iPhone 5 gets biometrics, N.Z. rolls out e-Gates
26 July, 2013
category: Biometrics, Digital ID, Government, Smart Cards
New TactivoT brings fingerprint, smart card reading to iPhone 5
Precise Biometrics has been hard at word expanding its Tactivo line of mobile device cases with the latest iteration offering support for iPhone 5.
The FIPS 201-certified, GSA Approved Product List (APL) suite of cases enables both fingerprint and smart card reading, and has thus far included support for Android devices as well as Apple iPhone 4/4S and iPad. The TactivoT for iPhone 5 has also attained FIPS-201 certification and will join the rest of the Tactivo line on the GSA Approved Product List.
The Tactivo product suite bolsters mobile security while supporting the jump to mobile devices in accordance with the security and authentication policies required by HSPD-12. HSPD-12 requires federal employees and contractors to use smart cards for physical and logical access, and along with OMB Memorandum M-11-11 requires PIV cards for access to facilities, networks and information systems.
Following an influx of BYOD initiatives and an increased interest in multi-factor authentication solutions, Precise Biometrics has revealed a new pricing model for the full Tactivo suite. Prices for Tactivo cases now range from $139 to $199.
Morpho’s e-Gates employed in New Zealand for passenger processing
New Zealand Customs Service (NZCS) has chosen Morpho’s SmartGate Plus for its passenger processing and will conduct an operational trial at Auckland Airport, where an estimated 2,000 passengers will pass through the new SmartGate Plus system each week.
SmartGate Plus promises added convenience by expediting traveller processing using a one-step process and eliminating the kiosk and ticketing steps of the current system. Morpho’s e-gates are smaller than the current system hardware, and also boast Morpho’s latest workflow and biometric matching software. Moreover the solution is scalable, meaning that in the future NZCS can add other biometric utilities including fingerprint and iris recognition as needed.
Apple, Samsung experience fingerprint scanner manufacturing hiccups
Despite Apple’s purchase of fingerprint specialist Authentec last year, the tech giant is having trouble manufacturing fingerprint sensors for its next iPhone. Fortunately for Apple, Samsung is in the same boat following reports of similar troubles with a fingerprint sensor in the next Galaxy smartphone have surfaced, according to Android Authority.
At the heart of the issue is an inability for both Apple and Samsung to manufacture an acceptable yield. In other words, neither Apple nor Samsung have been able to produce the number of biometric chips needed to meet anticipated demand.
It seems, however, that the problem lies with the proposed scale of the iPhone and Galaxy’s future projects. Despite the fact that the scanners that are to be implemented into these devices have been around for some time, manufacturing on such a scale remains a tall order.