Identiv PACs reader GSA approved; HID unveils PIN token; SALTO and Zaplox partner for hotel BLE deployments; WorldSpace adds PIV authentication; DOD orders more smart card readers.

Facial recognition technology is making headlines again as it’s being used by social networking sites to automatically tag individuals but the technology is also being used by churches to track attendees as well as some companies to enable access to computers and networks. As facial recognition is used more often the federal government needs to think about regulation to protect consumer privacy, according to the GAO.

Some Sunday worshipers are being tracked without ever signing an attendance book thanks to facial recognition software designed especially for churches. Churchix is a tracking software that identifies people in videos and photos. Its main purpose is to measure attendance at an event, like Sunday morning services.

MorphoTrak’s tattoo recognition algorithm placed first in NIST’s Tattoo Recognition Technology; HID Global announced an ultra-thin Polycarbonate ePrelaminate inlay for electronic ID cards; American Banknote Corp. partnered with Above Mobile to launch a wallet application for Android users; CA Technologies signed an agreement to acquire privately held Xceedium Inc.

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 and Re:ID checked in with all of the previous winners and 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.

The headlines often roar about the death of the password but the reality is the password isn’t going away anytime soon. What’s likely to happen is that other authentication factors – some more visible than others – will be used in conjunction with password for access to web sites and IT resources, according to a survey from SecureAuth.

The second installment of the re:ID eID series highlights Asia. The countries with the most significant influences in the region are those with the largest populations, China and India. The growth of eID issuance in Asia will greatly hinge upon how these countries have and will decide to implement and issue credentials to their citizens.