Home Office bullying "soft targets" to spin ID scheme says NO2ID / Public Technology, 26 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17391
"The Home Secretary will round off the Labour Party conference by re-announcing "ID cards for foreigners". A system of biometric visas is being introduced for some foreign residents from November, but it is not really part of the National Identity Scheme, which has not been built yet.[1] This fact does not stop the government using the words "ID cards" together with a sly appeal to xenophobia, to buttress support for its unpopular scheme."

Interpol wants facial recognition database to catch suspects / Guardian, 20 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xrxw
"Interpol is planning to expand its role into the mass screening of passengers moving around the world by creating a face recognition database to catch wanted suspects."

UK Border Agency trials an automated biometric border control system / Public Technology, 3 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17172
"UK Border Agency has unveiled a trial of an automated border control system at Manchester International airport. The system provided by Fujitsu Services in partnership with Vision-Box S A, allows passengers holding electronic passports and arriving through Terminal 1 at Manchester airport to fast-track through immigration with no prior registration. By using advanced facial recognition algorithms and intelligent sensor technology the system guides passengers through the ‘smart gates’ – alleviating pressure on queue times and improving the overall passenger arrival experience."

Iris recognition for prisoners to deter drug abusesBiometric treatment records are being introduced in UK jails to ensure drugs go to the right patients / The Guardian, Tuesday September 30 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/sep/30/prisonsandprobation.drugsandalcohol
"Prisoners are having the iris patterns in their eyes or their fingerprints recorded as part of a security initiative aimed at tackling drug dealing and preventing overdoses in jail."

Review of Criminality Information: Recommendations / Home Office, 30 September 2008
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/review-criminality-recommend?view=Standard&pubID=584561
"This document details the key recommendations issued in a review of criminality information."

ePassport tests put biometrics through their paces / The Register, 19 September 2008
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/19/eu_epassport_tests/
"The tests are partly designed to address recent security and privacy concerns about electronic passports that feature RFID chips containing biometric data. The ePassports Extended Access control (EAC) Conformity and Interoperability Tests (official website here) aim to verify that participating countries are on the right track in creating harder-to-forge travel documents that meet international standards."

Manchester Airport begins biometric ID trial / silicon.com, 20 August 2008
http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39273473,00.htm
"Manchester Airport has begun a six-month trial of biometric face recognition technology that will scan passengers and use automatic gates in an attempt to tighten border security and speed up immigration checks."

ID card scheme faces new hurdle· Scientists say fingerprints of over-75s may be poor / The Guardian, August 15 2008

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/aug/15/idcards?gusrc=rss&feed=uknews

"The national identity card scheme faces fresh problems following a warning from the government's top scientific advisers that the quality of fingerprints from 4 million people aged over 75 may be too poor to be used to prove their identity. The "gold standard" integrity of the national identity scheme would depend on all 10 digits of the hands of everyone in Britain over 16 being accurately recorded on the central register, but experts have now told Home Office ministers that it is "hard to obtain good quality fingerprints" from the over-75s."

UK & US agree to speed up travel for 'trusted people' using biometric IT system/ Public Technology, 4 July 2008


http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=16485
"The Home Office yesterday announced plans to speed up travel between the UK and the US for trusted people who move regularly between the two countries. Biometric IT systems will be at the heart of the plan."

Criminals snared by new biometric cross-checks / Computing, 10 July 2008
http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2221180/criminals-snared-biometric-4112481
Tom Young
"The UK visas agency has identified a number of suspected criminals overseas by cross matching its new biometric database of visa applicants with older police databases. Among those identified in the cross matching scheme – which has been running for two months – are two applicants in Vietnam whose fingerprints matched those found on a crime scene over 20 years ago, while a UK rape suspect was recently arrested in Australia. "As well as those wanted for questioning, there are people who are immigration compliant who may have a criminal record who obviously we want to keep out," said Mark Sedwill, international director of the UK Border Agency".

Biometrics to fast track 'trusted' travellers / Silicon.com, 3 July 2008
http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39254666,00.htm
Nick Heath
"Biometric technology is to be used to speed up travel between the UK and the US.
Fingerprint, iris and facial recognition technology will be used to speed up frequent travellers' journeys through immigration control, as part of a UK-US agreement for a fast-travel option for trusted travellers going between the countries. The agreement is aimed at boosting business travel. Liam Byrne, border and immigration minister, revealed the agreement to city representatives."

Biometrics Assurance Group: Annual Report 2007 / Home Office - Identity and Passport Service, June 2008
PDF - http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/downloads/FINAL-BAG-annual-report-2007-v1_0.pdf

Brown defends database state / Computing, 20 June 2008
http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2219726/brown-defends-database-state
"Prime minister Gordon Brown has rejected growing calls for an end to the database state. Brown defended the DNA database and proposed National Identity Scheme after former Tory shadow home secretary David Davis said they inflicted on civil liberties. The systems are vital to protecting the country against fraud and terrorism, Brown insisted. "Instead of rejecting the technologies of the modern world we should adopt them, while ensuring that the individual is properly protected against unfair or arbitrary treatment," he said."

Warning: ID cards face fingerprint errors / Silicon.com, 20 June 2008
http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39249422,00.htm
Nick Heath
"Experts have warned the ID card scheme risks being derailed by mistakes in fingerprint matches. The £4.4bn National Identity Scheme's (NIS) preference for relying on fingerprint and facial recognition biometrics exposes the system to error, according to the independent Biometrics Assurance Group (BAG). BAG urged the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) to adopt iris scans as a "fall back", for when there are problems taking or matching a fingerprint."

Experian launches biometric voice ID checks / Silicon.com, 23 June 2008
http://www.silicon.com/financialservices/0,3800010322,39250356,00.htm
Julian Goldsmith
"Experian has launched a voice biometric hosted ID verification service pitched at customer call centres. The VoiceCheck service uses technology provided by biometrics specialist VoiceVault to detect more than 100 physiological metrics, such as size of nasal cavity, to determine whether the subject is who they claim to be. This prevents fraudsters spoofing the system with a voice recording of the subject. Participants have to register a voice recording to opt in to the scheme."

[Afghanistan] Afghanistan and Pakistan agree to implement biometric security on border / Terrorism Focus, vol. 5 issue 23, 18 June 2008
http://mail.google.com/mail/#inbox/11a9cba12ab9ddcc
"The governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to adopt a high-tech method to address the ongoing problem of suspects wanted for terrorism and other crimes crossing their mutual border. At a June 8 meeting between President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and the advisor to Pakistan’s prime minister on internal affairs and narcotics control, Rehman Malik, an agreement was reached to resume a once-aborted program to install biometric identification equipment at border points."

Biometric smartcards take off in Asia / Vnunet, 14 May 2008
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2216558/biometrics-asia
Simon Burns
"The expansion and large-scale implementation of a number of biometric projects will compel manufacturers to focus on standardisation, according to the analyst. Once this technology becomes ubiquitous, users will become more comfortable with the biometrics system."

Dutch store trials fingerprint payments / vnunet.com, 17 June 2008
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2219217/dutch-trials-fingerprint-payment
"Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn has kicked off a trial with payment processor Equens which allows shoppers to pay using their fingerprints...."

Police to roll out mobile fingerprinting / computing.co.uk, 11 June 2008
http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2218782/police-roll-mobile
"Twenty forces now able to check people's fingerprints on the beat, in real time. A plan to provide police officers on the beat with mobile fingerprinting devices is to be further rolled out after an 18-month trial showed average time savings of 30 minutes..."

Strategic Solution for US-VISIT Program Needs to Be Better Defined, Justified, and Coordinated: Report to the Chairman and Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives / United States Government Accountability Office, February 2008
PDF - http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08361.pdf
"DHS has partially defined a strategic solution for meeting US-VISIT’s goals. In particular, the US-VISIT program office has defined and begun to develop a key capability known as “Unique Identity,” which is to establish a single identity for all individuals who interact with any immigration and border management organization by capturing the individual’s biometrics, including 10 fingerprints and a digital image, at the earliest possible interaction."