News | ID & Secure Document News

Francis Tuffy

21 July 2025

6 min read

ID4AFRICA 2025 – From Africa, For Africa, In Africa

‘This is the dawn of the second decade in our pursuit of Identity for All in Africa,’ declared Dr Joseph Atick, Executive Chairman of ID4Africa, in his opening address at the Movement’s 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Event Review Free Free

Francis Tuffy

21 July 2025

3 min read

US Homeland Security Resurrects Border Biometric Rule

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reintroduced a sweeping biometric data collection rule aimed at expanding surveillance across all national borders. Originally drafted under the first Trump administration, the revised regulation mandates facial recognition scans and other biometric captures from virtually all non-US citizens upon entry and exit – including children.

Government

Francis Tuffy

21 July 2025

5 min read

News in Brief

At the High Security Printing™ (HSP) Latin America conference (9-11 June 2025), an exclusive physical ‘event passport’ was introduced for participants.

News

Andreas Schilling

21 July 2025

3 min read

The Ongoing Value of Physical Identity Documents in the Digital Age

Digital transformation affects all areas of life, including identity documents. The debate as to whether physical ID documents should be phased out in favour of fully digital solutions is still continuing, but has recently lost some of its verve, and for good reason. From a security perspective, and from a merely practical viewpoint, for many use cases, physical identity documents remain irreplaceable. They are, and will continue to be, the anchor of trust for establishing a person’s identity.

Technical Features

Francis Tuffy

21 July 2025

2 min read

ODDS 2025 – Programme Confirmed

The programme for the 2025 Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) conference (15-17 September, Warsaw) has now been finalised, reaffirming its position as the definitive technical forum for physical, digital, and virtual document security. Built by a globally respected technical committee, the agenda spans eight themed sessions and offers a balance of discovery science, applied innovation, and real-life applications.

Event Previews

Francis Tuffy

21 July 2025

2 min read

Public Engagement in the EU Digital Product Passport

While identity documents and secure credentials form the majority of the content in this newsletter, ID & Secure Document News™ also has a remit to cover the use of technology to provide an identity to the products that we consume. As the digital infrastructure of the EU evolves, the Digital Product Passport (DPP) is emerging as a core regulatory instrument for product traceability and lifecycle data.

Technical Features

Francis Tuffy

21 July 2025

4 min read

Editorial: Why is Biometric Testing So Difficult?

I don’t know whether, like me, you saw a latex face mask staring back at you from a display cabinet at Identity Week Europe, Amsterdam? I had to explore further.

Editorial

Francis Tuffy

20 July 2025

2 min read

US mDLs Driving in Both Directions

As the rollout of mobile driving licences (mDLs) gathers momentum across the US, a parallel movement in the opposite direction is questioning the privacy implications of these digital credentials. Spearheaded by the ‘No Phone Home’ campaign, privacy advocates are mounting a challenge to what they see as a creeping erosion of civil liberties.

Driving Licences

Francis Tuffy

14 July 2025

2 min read

Public Engagement in the EU Digital Product Passport

While identity documents and secure credentials form the majority of the content in this newsletter, ID & Secure Document News™ also has a remit to cover the use of technology to provide an identity to the products that we consume. As the digital infrastructure of the EU evolves, the Digital Product Passport (DPP) is emerging as a core regulatory instrument for product traceability and lifecycle data.

Technology

Francis Tuffy

8 July 2025

2 min read

DHS Resurrects Border Biometric Rule

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is making a renewed effort to expand biometric surveillance at national borders, reviving a rule initially proposed under the first Trump administration. The rule mandates the collection of facial images and other biometric identifiers from nearly all non-US citizens entering or exiting the country, including minors.

Digital Identity

Francis Tuffy

29 June 2025

2 min read

DHS S&T Opens Document Authenticity Track

The US Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) has launched the ID document authenticity track of the Remote Identity Validation Rally (RIVR), following its 2023–2024 evaluation of remote identity verification systems at the Maryland Test Facility. The earlier Remote Identity Validation Technology Demonstration (RIVTD) trials revealed significant variability in document authentication performance, particularly when validating state-issued IDs captured via smartphones or webcams under uncontrolled conditions.

Digital Identity

Francis Tuffy

26 June 2025

2 min read

Privacy: The Achilles Heel of Biometric Identity

The debate around biometric authentication continues to evolve, driven not only by technical innovation and operational efficiency, but increasingly by questions of privacy, data stewardship and consumer trust. A recent $1.4 billion settlement between Google and the state of Texas has once again spotlighted the fragility of public confidence in biometric systems – and how quickly that confidence can be eroded when privacy safeguards fail.

Studies, Reports

Francis Tuffy

26 June 2025

5 min read

News in Brief

Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) has signed a share transfer agreement to acquire a 75% stake in Rubicon SEZC, the Cayman Islands-based holding company of the Laxton group.

News

Francis Tuffy

26 June 2025

3 min read

Key Lessons from HSP Latin America 2025

The High Security Printing™ (HSP) Latin America 2025 conference was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 9-11 June. As a regional event dedicated to government-issued identity documents, banknotes, and secure document printing, it brought together key public and private sector stakeholders across Latin America. The identity stream of the event focused on the pressing challenges and innovations shaping civil ID and travel document security in the region.

Events

Francis Tuffy

26 June 2025

3 min read

Korean Company Pioneers Dual Biometric Authentication

A Korean technology startup has developed what is believed to be the world’s first smartphone-based solution capable of simultaneously capturing facial and fingerprint biometrics using the built-in front and rear cameras of a mobile device. The innovation, created by WINNING.I, enables fully contactless multimodal biometric authentication through a single application, removing the need for additional hardware or multi-step user procedures.

Technology

Steve Warne

26 June 2025

8 min read

The Growing Importance of Digital Identity Wallets

In recent years, the digitalisation of services has become a key area of focus for governments and businesses alike. With digitalisation comes an increasing reliance on digital interactions, and it is therefore becoming paramount for individuals to possess secure, accessible, and verifiable digital identity credentials.

Technical Features

Francis Tuffy

26 June 2025

3 min read

Editorial: Why Government Digital ID Must Lead on Security

Over the past year, I have found myself returning to a recurring theme: the transition from physical to digital identity is inevitable, but that transition is not without cost. With the growth of electronic identification (eID) systems comes a shift in both the nature and scale of identity-enabled financial crime.

Editorial

Francis Tuffy

26 June 2025

2 min read

Optical Technologies and the Fight Against ID Counterfeiting

In an article recently published in Securing Industry, Dr Mark Deakes, chair of the new International Optical Technologies Association (IOTA), sets out how optical technologies are spearheading efforts to protect identity documents.

Free Technical Features Free

Francis Tuffy

26 June 2025

4 min read

Design and Innovation in ID Recognised at HSP Latin America 2025

The Regional Banknote and ID Document of the Year Awards form part of the industry’s High Security Printing™ (HSP) Latin America conference. This year’s event was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the awards presented at a special ceremony during the conference dinner on 10 June, on top of the iconic Sugarloaf Mountain.

Events

Francis Tuffy

23 June 2025

2 min read

Dutch IND Introduces Portrait-Oriented ID Card for Asylum Seekers

The Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) has announced the introduction of a new identity document for asylum seekers in the second half of 2025. Revealed at Identity Week in Amsterdam, the new ID card aligns with updated ICAO standards for vertically oriented identity cards. This layout allows for a significantly larger portrait image, improving manual identity verification by frontline officials.

ID Cards

Latest News

ID4AFRICA 2025 – From Africa, For Africa, In Africa

US Homeland Security Resurrects Border Biometric Rule

News in Brief

The Ongoing Value of Physical Identity Documents in the Digital Age

ODDS 2025 – Programme Confirmed

Public Engagement in the EU Digital Product Passport

Editorial: Why is Biometric Testing So Difficult?

US mDLs Driving in Both Directions

Public Engagement in the EU Digital Product Passport

DHS Resurrects Border Biometric Rule

DHS S&T Opens Document Authenticity Track

Privacy: The Achilles Heel of Biometric Identity

News in Brief

Key Lessons from HSP Latin America 2025

Korean Company Pioneers Dual Biometric Authentication

The Growing Importance of Digital Identity Wallets

Editorial: Why Government Digital ID Must Lead on Security

Optical Technologies and the Fight Against ID Counterfeiting

Design and Innovation in ID Recognised at HSP Latin America 2025

Dutch IND Introduces Portrait-Oriented ID Card for Asylum Seekers

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