Identity, Security, Payments, Biometrics, Smart Cards and Authentication News

St. Louis area schools to be fitted with biometric security

Monday, July 28, 2008

In Edwardsville, Ill. the local school district’s building program has decided that all new school buildings and school renovations will include a new biometric-based security system, according to an Edwardsville Journal article.

While some facilities will have their new security systems up and running by the start of the school year this fall, the rest of the district is expected to have them implemented within 18 months.


The new systems are mainly concerned with access control as it will pertain to new ID cards for both staff and visitors. Staff will be issued biometric ID cards that contain fingerprint data so that certain entries will require a swiping of their card followed by scanning a fingerprint. The fingerprint data will not be stored on a database but on the cards alone.

Visitors, however, will have their state-issued ID cards scanned for background information such as being a registered sex offender; they will then be given a new photo ID card to wear when in the building. Additionally, video surveillance will be installed at all building entries.

Read the full story here [end] 

The British government has advised that schools will not be able to use students’ biometric data unless parents consent, reports politics.co.uk.

The government’s advice, released on Tuesday for consultation, was updated to include items from the newly enacted Freedoms Act 2012. This new advice will take effect in September 2013.

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Key Source International announced GSA approval for it’s biometric keyboard and stand-alone biometric pod. KSI products are approved under FIPS 201 for Federal Employees and civilian contractors.

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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed and published a new protocol for devices to capture biometric data wirelessly and securely using Web services.

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Gemalto announced that it has been awarded a multi-year contract from the UK’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to supply 40 to 80 million secure Sealys documents for a variety of official permits. These include digital tachograph cards, the next generation of polycarbonate driver’s licenses, and biometric residence permits, in a multi-year contract.

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High schools in Jefferson County, W.V. will be implementing biometric finger scanning in an effort to provide security for the students’ cafeteria accounts. Purpose of the program, according to school officials, is to eliminate clerical errors and to provide students with an easy way to identify themselves when using the cafeteria.

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Parents in the capital city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, can now keep tabs on their children’s academic records with the swipe of their Emirates ID card.

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