re:ID Podcast

Mobile IDs are powerful credentials, and there are numerous use cases beyond proving driving privileges. The prospects are endless, from sporting permits to travel documents and gun licenses to health IDs.

In the third episode of a four-part podcast series, SecureIDNews explores the current landscape of state pilots around mobile driver's licenses. The mobile IDs are rolling out in a series of innovative trials and many additional state legislatures are instructing their DMVs to prepare. Hear about the ‘state of the states' in this episode of our podcast series, Investigating Mobile IDs and Credentials.

In the second episode of a four-part podcast series, SecureIDNews investigates both the privacy concerns and the opportunities for privacy enhancement that arise when traditional ID cards and credentials migrate to mobile devices. Mobile ID is poised to play a role in credentials including driver's licenses, sporting licenses, professional licenses and travel documents. But key to acceptance will be communicating the privacy-enabling features to a cautious citizenry. Learn the ins and outs from key industry leaders in this episode of our podcast series, Investigating Mobile IDs and Credentials.

The name Stephanie Schuckers is almost synonymous with liveness detection in biometrics. But it doesn't end there. Dr. Schuckers is also a professor at Clarkson University, director of the Center for ID Technology Research, founder of a biometric startup and mentor to an ongoing crop of new biometric scientists. Last year, the startup she founded was acquired by a leading biometric company. This month, she is being honored as a recipient of the 2017 Women in Biometrics Awards.

Biometrics was neither a household term nor a ‘handset technology' when Frances Zelazny began working with facial recognition two decades ago. During her career she has helped shape the use of biometrics for security, identity and now for payment applications. Throughout, she has advocated for responsible use guidelines and practices, something that has proven essential to the industry's maturation.

Liane Moriyama retired last summer as Administrator of the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center and she is honored for her innovative career as a 2017 winner of the Women in Biometrics awards. She was instrumental in bringing the first AFIS to Hawaii and helping other states to follow suit. But it is her crossover between the use of biometrics for law enforcement and its use to protect vulnerable populations that defines her most significant contributions.

Creator of the FBI's Biometric Center for Excellence and Deputy Assistant Director of the Information Services Branch of CJIS, Kimberly Del Greco is a go to biometrics lead for the Federal government. She was instrumental in the Next Generation Identification Program that redefined algorithms and modalities to increase the agency's biometric match rates and image quality.

In this first episode of a four-part podcast series, SecureIDNews explores the use of IDs and credentials on mobile devices. Agencies and issuers are rapidly working to augment their physical ID cards and documents with mobile versions, expanding both security and functionality. Learn how and why from key industry leaders during this kick-off to our podcast series, Investigating Mobile IDs and Credentials.

“I came into this field not as an expert in biometrics. My background is in marketing and events,” says Isabelle Moeller, chief executive of the Biometrics Institute and a 2017 Women In Biometrics winner. Moeller joined the fledgling Biometrics Institute in 2002 to help grow the organization's membership. The institute shares information and provides guidance in the responsible use of biometrics to and from a global list of member organizations.

In this podcast, SIA's CEO Don Erickson and SecureIDNews Publisher Chris Corum talk about the 2017 Women in Biometrics awards, highlighting the program's growth over the years and what it has come to mean to the international biometrics and security community. Nominations are open until Sept. 29 so don't delay.

The eventual demise of the plastic card seems inevitable to many working with government issued credentials, thanks to the security and convenience of mobile as an ID. But will mobile be a replacement or a complement? In this podcast, we explore this question and preview a webinar that delves deep into the topic of co-existence.

In this podcast episode, SecureIDNews' Gina Jordan talks with Colin Wallis about Kantara's three pilots recently funded by the Department of Homeland Security. Each pilot focuses on a unique aspect of digital identity – such as addressing first responder authentication and the use of derived credentials from PIV cards. The pilot recipients include Lockstep Technologies, Gluu, and Exponent.

“We don't want to confuse existing customers or future customers that Cogent's been lost or disappeared,” says Gemalto's Neville Pattinson, in this episode of the re:ID Podcast series. “It's now an additional part of the Gemalto portfolio. So we'll continue to brand it in terms of Cogent from a biometrics side.” In the podcast, you'll learn just what the Gemalto acquisition of 3M's Identity Management Unit brings to the company's government and enterprise offerings and how it sets the company up for a deeper run in many large scale identity projects.

In this podcast, part 2 of our conversation with Andre Boysen of SecureKey, we explore the specifics of how ledger-based cryptographic systems like blockchain can empower digital identity. Learn how he envisions strong identity across the Internet without risking personal data, breaches or privacy.

In this podcast, Andre Boysen of SecureKey talks about his company's work with the Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) and IBM to develop a digital identity network using blockchain technology. He believes the world must transition from user name and password based authentication to secure methods that put the user in control of personal information. He says SecureKey's triple blind approach coupled with blockchain is an ideal solution.

The industry organization that for more than two decades promoted the use of smart cards is expanding its mission to include other secure technologies. The Smart Card Alliance recently became the Secure Technology Alliance to reflect this new focus. The group's longtime executive director, Randy Vanderhoof, talks about the organization's plans and the future of secure embedded technologies -- from wearables to IoT -- in this episode of the RegardingID Podcast.

The biometric authentication system of the future may include passwords sent through the human body. Researchers at the University of Washington have come up with a uniquely secure way to transmit data. They say it can be done using low-frequency transmissions generated by fingerprint sensors and touchpads found on devices we use everyday. Vikram Iyer, a PhD student in electrical engineering working in UW's Wireless and Mobile Systems Laboratory, spoke with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan about the paper he co-authored with two other UW researchers.

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks sent Dr. Nicole Spaun on a new career path. “The hijackers went through airports. They had surveillance and they couldn't match up the faces because the automated systems didn't exist at the time, and they didn't have enough trained people to look at all the imagery,” Spaun says. At that time Spaun had a background focused on examining the geology of other planets. “That's when I contacted a colleague I knew at the FBI and said, ‘Are you guys hiring?'” Facial recognition is being used extensively now for identification and verification. As the Principal Face Biometric Expert for Morphotrak, Spaun designs training programs in face comparison. She talked with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan about the need for companies to make sure they're as invested in training humans in facial recognition as they are in paying for expensive automated systems.

Automobiles are vulnerable to being hacked these days much like computers. It's becoming more common for modern cars to come equipped with on board computers and other electronic systems that connect to the Internet. But often forgotten in this equation is securing these systems with necessary authentication and security systems. Security researchers were recently able to hack into a Nissan Leaf – an electric car – adjusting the air conditioning and heated seats. Even worse, white-hat hackers were able to manipulate the controls of a Jeep Cherokee, impacting the radio and windshield wipers. They even described how the vehicle's transmission was shut down remotely. Paul Madsen with Ping Identity talks with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan about the risks for drivers – and what automakers and owners can do to ward off these kinds of attacks.

In the future, your access to secure areas may depend not on a password or fingerprint – but your brain. Researchers at Binghamton University in New York have developed a way to verify a person by measuring the brain's response to certain stimuli. The team is reporting up to 100% accuracy with the technology, known as Brainprint. A problem for most widely used biometrics is that they are noncancelleable. For example, if fingerprint or iris images are stolen they cannot be changed. In this study, a Brainprint can be reset by periodically changing the stimuli. Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Zhanpeng Jin spoke with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan about the research.

EveryKey, a device that can enable access to mobile devices, laptops and even a car or home, zoomed to 676% of its crowd funding target on IndieGogo earlier this month. The product also has a recognized name backing it, John McAfee, the guy who founded a wildly successful anti-virus company and is now running for U.S. president as a Libertarian Party candidate. McAfee is now EveryKey chief evangelist and talked with Re:ID's Gina Jordan about the system.

Many bold claims were made about facial recognition technology in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. Vendors said facial recognition could spot wanted criminals in a crowd and perhaps stop terrorists from entering the country. The reality was quite different as it turns out that the technology works best with cooperative subjects and good quality images.

Innovations in biometric authentication are slowly moving consumers away from passwords for online checkouts. These advancements include the MasterCard Identity Check suite of solutions that prove a consumer's identity while simplifying online transactions. A MasterCard global survey of about 10,000 consumers found that 53% of frustrated shoppers forget important passwords more than once a week, leading more than a third of them to abandon an online purchase. MasterCard just wrapped up pilots in the U.S. and the Netherlands that enabled biometrics for online payments. Regarding ID's Gina Jordan spoke with Bob Reany, senior vice president of Identity Solutions at MasterCard, about the development and implementation of a mobile and biometric authentication strategy for online purchases.

NIST, the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence and the NSTIC National Program Office are working together on a new project focused on protecting privacy and security when reusing credentials online. The trio is accepting comments on the project, which will examine how commercially available privacy-enhancing technologies may be integrated into identity broker solutions.

Galois, a Portland-based company that focuses on cyber security primarily for the U.S. government, is the final winner of the fourth round of NSTIC pilots. Galois and its partners will build a tool that relies on biometric authentication to enable the storing and sharing of private information online. They also intend to develop transit ticketing on smart phones, integrating the secure system into an Internet of Things (IoT) enabled smart home. Galois Identity Research Lead Isaac Potoczny-Jones spoke with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan about the project, which involves two separate production pilots.

The latest round of NSTIC pilot awards announced by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) includes a two-time winner. MorphoTrust USA received a grant last year to pilot the creation of an electronic ID in North Carolina for accessing online services with the same security and identity authentication as in-person transactions. With the new round of funding, the identity company and its partners will continue work on an electronic ID while focusing on the prevention of state tax refund theft. Three pilot projects have been chosen in this NSTIC pilot round: Galois, HealthIDx, and MorphoTrust. MorphoTrust's Mark DiFraia spoke with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan about the new project.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has announced a fourth round of grant awards in support of the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). One of the winners is HealthIDx, which is developing a privacy-enhancing technology that protects patients' identity and information. This project will pilot a “triple blind” technology where medical service providers have no knowledge of which credential service provider an end-user chooses, credential service providers have no knowledge of which medical service provider the end-user is visiting, and the identity broker has no knowledge — nor retains any information — about the transaction's parties or contents. Three pilot projects have been chosen in this NSTIC pilot round: Galois, HealthIDx, and MorphoTrust. In this podcast, Regarding ID's Gina Jordan speaks with HealthIDx CEO Scott Lowry about his company's $1.6 million, two-year pilot project to improve the security of medical information.

World leaders in the identity management industry will be in Washington D.C. September 28 and 29 for the 7th edition of the eID Conference. Some 300 delegates are expected for panel discussions and keynotes speeches about the global eID infrastructure, driver license technology and the digitalization of citizen ID documents. “It's an opportunity for both government and industry to come together to talk about how electronic identity is going to assist us in getting to the next level in our identity management related efforts,” says Geoff Slagle, identity management director for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).

World experts in terrorism and border security will be in Washington D.C. in September to discuss threats and solutions around the global movement of terrorists. The gathering is hosted by BORDERPOL, a nonprofit organization that supports border agencies worldwide. The group will examine one of the biggest culprits in successful terrorist travel: legal documents. Many terrorists are crossing borders using legitimate papers – sometimes with biometric documentation. Can improvements in biometrics and technology make a difference in reducing the threat level? Tony Smith will be part of that discussion. He will join other experts to discuss potential solutions and how they may fit into cultures with varying degrees of skepticism about the way security is used to mitigate threats. Smith is a border security consultant and former director general of the UK Border Force. He spoke with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan from London.

It's been nearly three years since the first grant award winners were chosen for the National Strategy for Trusted Identifies in Cyberspace (NSTIC) pilot projects. Three rounds of pilot winners have been selected each year since 2012, and a fourth round will be announced in the coming weeks. We check in with all of the previous winners for the fall issue of Regarding ID magazine. All were asked to share lessons they've learned from participating in the pilots. Answers from five of them are featured in this podcast with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan: Resilient Network Systems, Daon, GTRI, PRIVO, and MorphoTrust USA. All pilot participants will be profiled in the fall issue of Regarding ID magazine.

Evgeny Chereshnev, the global head of social media for IT security company Kaspersky Lab, was trying to figure out how individual's can have better control over their personal information and decided on an experiment. It started with him implanting an NFC chip in his hand and trading in his work badge and he's hoping it will to continue with more applications. Chereshnev spoke with Re:ID's Gina Jordan about the experiment.

GlobalPlatform develops specifications for the interoperable deployment and management of multiple applications on secure chip technology. Those specifications include a focus on the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). The association has announced the launch of a TEE Security Evaluation Secretariat. The move is designed to accelerate the deployment of certified TEE products and promote a globally interoperable mobile ecosystem. Regarding ID's Gina Jordan spoke with GlobalPlatform Technical Director Gil Bernabeu about the new secretariat and the role of the TEE with identity.

Computers can't replace humans when it comes to tattoo recognition. That's a key finding from the Tattoo Recognition Technology Challenge Workshop hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. But computer algorithms are getting better, and new standards are being considered for the collection of tattoos. While tattoos are a secondary biometric - as opposed to a primary biometric like iris or fingerprint - sometimes they're the best option available for law enforcers trying to make a positive identification. NIST computer scientist Mei Ngan organized the technology challenge and led the workshop. She spoke with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan.

The dark world of the web is exposed in a case study by CSID called Hacking the Hackers. The ID theft protection firm conducted an experiment this spring that shows why it's bad practice to reuse passwords. CSID created a fake company, complete with employees who had social media accounts and credit cards, and exposed some of the company's sensitive information online. What happened next was surprising - not because of what the hackers did, but because of how fast they did it.CSID's Joel Lang spoke with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan about the case study.

Some private school students and staff in St. Louis are making use of biometrics in their day-to-day comings and goings. A facial recognition system has been installed at St. Mary's High School. The cameras green light the faces recognized by the software system - or reject them if they've been labeled a threat. School president Mike England spoke with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan about the technology.

Many people don't have easy access to the Internet, yet state governments and others are increasingly moving services online. How do the states ensure that these people have access to these services and are able to enroll an identity? Regarding ID's Gina Jordan posed these questions and more to ABI Research's Phil Sealy.

The UN Refugee Agency has begun deploying a Biometrics Identity Management System (BIMS) after a successful pilot. The goal is to enable displaced travelers to move between camps without having to be enrolled at each new stop. The system is global and will eventually allow biometric information to be communicated between camps. The agency's Sam Jefferies and Jim Ragle are on the front lines of deploying the biometric system. They spoke with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan about the roll out and what it means to the refugees who need their help.

A bill passed by the Virginia General Assembly and is awaiting the governor's signature will go a long way toward enabling Virginians to dump most of their passwords in favor of a single digital identity credential. The proposal would establish uniform standards for strengthening and authenticating digital identities. Supporters say developing these first-in-the-nation standards will make Virginia a technology leader and business hub. The two principal authors of the bill, Jeff Nigriny and Timothy Reiniger, spoke with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan about the proposed law, which they hope will be the country's first enactment of policy supporting the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace.

Insurance and banking provider USAA is rolling out biometric authentication on its mobile app. The company says face and voice recognition capability should be available nationwide to all of its 10.6 million customers in the coming weeks. USAA caters to members of the military and their families. The biometric login can only be used statewide on smartphones for now. USAA Chief Security Officer Gary McAlum talks with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan about how the biometric login works and why he thinks passwords are becoming obsolete.

Iowa is America's first state to take steps toward implementing a digital driver's license. The Iowa Department of Transportation has been talking about the possibility with identity provider MorphoTrust USA for about a year. The concept is being readied for a pilot phase, and planners are looking at the potential of a public launch in 2016. Questions about privacy and security have to be worked out, and for now, the only option for using the license app is a smartphone. Regarding ID's Gina Jordan got an update on the pilot from Iowa DOT's Mark Lowe and MorphoTrust's Jenny Openshaw.

Body recognition biometrics may be the most accurate form of authentication, based on theoretical research conducted at the University of Adelaide. PhD student Teghan Lucas – working with supervisors Maciej Henneberg and Jaliya Kumaratilake – used an old online database of body measurements from 4,000 U.S. military personnel to come up with this system. What she found is that a series of large body measurements combined with one another is better than facial recognition, and it doesn't much matter if the subject is wearing baggy clothes. Regarding ID's Gina Jordan spoke with Lucas about her research into body recognition biometrics and what's on the horizon for this modality.

The Minutiae Interoperability Exchange Test (MINEX) is nearly a decade old, born out of Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12, which calls for interoperable credentials for federal employees. The National Institute of Standards and Technology operates the test, which measures the performance of fingerprint matching software based on the standardized fingerprint templates. According to NIST, complying with the standard “creates the possibility of a fully interoperable multivendor marketplace for applications involving fast, economic, and accurate interchange of compact biometric templates.” Regarding ID's Gina Jordan talks with NIST researcher Patrick Grother about the evolution of MINEX.

Health care systems have been slow to embrace biometric identification technology for patients, but business is growing. Hospitals are starting to notice the potential value of using biometrics for patient identification: less fraud, fewer duplicate records, shorter wait times. Health care companies that have taken the biometric plunge using M2SYS Technology's RightPatient platform say most patients don't seem to mind. Instead of resisting the technology, they readily sign on when they understand it is meant to protect their privacy and their medical records. M2SYS Technology's Michael Trader and Novant Health's Melanie Wilson chat with Regarding ID's Gina Jordan about biometrics in health care.

Microsoft is seizing the opportunity to hook up with Internet-connected devices and turning to the cloud to provide enterprises with more identity authentication options, while also helping organizations embrace a bring-your–own-device (BYOD) policy. Alex Simons, director of program management for Microsoft's Azure Active Directory, fills Regarding ID's Gina Jordan in on the latest from the computing giant.

Barely two-years-old, Confyrm is making a big impact with a $2.4 million two years pilot project that will demonstrate ways to minimize loss when criminals create fake accounts or take over online accounts. A key barrier to federated identity — where an identity provider “vouches” for an individual at other sites — is the concern that accounts used in identity solutions may not be legitimate, or in the control of their rightful owner. Andrew Nash, founder and CEO of Confyrm, fills Gina Jordan in on some of the details surrounding the pilot.

MorphoTrust is among the latest round of pilot winners for the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace. The company is working with North Carolina and about half a dozen partners to create an electronic ID for accessing online services. Their goal is that the eID will provide the ability to authenticate identity with the same security and privacy protection as in-person transactions. Regarding ID's Gina Jordan spoke with MorphoTrust's Mark DiFraia and miiCard's James Varga about the project.

It's been two years since Internet2 was awarded a $1.8 million grant from the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace. Among other things, the money is being used to encourage the use of multi-factor authentication among higher education institutions. As more schools roll out multi-factor authentication, dozens have joined a “cohortium” to bounce ideas off each other and gather information about best practices. Regarding ID's Gina Jordan spoke with officials at the University of Arizona and University of Chicago member schools about their deployment of multi-factor authentication.

The FBI started rolling out the Next-Generation Identification system in 2010, with new increments coming about every 18 months, and completion expected in about 2020. In about a year, the FBI will start operating out of the $164million Biometrics Technology Center in Clarksburg, W.Va. Stephen Morris, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division, fills Regarding ID's Gina Jordan in on the program's progress.

It's estimated that's security breaches cost companies $100 billion a year yet the IT security market as a whole is worth $50 billion. There's a disconnect between those two numbers but Patrick Harding, CTO at Ping Identity, posits that by using different identity management technologies enterprise security can save money. By using single sign-on specific mobile identity and other technologies employees can be more productive while also securing the enterprise, Harding tells Regarding ID's Gina Jordan.

When it comers to ways to improve online authentication, the discussion quickly turns to two-factor. And while two-authentication is an improvement over user names and passwords it can still be hacked. One of the latest attacks is a variation on a man-in-the-middle attacks that's being used in Europe. Regarding ID's Gina Jordan spoke with Tom Kellermann, chief cybersecurity officer for Trend Micro, to explain “Operation Emmental.”

In David Birch's book “Identity is the New Money,” cash is passé. Regarding ID's Gina Jordan spoke with Birch, director and global ambassador for Consult Hyperion, about his book which focuses on the technological changes that are merging payments with identity. He argues that social connections and mobile phones can work together to provide private and secure transactions. He finishes the book by calling for a rethinking of identity infrastructure, also known as entitlement infrastructure.