authentication.

    Though biometric security might seem like flashy gadgetry, Gartner believes the technology will provide a compromise between individual user expectations and the needs of business security. Though passwords are easy enough to implement on mobile devices, the average use case for smartphones might mean dozens of password entries throughout just one day.

    “Mobile users staunchly resist authentication methods that were tolerable on PCs and are still needed to bolster secure access on mobile devices,” said Ant Allan, research VP at Gartner. “Security leaders must manage users’ expectations and take into account the user experience without comprising security.”

    In addition to biometric hardware security, Gartner recommends that businesses do still use passwords heavily. This is especially true of corporate data which could be accessed through mobile accounts, such as through email. Such a two-tier security scheme could help protect sensitive data more efficiently than remote data wipes, which can often be unreliable.

    Image via Apple