Ideco Biometric Security Solutions director Francois Vermeulen has been appointed as the new head of the Technology Innovation Expert Group (TIEG) for the Biometric Institute. The Group focuses on the provision of accurate and unbiased technical information, training and education to the board and members of the Biometrics Institute.
TIEG is developing a best practice guide to assist members in the implementation and selection of biometric systems. It aims to assist the market with the responsible use and implementation of biometrics.
“The Biometrics Institute is playing a key role with regards to responsible use and implementation of biometrics. I believe that we need to assist the market in harmonising biometric enrolment processes where possible, to stop the continual re-enrolment of the same biometric with numerous entities,” says Vermeulen.
“Continual awareness around biometric image quality standards is essential in today’s environment. Especially with the introduction of new modalities, educating the market in standards becomes essential,” he adds.
With many modalities still in their infancy, the misuse and wrong implementation can cause serious harm, not only to the specific biometric utilised but also to the biometric industry as a whole.
“Over the past year, there has been a significant number of advances in technology and innovation in regards to the use and application of biometrics. This can mostly be attributed to the rapid adoption of biometrics in consumer products, ranging from iris identification in mobile phones to advances in the enrolment of infant fingerprint capturing devices,” he explains.
Vermeulen says there is a drive in the market toward the enrolment and utilisation of multiple modalities for the purpose of verification, identification and creation of foundational registries. “This not only provides the added advantage of additional security but also starts to cater for cases where some biometrics may not be present for a person.”
Governments now require equipment that can cater for the generation of foundational registers containing multiple biometric modalities, leading to advances in enrolment equipment. There is currently multimodal mobile enrolment equipment which caters for as much as six biometric modalities in one device, enabling Governments to create these foundational registries and to provide services to the correct person at the correct time.
“With all the additional biometric modalities being captured by different entities, it is essential to ensure that these entities use capture devices that comply with international image quality standards and that they manage the captured biometrics in a secure and responsible manner,” he concludes.
