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

UK city says no to biometrics

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Unison, a union for Westminster City Council workers, has told the council to boycott the use of biometric time clocks to replace standard punch card clocks due to a lack of consultation prior to their installation as well as union members being suspicious over the council’s ability to properly safeguard the data, according to a Public Service article.

Dean Ingledew, Westminster’s director of community protection, is hoping the city will have the technology up and running soon as it is expected to help alert proper people if someone working alone at night goes missing. Unison, however, refutes that statement as they say no one in the union works alone. Additionally, Unison refutes the claim that the biometric systems will be used for access control as none of the units have been installed at doors as of yet, only within offices. [end] 

The Canadian Parking Association has announced that the city of Ottowa, Canada is planning to upgrade its parking meters with NFC technology.

Starting early 2012, drivers will be able to pay for their parking fees with just a tap of an NFC enabled handset against the meter. The new system will also allow users to refresh their parking time via phone or Internet, rather than having to dash out to the meter.

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Revel, an entertainment resort and casino operating in Atlantic City, New Jersey, has selected the GIMS ultra-high frequency RFID uniform tracking system to control thousands of valuable garments worn by more than 5,800 resort staff members.

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NXP Semiconductors announced that its MIFARE DESFire EV1 platform has been selected to manage the automated fare collection of the newly opened metro in the Indian city of Bengaluru, formally known as Bangalore.

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Following issues with fraudulent employee time sheets at the Municipal Golf Course, Henderson, Kentucky’s city auditor, Mac Neel, has recommended the implementation of biometric-based time and attendance systems as part of his presentation of the city’s annual financial report, according to a Courier Press article.

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Administrators for the city of Winter Park, Fla. have moved the city’s police department to a biometric system for securing access to records. The move is for compliance with the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division, according to a Computerworld article.

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The European Association for Biometrics (EAB) is focusing on a goal of driving the research and development of biometrics and building the future of the industry around a concern for end-user privacy protection.

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