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.
2.1 Billion to Embrace Mobile Payments | MobileIDWorld
A new report from Juniper Research predicts 2.1 billion people will be using mobile payments by 2019. This is a 30 percent jump from the 1.6 billion that used mobile wallets at the end of 2017, impressive growth for this market. This growth is driven in part by the popularity of Apple Pay and Google Pay but is being led by consumers in China, who have embraced mobile payments much more readily than those in the West. Of course, biometric authentication remains the top way to authenticate payments on mobile devices. [Read More]
China’s Businesses Boost Surveillance Technology | Design News
Headlines worldwide every week report of China’s advances in AI and facial recognition technology. This week, startup Yitu is applying said technology to ATM banking. Instead of using a traditional bank card and PIN number, customers will be able to walk up to an ATM and access their assets. Others warn of the risks of this technology, but Yitu explains this is the same as a bank teller examining a customer’s ID. Shuang Wu, an AI research scientist at Yitu, pushes back on the privacy and security concerns explaining that personal data is not attached to faces; faces are only tracked. For some in the West, this raises concerns, but Wu sees these concerns as opportunities for education on the quickly developing technology. [Read More]
FaceMatch Expedites Diagnosing Diseases | The Herald
While watching facial recognition technology utilized as surveillance tech in a TV show, Dr. Tracy Dudding-Byth realized that it could be repurposed to help diagnose diseases. A cross-disciplinary project, FaceMatch is a revolutionizing diagnostic system aiding doctors across the United States through facial matching software. Certain intellectual disabilities manifest as different facial features and forms. Using facial matching tech, Dudding-Byth hopes to compile a large database so that doctors and computers can hone in on proper diagnoses faster. [Read More]
Signing Receipts Becoming Obsolete | KIII TV
Wondering why you’re still signing receipts for certain transactions and not others? Wonder no more. Major credit card companies are no longer requiring shoppers to sign receipts after April 14. Seeing biometric and multi factor authentication as secure alternatives, multiple companies are prototyping quicker customer experiences through contactless and biometric payments devoid of the receipt signing days. [Read More]
Prototype Crypto-Wallet Uses Biometric Security | MobileIDWorld
While most cryptocurrency wallets live in the digital world as programs, Hilltop Cybersecurity announced that it is developing a physical device to hold crypto. Cryptocurrencies ever-changing landscape makes its own investors increasingly anxious. Seeing growing consumer interest in crypto, Hilltop hopes to ease some of that dread. Utilizing a yet unrevealed biometric authentication system, this physical wallet will verify a user before any transaction can be made. [Read More]
