Unisys Predicts Miniaturisation to Drive Secure ID

Unisys Predicts Miniaturisation and Attitudinal Change to Drive Rollout of Innovative Measures to Secure Identity in 2010

Slashed budgets and reduced staffing numbers meant that the rollout of many security initiatives planned for 2009 were put on hold. However, recognising that further delay may increase the risk of exposure to fraud, data theft and access breaches, 2010 will see government and commercial organisations implement new security measures to verify identity and protect confidential information – securing both the citizen and the border, predicts Unisys.

“The ramp up in roll-out will be driven by a combination of technical developments and attitudinal change,” says Terry Hartmann, vice president, identification and credentialing, Unisys.

“On the technical side ongoing miniaturisation means that multiple security measures can be combined into a single sophisticated solution, or enable portable solutions; while attitudinal change means that consumers are now more accepting of new methods to prove their identity, such as biometrics, and will expect security measures to keep pace with them as they become more comfortable using smartphones for financial transactions,” predicts Mr Hartmann.

Throughout the year, Unisys believes the following four security trends will emerge as business and government agencies look to strengthen identification methods and tackle fraud:

1. Border security will see a tipping point as governments that have invested in ePassport infrastructure, but not used it, will implement biometric verification tools such as facial and fingerprint scans, to verify identity at the border.
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3. Rapid take up of smartphones will challenge governments, business and financial institutions to protect personal and business information against malware and hackers as consumers become more comfortable using such devices for financial transactions.
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5. Portable biometric form factors will allow biometric tools to be taken to the people, instead of requiring people come to the technology, facilitating data collection and enrolment in remote communities or on-the-spot scanning and verification of details to assist law enforcement.
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7. Surveillance systems will be become more sophisticated and intelligent. Real time ‘event detection’ technology will be introduced to identify a security breach as it occurs and initiate an action instead of simply recording footage to be reviewed after the incident.
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Border security

“More than 60 countries have introduced ePassports, but only a handful are using the biometric information stored on them to verify identity at the border. In 2010 we’ll see more governments make use of their investment to not only increase accuracy of identity verification, but also facilitate efficient passenger flow through choke points such as the immigration control area in airports,” anticipates Mr Hartmann.

An ePassport contains a chip to store biometric data that can be matched to its owner via a facial, iris or fingerprint scan – verifying that the person carrying the passport is the owner of the passport. The Unisys Security Index1 recently found Australia is the most willing country, of the nine countries surveyed, to adopt biometric technology as a proof of identity.

Unisys predicts that the rollout will be led by Asia Pacific and Europe.

“Asia Pacific is quite advanced with Australia and New Zealand both using the ePassport to allow their citizens to process themselves through passport control at selected international airports in the two countries by matching data stored in the ePassport’s chip with a facial scan. Singapore and Malaysia also have in place automated clearance systems for immigration self-processing using fingerprints in biometric passports.

“In January this year, the European Parliament legislated that from June 2009, all passports issued by EU states to people aged 12 or above will contain one digital photo and two fingerprints of the bearer. We are now seeing tenders for passport control solutions with a focus on protecting the border of the EU rather than individual countries, so we can expect to see the rollout of biometric identity verification in European airports commencing in the coming year.”

“We predict that a key feature will be biometric solutions that combine multiple biometric solutions into one unit, even if they are from different vendors. One application of this might be a passport control system that gives the option of a fingerprint or iris or facial scan to allow for different cultural sensitivities which may prevent a subject touching the scanner with a bare hand or removing a religious headpiece,” says Mr Hartmann

Rapid take up of Smartphones

In 2010, businesses, government and financial institutions will need to go beyond simple pins and passwords to protect data as more consumers use their smartphones and PDAs to conduct business transactions online.

“Smartphones are more popular than ever2 - but consumers and businesses must ensure that they are not compromising sensitive data for the sake of convenience. Smartphone devices are increasingly becoming targets for the makers of malware and spyware. Phones that are lost, stolen or even hacked remotely can easily divulge an individual’s private information – or potentially enable access to their employer’s corporate network,” says Mr Hartmann.

“Many New Zealand banks such as ANZ, BNZ and Westpac have introduced browser based banking services for mobile phones, meaning that personal banking information could be accessed if a mobile device were not secured properly [eg if you store your userid and password unprotected as text on your phone]. Similarly, when used as an office tool, smartphones can provide access to work-related email and other applications and so require at least the same level of security as a company laptop.

“Securing the information stored on these devices is key. Consumers and employers will demand that security platforms and anti-fraud applications need to be strengthened and continually updated to ensure the protection of mobile online transactions,” says Mr Hartmann.

Portable biometric tools

In 2010, Unisys predicts that capturing or verifying an individual’s identity on-the-spot will become increasingly important to speed up processing for critical services and as a result, smaller, more portable and robust form factors will evolve.

“We see that portable biometric tools will not only get smaller, they will use secure wireless connectivity to interact with central databases,” says Mr Hartmann.

“Truly mobile biometric devices would provide governments with greater freedom enabling them to take biometric-based processing out to their citizens. For example, governments in countries with remotely dispersed populations, such as India and Africa, could take a mobile enrolment device out to remote communities to capture and enrol details for a national database, helping to automate and speed up such processes.

“In another example, police forces in the US and UK have already started to use mobile fingerprint scanners to capture fingerprints from suspects on the spot, facilitating faster processing. Australia has taken this one step further and is the first country where police officers can use such a device to access the national fingerprint database from the field in order to scan the criminal database for a match. Again this supports faster, more accurate identity checks.”

According to Mr Hartmann, this type of ruggardised portable technology is being used by the military and he predicts it will gradually be used more often in ‘everyday’ settings.

Intelligent Surveillance systems

Unisys expects to see emerging change for security in 2010 with the use of intelligent surveillance equipment for access management.

“Surveillance technology is developing rapidly. Real time or ‘event detection’ technology is now able to be proactive and identify when a security breach is occurring, instead of being only reactive by reviewing footage after an incident has happened,” says Mr Hartmann.

Improved digital camera technology coupled with intelligent software enables surveillance footage to be combined with other available information, such as facial recognition data, to create alerts so that immediate appropriate action can be taken.

Unisys predicts that surveillance software will be deployed to recognise recurring patterns, or individuals to detect when an unusual event is occurring in real-time.

“This development is driven by two key trends: the development of better and smaller cameras able to capture higher resolution images; and the increasing number of surveillance cameras being implemented. However, it requires that older, analogue security cameras be replaced by digital versions that can stream footage online.

“Overall, security continues to be a key concern for individuals, business and government. Knowing who’s who, when and where, will be the focus for both business and government in 2010 to protect borders, bank accounts and identities,” concludes Mr Hartmann.

ENDS

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