A U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee approved $249 million for the Office of Biometric Identity Management; the Dutch government selected Morpho to develop a secure biometric travel documents and identity cards; Verizon Enterprise Solutions introduced a new service called “Smart Credential,” a cloud-based system will offer a converged credential to the enterprise through a pay-as-you-go subscription model.

Workers’ Credit Union in North Central Massachusetts is using DigitalPersona U.are.U 4500 Fingerprint Readers to authenticate employee identities to banking application and secure websites.

Using biometrics for expedited access to security lines and border crossings isn’t a new trend and 89% of travelers from six countries would be willing to give up biometric data to cross borders, according to a survey from Accenture. However, 69% of the 3,000 survey respondents say they have not shared any biometric information to date.

The Regarding ID summer 2014 issue is online. Read about the biometric boogeyman, digital identity technologies, will Bluetooth challenge NFC, problems with e-passports, identity vetting efforts at the local level, defining the hardware security module and much more.

Issuing electronic passports is but one step countries can take to protect borders. Countries also need to make sure they are hooked up to the proper databases so they can make sure the travel documents are valid and not stolen as well.

Authentication on mobile devices isn’t easy. Extra hardware or lengthy passwords adds friction to the authentication process and nobody wants to deal with the hassle. Researchers at Rutgers University found that free form shapes drawn with fingers on the touchscreen are more secure than standard pass codes, and they’re surprisingly easy to remember.

NFC forum and Bluetooth group release pairing document; AOptix rebrands as Terrain Biometrics, GlobalPlatform publishes ISO framework; MorphoTrust USA opens larger Springfield, Ill facility; DeviceFidelity’s new NFC/wireless charger and SALTO unveils XS4 mini website.