News in Brief

Xago Launches Neuromorphic Biometric Technology to Authenticate Clients

South African crypto-based money transfer fintech Xago has claimed a world-first in bringing neuromorphic computing to biometric verification and authentication.

The mobile app uses neuromorphic computing technologies to simulate human cognition – how the brain naturally and instinctively recognises people. According to Xago, the result is a more secure and convenient client experience when registering and logging in to transact on the platform.

‘Developed by research scientists at aiQ Cognitive Technologies, not only does the app’s authentication outperform conventional biometrics (fingerprint, facial recognition, voice recognition), but it also does what no on-device biometric is able to do – certify the identity of a person by referencing identity data held by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), in real time,’ claimed Mark Chirnside, CEO and Co-founder of Xago.

According to the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS), identity theft was up by 337% in 2020, indicating that the COVID-19 pandemic created a massive opportunity for fraudsters.

Xago’s mobile app offers not only 2 Factor Authentication (2FA), but 3 Factor Authentication (3FA). 3FA has all three of the following categories: knowledge (eg. password), possession (eg. mobile device) and inherence/biological feature (eg. facial recognition). Xago’s clients can now simply look at their phone without having to type, touch, swipe, scroll, press or enter any information, with confidence that they cannot be replaced by a fraudulent actor.

1.4 Million Smart Driving Licences Delivered to Nepal

Nepal’s Department of Transport Management (DoTM) imported more than 1.4 million units of smart driving licences at the end of November, according to RepublicaNepal.

The licences were dispatched by French contractor Smart Card and Solutions (SELP) and arrived at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport 13 months after SELP was awarded the contract to supply the licences.

The French firm was awarded the contract worth US$1.24 million (Rs 140 million) to supply 1.48 million smart licence cards to the DoTM. The department ran a global tender for the supply of smart licence cards in August 2020, in which Malaysian company Iris Berhad Corporation, French company SELP and Indian company Madras Security Printers submitted their bids.

The imported cards, however, will not be sufficient for the large number of people who are on the waiting list. According to records with the DoTM, there are more than 600,000 individuals waiting for their turn to take their driving licence examination.

Due to the lack of smart licence cards, the DoTM has been issuing provisional licences to the candidates eligible to receive a full driving licence. On average, the government authority takes a year to provide the individual concerned with a smart driving licence card.

You Can Now Renew a US Passport Online

Starting this month, a limited number of Americans will be able to renew their passports online and those numbers will dramatically increase over the coming months.

On 13 December, President Joe Biden signed an executive order, ‘Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government’, which promises to bring key government agencies into the digital era and decrease the red tape for a broad array of services, including passport renewals.

‘Americans will be able to renew their passports securely online, saving time from having to wait and the effort and cost required to print, go to a post office, and use a paper check,’ according to a White House fact sheet on the executive order shared prior to its signing.

One obvious advantage of renewing your passport online will be bypassing the United States Postal Service, whose controversial new service changes went into effect in October, which potentially slow down as much as 30% of first class mail.

So far in 2021, more than 15.4 million Americans were issued passports, according to data from the State Department. Currently, renewing a US passport can only be done in person or by mail.

‘Government must be held accountable for designing and delivering services with a focus on the actual experience of the people whom it is meant to serve,’ reads the executive order. ‘We must use technology to modernize government and implement services that are simple to use, accessible, equitable, protective, transparent, and responsive for all people of the United States.’ 

YooniK in Top 5 Most Accurate Algorithms in Europe and Americas

Face authentication developer, YooniK, has announced that the latest version of its facial authentication algorithm YooniK Face™ was independently ranked as top 5 for accuracy in the combined business regions of Europe and Americas in live-to-live photo comparison of the latest US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) vendor test report.

In less than a year, error rates of the YooniK Face™ authentication algorithm in the various NIST tracks have been reduced by up to 50%, making it part of a class of algorithms with false rejection rates under 0.40% for 99.9999% accuracy.

According to YooniK, matching accuracy in live-to-live comparisons takes special importance in its products, whose customer journey is based on a live selfie for a one-time enrolment and, again, live pictures for every authentication process.

Focusing on a decentralised approach to biometric authentication, the company has consolidated its position as a worldwide vendor and, it says, has set the stage to provide frictionless user authentication that is private, with applications in banking, retail, digital workplace, and hospitality.

DFA Opens Passport Renewal Centre in LA

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Philippines has recently opened the first passport renewal centre in North America in Los Angeles as part of efforts to make consular services more accessible to overseas Filipinos.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr led the inauguration of the centre, which will serve one of the largest overseas Filipino communities in the world. ‘The Philippine ePassport Renewal Centre (PaRC) system supplements and strengthens the consular operations of our 94 embassies and consulates around the world,’ said Locsin.

The new passport renewal centre in Los Angeles will be operated by VFS Global, the largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide. It also operates Philippine PaRCs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Jeddah and Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast in the United Kingdom, Dublin, Marseilles, Singapore and Kuwait.