The Weekly Cypher is specially curated to keep you up-to-date on the latest in cybersecurity, biometrics, and related news and innovations. This week’s topics are:
European Bank First to Roll Out Iris Recognition | London School of Business & Finance
TSB will be the first European bank to offer iris recognition as a form of authentication. As of September, customers will have the option to use iris recognition, free of charge, through a mobile banking app. Iris recognition is considered the most accurate form of biometric authentication and is ideal for accessing sensitive information such as access to one’s bank account. However, the service will only be available for Samsung Galaxy S8 devices. While TSB will be the first to use iris recognition, more banks are offering biometric authentication due to high customer demand. [Read More]
Delta to Replace Boarding Passes with Fingerprints | Refinery29
Delta Air Lines is launching a pilot program using fingerprint verification in place of boarding passes. While using fingerprints for boarding is new, Delta experimented with facial recognition earlier this year. If the pilot program is successful, they hope to extend fingerprint scanning to luggage checks as well. While many enjoy the accuracy of fingerprint verification, some have voiced concerns over privacy. However, Delta reassures customers that scanning one’s fingerprint is simply one of three options for boarding, and paper and mobile tickets will still be welcome. The new feature is already available to Delta SkyMiles members. [Read More]
Shoppers Prefer Biometrics to PINs in Australia | Enterprise Innovation
According to new research from Visa, more than half of Australians would prefer using biometric authentication over PINs when shopping online. The survey showed that 56 percent of customers are willing to use fingerprint, retina, and voice biometrics in place of PINs, motivated by the knowledge of biometrics being more secure and the appeal of not needing to remember complex passwords or PINs. However, more than a third of people were unwilling to share other personal information in order to make payments convenient. [Read More]
Disney May Use Facial Recognition to See How Much You Like Their Latest Sequel | TechCrunch
Disney Research and Caltech have teamed up to develop new facial expression recognition algorithms that could tell the studio exactly how audiences are reacting to their latest films. The project was unveiled at the IEEE Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition conference in Hawaii and uses a neural network to capture and interpret facial expression in real time. This variation in behavioral biometrics could help studios improve movie viewing experiences, but also has wide ranging implications for crowd monitoring and other areas where interpreting complex visual data is needed. [Read More]
Hospitals Continue to Face Growing Cybersecurity Threats | NPR Maine Public
As criminals shift their focus from financial institutions to healthcare, more hospitals are facing a cybersecurity crisis. One thing that’s exacerbating the problem is advanced use of IoT devices, from heart monitors to IV pumps. While these devices drastically improve a healthcare facility’s ability to treat patients, they are also far more vulnerable to a cyber attack, either being hijacked for nefarious purposes or simply shut off. However, many hospitals are still only devoting a small portion of their IT budgets to cybersecurity. [Read More]
