The Weekly Cypher is specially curated to keep you up-to-date on the latest in cybersecurity, biometrics, and related news and innovations. Here are a few of the headlines you might have missed this week:
Russian Banks Develop Unified Biometrics System | Planet Biometrics
At the request of the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media and the Bank of Russia, several banks in Russia collaborated to design the Unified Biometrics System (UBS) to bring new user identification systems into the financial sector. Combining several biometric solutions, the UBS ensures that user data is encrypted and stored in a secure cloud infrastructure. Company heads hope a successful launch in the summer will encourage simplification and digitization of several governmental processes. [Read More]
Australian Tax Office Embraces Voice Biometrics | Biometric Update
By using a voice biometric verification system, the Australian Tax Office sped up its average over the phone inquiry handling time by 48 seconds. Currently, the technology is only being used for the Tax Office, but the government’s Digital Transformation Agency hopes to use the database of voiceprints in future verification platforms. [Read More]
Digital Transformation Agency Wants its Cybersecurity Team Back | ZDNet
The same Digital Transformation Agency collecting Australian citizen’s data has been fighting to regain an in-house cybersecurity team. After governmental transitions, the agency found itself outsourcing all cybersecurity tasks for even the most basic of concerns. Gavin Slater, the DTA’s CEO, comments that this removal hinders the agency’s need for an agile and secure environment. [Read More]
Northrop Grumman Updates DHS Biometrics System| ATW Online
On the other side of the pond, biometrics play an important role in new security systems across many US government organizations. The US Department of Homeland Security recently hired Northrop Grumman to develop its Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology. Almost 25 years old, the department’s current biometric ID system was developed in 1994. This new system will follow a multi-modal biometric scheme to provide top of the line security. [Read More]
Army Deploys Biometrics System to Iraq | AFCEA
Like the DHS, the US Army is planning to roll out a multi-modal biometrics system to optimize transportation flow. Using a contact-free interface, the newly designed biometrics software is especially useful for a fast-paced organization whose checkpoints must flow continuously. As demand for efficient security measures grows, project manager of the Department of Defense Biometrics Col. Donald Hurst notes that biometric verification addresses both security and efficiency concerns. [Read More]
