Inside This Issue

Biometrics In Human Services USER GROUP Volume 1 Issue 3 THIRD ISSUE March 1997 Welcome! REPORTS FROM THE STATES Illinois Department Of Public Aid A new pilot program designed to evaluate welfare fraud reduction possibilities in Illinois has been implemented. The Illinois Department of Public Aid has recently awarded a contract to Printrak International Inc. to supply a fingerprint identification system for a pilot program to determine the cost-effectiveness of taking fingerprints of welfare recipients. Called the Automatic Identification and Match System (AIMS) by the Department of Public Aid, the project is designed to calculate fraud reduction in three offices and project the cost savings of statewide implementation. Project Director Barry Beckwith reports that enrollment began on February 3, 1997. The pilot could run up to three years. DPA plans to evaluate T his is the third issue of the Biometrics in Human Services User Group Newsletter. The Biometrics in Human Services User Group (BHSUG) membership is open to all state, federal, provincial, educational or other governmental organizations interested in keeping pace with the latest developments in this field. The focus of BHSUG is providing a platform for sharing ideas and innovations, distributing findings, identifying best practices, recommending and creating useful standards for both human services users and technology developers for this market. In this issue, read reports from the States which includes the details about the new Illinois AIMS System which began operations on February 3, 1997. New York releases a report on their AFIS fraud reduction findings for the first 18 months of their statewide program. In Connecticut, DSS is about to release a report to their General Assembly on the first years operation of the Digital Imaging System. This issues “Point Of View” presents two schools of thought on two competing biometric technologies, finger imaging and signature verification. The NATO Institute announces FACES ’97 and of course the latest “Biometric Events” Calendar. Dave Mintie, Editor Inside This Issue 1 New York Releases AFIS Findings 2 Illinois Announces AIM System 3 Connecticut Issues Report 4 Point Of View - Fingerprints or Signatures? 5 FHA Biometrics Study 2 the progress of the pilot every six months. Beckwith reports that the success of the system will be measured by the combination of duplicates identified, denials based on refusal to participate and home visits. He also reports that the first year start up costs will be $85,000. A reasonable sum for a 45,000 record database. During the pilot program, workstations capable of capturing fingerprints and photographs of enrollees for electronic transmission to a central search and match processor in Springfield will be installed in local offices in west Chicago, Melrose Park and Villa Park. These offices all border each other. The Department of Public Aid specified a next-day response to searches, but according to Printrak, the system can provide the necessary match information in less than five minutes. The AIMS pilot program projects a database of 45,000 records out of the more than 660,000 cases handled statewide. The Department of Public Aid also is sponsoring a retinal scanning identification project in the southern part of the state (Identify, Inc.). This started in May of 1996. While no formal results have been released, Beckwith reports that no duplicates have been identified in that project to date. A formal evaluation is expected in May 1997. For more information contact: Barry Beckwith, Department Of Public Aid, Springfield, IL. (217) 7821363 Biometrics In Human Services Cases currently enrolled: NYC Home Relief 310,483 AFDC(TANF) 316,360 TOTAL 626,843 Upstate 110,023 128,418 238,441 Total 420,506 444,778 865,284 Case Closings and Denials 4/1/95 - 11/30/96 37,313 Cost savings are estimated at $313,923,000. Denials for Refusal to Cooperate at Intake 712 AFIS Matches (From inception through 12/15/96) Resulting from Fraud Under Review 172 679 New York DSS is currently planning for the expansion of the finger imaging program to Food Stamp only cases and Medical Assistance only cases. ID card production has now been melded into the finger imaging program. New York is also conducting a pilot aimed at the homeless population residing in shelters. The shelters would be clearing clients through us of the existing finger imaging system, verifying client‟s identity each night to determine if the client is also in receipt of public assistance. Upon promulgation of regulations, New York will begin finger imaging the homeless populations prior to the provision of shelter services.. An interstate matching process has been developed and tested. This process will allow New York State to match finger images with other states employing finger image technology. It is expected that a finger image match will be conducted in March with New Jersey and will be followed by a match with Connecticut. New Jersey has a database size of 20,000 General Assistance clients and Connecticut has a statewide database size of 104,000. These will be matched against New York‟s database of 925,000 clients. Richard Nawrot can be contacted at: Rnawrot@aol.com Massachusetts Department Of Transitional Assistance Update By Len Aiello New York Update By Richard Nawrot New York state now has one of the largest civil welfare finger imaging applications in the world. At a recent North East Coalition (NCS) meeting in Albany, NY., a current summary of project progress was released to attending states. 3 We've been real busy preparing for our EBT program. As it stands today we've sent notification letters to the first 32,000 recipients. This is the number of recipients in our "Pilot" area. We continue to issue our MassEBT card at our local offices. So far about 55% of the total recipient population (about 160,000) have the MassEBT card. Our go live pilot date remains April 1 and we've got to issue about another 6,000 cards in the pilot area of the state. The number of ATMs looks more than sufficient in our pilot area and the big grocery stores are mostly aboard for food stamp POS. Next week Al and myself along with other state staff will be in Milwaukee, Wis. completing the EBT systems acceptance test. If all goes well, and we expect it will, we will begin training our first recipients on 3/17/97 and then go live 4/1/97. Len Aiello, IIS Field Operations (617) 348-5725 The California Statewide Fingerprint Imaging System (CA SFIS) project. According to a mid-February update from Tom Ruggles, the CA Statewide Fingerprint Imaging System (CA SFIS) is at the stage of proposal evaluation. They hope to sign a contract in July of this year. If a contract is signed on schedule, They plan to begin deployment of the system in January of 98. All 225 CA SFIS welfare office input sites should be on line by May, 98 and the Final System Acceptance Test will happen in Nov/Dec of 98. Tom reports that CA SFIS will be a turnkey system. Social services staff will provide the core data entry and imaging. The successful vendor will supply central site staff and “verification operators”. The verification operators will be professionals capable of testifying at administrative and judicial hearings regarding fingerprint matches. The 225 enrollment sites in California will be capable of generating 14,000 transactions per day, five days per week. The contract calls for a maximum 6.3 Million enrollments. Ruggles commented that their fraud investigators will have special workstations. The systems will be equipped with specialized graphic comparison tools along with the ability for each investigator to reinitiate a complete cold search of the database at will. Biometrics In Human Services Extensive planning went into the SAWS/CA SFIS interface. The CA SFIS system will be well integrated eliminating duplicate data. CA SFIS will also notify individual counties of match results. Tom Ruggles can be contacted at struggle@aol.com Report From Connecticut By Dave Mintie The Connecticut Department of Social Services is about to release their comprehensive 29 page report on the first years results of the “Digital Imaging” biometric identification system. The report will be available as a printable file from their biometric web page. On April 12, 1995, Governor John Rowland‟s Blue Ribbon Commission on Welfare Fraud released a report detailing their findings and recommendations after an extensive investigation of Connecticut‟s welfare system. They recommended that DSS implement a statewide identification system for welfare recipients. During 1996, the Department of Social Services took historic action to uphold the integrity of the social services caseload by fighting hard against fraud and abuse. The Digital Imaging System has ensured that scarce public resources go to qualified individuals. As you will see in their report, DSS has utilized cutting edge biometric technology to restore the public‟s confidence in the integrity of the welfare system. Digital Imaging has proven to be a cost effective fraud prevention tool in other states. Now Connecticut has joined California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas in adding this new tool to our arsenal of welfare reform strategies. DSS conservatively estimates that in the first year of operation, savings in the range of $5,512,994 to $9,406,396 have been achieved. Copies of the report can be obtained from the DSS Digital Imaging Web Page at: http://www.dss.state.ct.us/digital.htm 4 NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) has announced the following event: Face Recognition: From Theory to Applications The meeting will be held at: Stirling, UK June 23 - July 4, 1997 PURPOSE of NATO INSTITUTES The Advanced Study Institutes are primarily high level teaching activities in which carefully defined subjects are presented in systematically and coherently structured programs for professionals in the field, at graduate and post-doctoral level. Considerable benefit is derived from the fact that the ASI is a small meeting with lectures given by a selected team of international experts. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES Face Recognition (FR), a complex and difficult problem, is important for surveillance and security, telecommunications and digital libraries, and medicine. FR's solution requires synergetic efforts from fields such as signal and image processing, pattern recognition and neural networks psychophysics of human perception, and system engineering. The ASI will bring together leading researchers from academia, government, and industry to present an all encompassing view on FR, and identify trends for future developments and the means for implementing FR systems. LECTURERS S. Akamatsu (ATR, Japan) I.Biederman (USC, USA) J.Bigun (EPFL, Switzerland) V.Bruce (Univ. of Stirling, UK) R.Chellappa (Univ. of Maryland, USA) J.Daugman (Cambridge Univ., UK) F.Fogelman Soulie (Sligos, France) T.Huang (Univ. of Illinois, USA) C.v.d.Malsburg (Bochum Univ., Germany) C.Nastar (INRIA, France) A.Pentland (MIT, USA) N.Petkov (Univ. of Groningen, Holland) P.J.Phillips(ARL, USA) T.Poggio (MIT, USA) C.Taylor (Univ. of Manchester, UK) M.Tistarelli (Univ. of Geneva, Italy) T.Vetter(Max-Planck-Institut, Tubingen, Germany) H.Wechsler (GMU, USA) Full information on the meeting and applications forms available on the web at: Biometrics In Human Services http://chagall.gmu.edu/faces97/natoasi/ POINT OF VIEW [Editors Note: This is the second appearance of Point of View. This months topics deal with two competing biometric technologies: The first topic deals with Biometrics and Smart Cards and why the author feels finger imaging works best. A second topic deals with signature verification. Contributors are vendors and consultants working in this complex field. Their comments represent their personal point of view.] Identification: The Missing Link to Smart Card Success By Oscar Pieper The personal identification number has been the de facto cardholder identification standard for two decades. But as embedded microprocessor chips replace magnetic stripes, finger minutiae will emerge as the cardholder identification method of choice. Card issuers should begin preparing now. If you were an automobile manufacturer, would you plan to sell cars with only three wheels? If you were a home builder, would you plan to sell houses without kitchens? If you were a bankcard executive, would you plan your future electronic banking strategy without a satisfactory means of automated customer identification? While the answers to all three questions should be, "Of course not," the bankcard community has not yet adequately addressed the problem of customer st identification for the 21 century . If you believe customers will continue to be identified through the use of PINs, this article will be of little interest to you. If you believe the PIN must be replaced and the decision has not yet been made as to what technology will satisfy the need for customer identification, then continue to read about the best biometric technique to meet that need. The financial industry now has a rare opportunity to review the technical standards that represent the underpinnings of the movement from paper transactions of the '70s and '80s to the electronic transactions of the next century. Driving these changes are new opportunities to offer profitable services: · Electronic commerce will develop as an important means of shopping, information access and software delivery. Security, privacy, customer identification and message 5 authentication standards will be needed to ensure a secure environment. Electronic banking will require the same set of standards to ensure that bank services are delivered to legitimate customers wherever they want to do their banking. Card associations will drive the conversion from magnetic stripes to programmable chips as the basis of card transaction authorization. Financial institutions will need to completely restructure their processing environments over the next five to seven years as the chip card facilitates enhanced data storage, security and cardholder services. The current card transaction system offers data security through encryption and digital signatures, but is not secured from fraudulent access. Finger minutiae offers the solution for today and for the future. Biometrics In Human Services within a terminal at the point of interaction. The transition from magnetic stripes to programmable chips will require replacement or upgrade of point-ofsale and ATM terminals worldwide. It's imperative that financial institutions recognize the need to select the customer identification method of the 21st century prior to this conversion. It's clear that the PIN, with its inherent limitations and security vulnerabilities, cannot continue to be the primary means of cardholder identification. That leaves customer identification as the missing piece of the puzzle. Biometric techniques that have been evaluated for the cardholder identification arena include not only finger minutiae but also voiceprints, handprints, signature capture, retinal scans, hand and face geometry...virtually all aspects of cardholders that can be measured. Of all these techniques, only finger minutiae has proven to be both reliable and effective. Why finger miniutiae? For decades, law enforcement agencies worldwide have relied on the unique characteristics of fingerprint to identify individuals. Fingerprints do not change over time. They remain unchanged throughout the lifetime of the individual, and each of an individual's fingers has a unique pattern. Because fingerprinting is recognized worldwide as a reliable means of identification, finger minutiae virtually eliminates fraud in the cardholder identification arena. Criminals know fingerprints can be retained for later matching, and do not want to leave such incriminating evidence behind. In short, cardholders respect and accept fingerprinting; criminals fear it. No form of biometrics can approach the deterrent value of finger minutiae - and no other technique is linked to an established criminal database. Cardholders in focus groups have responded positively to the application of finger minutiae in electronic commerce, electronic banking and point-of-sale terminal. They cite speed, ease of use and their trust in the results as reasons for endorsing finger minutiae over other methods. Cardholder identification through finger minutiae causes little or no disruption in customer flow, and merchants note that its accuracy eliminates validation errors and related cardholder confrontations while also protecting the customer. The benefits of finger minutiae extend to card issuers, who realize a significant reduction in the What Is finger minutiae? Finger minutiae is an identification method through which a fingerprint is converted to a small electronic template containing unique details of the print's pattern. These key comparison features are referred to as minutiae (pronounced "minooshia"). The template is designed to lend itself easily to use at any transaction point where payment cards are used. Finger minutiae is now being used internationally in transaction environments such as electronic benefits transfer and check-fraud prevention, and has proven to be fast (one-second verification), simple and cost effective. MasterCard International has selected finger minutiae as the first biometric technology to test with its payment card systems, noting in a recent news release that "it provides the highest degree of reliability, ease of enrollment and acceptance of any technology on the market. " Cardholder identification for the 21 century The Data Encrypted Standard is used in the world of the magnetic stripe to protect PINs as they pass through interchange systems. Financial institutions are now adopting new standards based on chip technology, and the industry is moving to replace DES with a new security system based on public and private key processing. This new system will allow financial institutions to store customer identification data in a chip card and use it to validate cardholder identity st 6 number of disputed transactions. The electronic finger minutiae record is proof of the cardholder's participation in the transaction. Finger minutiae also minimizes application fraud and exception handling . Finally, finger minutiae can be implemented today and will not require repeated terminal upgrades over the next decade. How it works Enrollment When a cardholder establishes an account, a finger minutiae reader captures a live image of any or all 10 fingers. The program then develops the minutiae template and encodes it in a card's chip or magnetic stripe, recording a copy of the template in a database for use in identity verification. Since it is sometimes inconvenient for the cardholder to come to the financial institution's office, Identicator offers an enrollment kit that can be mailed to the cardholder's home. The kit consists of an inkless finger coater and a form that contains preprinted cardholder information and space for left and right index fingerprints. The cardholder completes the enrollment form and mails it to the issuer's processing center, where an FBI-approved scanner reads the prints into the system. From this point forward, the process is identical to that used when the cardholder enrolls in person; one system and database serve the issuer's entire cardholder base. Once the cardholder is enrolled, the original fingerprint image is destroyed, and the template cannot be used to reconstruct it. Identity verification At the point of interaction, the terminal is equipped with a small, low-cost finger reader integrated into the card reader (which reads both magnetic-stripe and chip cards), with the matching logic in a microprocessor chip. In a POS environment, the cardholder presents a card encoded with the finger minutiae for identity verification (either on-line of offline). In an unattended environment such as an ATM or Internet transaction, the reader is integrated into the ATM or computer at the point of interaction. The finger platen can also be integrated into the card, which is then inserted into a reader for comparison with the template encoded in the card's chip. The Identicator software allows any finger of either hand to be used for identification; it also lets the financial institution set the level of false positives and legitimate rejects it determines acceptable. Reliability points to the best alternative Biometrics In Human Services Finger minutiae is possibly one of the most viable biometric technologies for the next generation of card transaction processing. As card products such as debit and stored-value cards proliferate and the transition to chip-based technology takes place, issuers and merchants using finger minutiae identification systems will be positioned to offer secure, one-stop service to any cardholder anywhere. Advantages of finger minutiae for cardholder identification - Simple to use - One-second verification time - Trusted by cardholders - Feared by criminals - linked to existing criminal database - Proven effective in payment transaction systems - Virtually eliminates card fraud [Editor‟s note: Oscar Pieper founded Identicator about 20 years ago with a charter to develop identification products and systems. He can be reached at (415) 873-8653.] **************** Signature Verification Technology: The Biometric Without The Stigma By Andrew Lewcock AEA Technology in England has been developing automatic signature verification technology since 1992. We have pursued this line of development strongly because of the political issues surrounding use of fingerprint ID systems here in the UK, as well as other parts of Europe. Signature verification is a seamless transition from what we, the general public, are asked to do today in banks, shops social security offices and post offices around the country. Other forms of biometric identification (such as fingerprinting) carry various political / social acceptance burdens with them , however they perform technically. We have concentrated on the development of as good a signature verification system as we possibly can, which uses "off the shelf" 7 PC hardware and peripherals, and can be linked to different database structures, to enable it to be tailored to the specific needs of different customers. Biometrics In Human Services The Security Facilities Executive (an Agency of the Cabinet office) has tested the system for other potential uses in UK Government. AEA Technology installed a COUNTERMATCH system in Pentonville Prison, London, for a pilot which commenced in June and ended in December 1996. The evaluation is being carried out by both that prison and the national Prison Service. The system is being used by the prisoners to authorise expenditure from their prison accounts for purchases in the canteen. Prisoners do not carry money in Jail! Automatic checking of the signatures prevents incorrect use of other prisoners accounts, and provides an audit trail for the transactions. Possible applications for the checking in and out of visitors to the prisons are also being examined now. Systems are also on trial in Holland on the Dutch National Chipcard Platform, and several locations in the USA. AEA Technology continues to develop the software, as there are many new areas to address in the fight against fraud, such as matching signatures produced by multiple aliases of the same person. Andrew Lewcock can be contacted at: Andy.Lewcock@aeat.co.uk Tel No +44 1235 43 6169 Fax No +44 1235 43 2726 COUNTERMATCH has been in routine use for the last 2 Years at Employment Service offices in the North of England. These offices are responsible for approving welfare payments to unemployed people. Countermatch has checked the correct person is attending and signing for the welfare payment. During this period over 25,000 people have been enrolled on the systems, and it is estimated that in excess of 350,000 signatures have now been processed. BIOMETRIC TRENDS In March 1996 an additional six COUNTERMATCH terminals were installed at the South Shields office, as the Employment Service expanded it‟s duties there. The Employment Service consider that the COUNTERMATCH system has a strong deterrent effect on fraud. There are also potential savings by moving to an entirely paperless transaction system. We believe they are the most experienced user of this type of biometric technology in the world. Detroit, MI. - At the 1997 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International Congress & Exposition held in February, TRW unveiled its Fingerprint-based entry system -- which reads and responds to the vehicle owner's unique fingerprint to offer maximum theft-deterrent protection. Anaheim, CA - Printrak International, Inc. announced that it has formed a new division which will provide leading edge identification solutions, incorporating a full range of biometric technology ranging from fingerprint identification to voice 8 recognition. The Printrak ID Solutions (IDS) division is chartered with providing a complete range of biometric identification technology and product solutions for worldwide civil and commercial identification applications, from social services to banking. Richard Giles, Printrak President and CEO, noted: “Worldwide, the market for all forms of biometric identification is just beginning to expand outside the field of law enforcement. IDS will enable us to tap into that growing market while maintaining our focus on providing AFIS solutions to our core law enforcement customer base.” Philadelphia, PA - Mellon PSFS has announced a pilot check cashing program using inkless fingerprinting to safeguard against check fraud. The pilot is the first of it‟s kind in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Mellon PSFS officials stated “…we expect that it will discourage criminals from targeting Mellon accounts from the start.” To cash a check under the program, non-Mellon customers will be asked to provide two standard forms of identification and then are asked to press their finger on a pad and leave an “inkless” fingerprint signature on the check. The system uses state of the art fingerprinting technology and leaves no marks on the customers fingers. Non customers who do not wish to give their fingerprints will not be allowed to cash the check. Tampa, FL. - The National Registry announced the introduction of their new NRIdentity Secure Authentication Facility for Windows NT. The software works with the Microsoft Corporation‟s Windows NT operating system. The software allows users system access after they enter a user ID, then place an index finger on a desktop or keyboard finger scanner, which is not sold with the software. The system verifies the user‟s identity and completes the log-on by delivering the password to the operating system. The $199 per workstation software package also provides a “secure screen saver” feature capability that locks the keyboard and obscures the video monitor during the user‟s absence. A touch of a finger on the scanner “unlocks” the workstation. Boulder, CO.- Unitime Systems announced the release of “The Unitime Biometric Timeclock”, which works with the Unitime Time and Attendance System. The device uses one-touch fingerprint verification technology. Employees enroll on finger on the terminal. Once enrolled, employees “clock in” by placing their finger on the terminal and entering a PIN number on the keypad. The employee‟s Biometrics In Human Services fingerprint is matched to the print stored in the clock and the transaction is then recorded. Spokane, WA - Key Tronic, a leading manufacturer of computer keyboards announced that they are offering a new line of low cost finger imaging scanners. The Windows compatible scanners will be available as stand-alone models the size of a mouse or embedded into keyboards. Key Tronics reports that the new technology, developed with The National Registry, Tampa, FL., will let them sell the Secure Keyboard products for less than $600. Anaheim, CA - Printrak International announced a new portable automated fingerprint identification solution featuring real-time matching capability. The single Finger Station 2000, (SFS 2000) features high speed computer processing and high quality image scanning and processing in a compact, hand held device. Targeted to civil and commercial markets, the SFS 2000 provides a convenient, cost effective solution for fingerprint applications ranging from social services to banking. Mt. Laurel, NJ. - IriScan, Inc. and British Telecommunications announced a licensing agreement to collaborate on technical and market application objectives involving the use of iris recognition as a biometric process. A press release noted that scientists at BT Laboratories are examining the commercial application of iris recognition as a means of positive personal identification for a range of telecommunicationsrelated security functions. San Jose, CA. - The San Jose State University Biometric Identification Research Unit has reprinted by permission a 250-page 1990 report by the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the Orkand Corporation titled "Personal Identifier Project: Final Report". This report, which has previously not been publicly available, reports on a comparative study of fingerprinting and retinal scanning in a non-cooperative, non-habituated, attended, standard environment application. 31,000 records of each biometric identifier were collected and used in the analysis. The full report is available to Biometric Consortium listserve members. The table of contents and further information can be found at the SJSU Biometric web site: http://www.engrresearch.org/biometrics White Plains, NY. - ImEdge Technology, Inc. reports that they have developed a very small, very thin, very lightweight fingerprint capture unit using a 9 special edge-lit hologram technology. The company reports that they have a demo unit which is the size of a type III PCMCIA card. The unit is not in production yet. The special edge-lit hologram is the key. When a finger is placed on it, it produces a sharp, high contrast image of the fingerprint, which can be captured by a detector and input into a computer. The key advantages of this device are its compactness and image quality surpassing currently used prism optical systems. ImEdge has sold prototypes of the device to the Department of Defense, and was awarded a contract to further develop its fingerprint device for high volume government applications. ImEdge is currently discussing teaming arrangements with several companies to package and market the device for access control, credit card and law enforcement applications. For further info, contact Michael Metz, President: mmetz@imedge.com or at their Web Page http://eastview.org/ImEdge Washington, DC. - NEC Technologies announced that it‟s AFIS technology has been optimized for the health care industry. They report that Indiana’s Laporte Hospital has installed an NEC‟s Positive Identification PID AFIS product. PID is a single finger live scan, store, search and match system that uses digital fingerprint images to verify a person‟s identity. The PID system is used throughout LaPorte Hospital in the patient registration area, emergency room, and rehabilitation and outpatient centers. It eliminates duplicate records, ensures proper care and proper financial re-imbursement. When patients come to the hospital, the fingerprint will identify the patient and retrieve all necessary medical information. “They are asked only one question: „How may we help you today?‟. Their fingerprints tell everything else,” commented a hospital official. Orlando, FL. - Dynamic Health Care Technologies announced Electronic Health Record - DynamicVision which is a multi-media electronic health record system that offers immediate, real-time access to vital patient records that reside in multiple systems, data, voice and image repositories - within a facility, across an enterprise, or virtually anywhere in the world. DynamicVision uses Windows 95 and Windows NT(R) server technologies, and employs advanced finger imaging security from the National Registry, Inc., to provide optimum confidentiality for patient information. OPEN/workflow(TM) from Wang ® Laboratories enables the re-engineering of workflow processes, and Integrated Voice and Data Management (TM) from Dictaphone® provides Biometrics In Human Services digital dictation capabilities and retrieval of voice dictation in conjunction with associated documents and medical images. Castro Valley, CA.- Advanced Precision Technology, Inc. announced the licensing of its patent pending fingerprint capture optics to Hi-Key Technologies, Inc. of Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Under the agreement, Hi-Key will integrate the innovative fingerprint capture optics into their own access control device and also manufacture APT's standalone APrinT(TM)single digit "live-scan" fingerprint capture device. The APrinT(TM) scanner is projected to be commercially available in April at a price range of $500-$1000. The innovative technology was developed for APT under contract at San Jose State University, department of Modem Optics. The high quality fingerprint image is so detailed it shows all of the perspiration pores along the fingerprint ridges. The new fingerprint capture devices will be targeted at existing applications for immigration, social services, motor vehicles and law enforcement, as well as new applications for access control, health cards, voter registration, retail approval systems, banking, and secured computer and online access. Broomfield, CO. - Sytron, Inc. announced that it signed a letter of intent with Campbell Engineering Company to acquire its portals and biometric security technology. The companies expect to complete the transaction in February. Included in the acquisition are rights to CECO's portal technology and biometric hand reader prototype, all plan designs and drawings, engineering software and hardware for high security portal production, computer software and hardware for the biometric security system, manufacturing equipment, and existing inventory. Campbell Engineering Company was founded in 1975. They manufacture high security portals that provide access control for secure areas. CECO's biometric technology automatically recognizes a person by scanning distinguishing traits. New York, NY. - PenOp Inc., a developer of handwritten signature capture and verification software, announced the immediate availability of a new add-in module for Microsoft(r) Word 7.0 for Windows 95 and Windows NT(r). Utilizing PenOp's add-in module, Microsoft Word users now have the capability to directly sign electronic documents legally and securely using a low-cost digital pen and digitizer linked to their personal computer. Using a combination of biometrics and cryptography, PenOp(r) creates a record designed to meet legal 10 and regulatory requirements for handwritten signatures, but without using paper. PenOp binds handwritten signatures to documents so that they cannot be altered, nor can signatures be reused on another document. The PenOp for MS Word software component allows document authors to specify where signatures are to appear on the page, the names of the signatories, and the reason for signing. The same component is then used by the designated people to sign the document, and also by the ultimate document recipients to view the signature, verify document integrity and check the signature is not a forgery. The PenOp for MS Word software component is currently available for Microsoft Word 7.0 for Windows 95 and Windows NT. American Fork, UT., - International Automated Systems announced that Digital Systems Limited, IAS's International Licensee, has signed a major Original Equipment Manufacture (OEM) contract with PROCOMP Inc. of Brazil. PROCOMP is an International Corporation supplying Brazilian banks with 53% of their automated installation base (with 300,000 items installed, ATMs etc.) and 60% of their terminals, in over 9,600 automated branches. This OEM agreement establishes an agreement for PROCOMP to manufacture, customize, sell installand service IAS's Automated Fingerprint Identification Machines (AFIM) to their current and future client base. Millions of Brazil's citizens will be able to receive personalized identification on their ATM or other transaction cards secured and protected with their own unique fingerprint encoded directly on the card. For ATM transactions the person would insert their card, then verify their true identity by placing their finger on a small lens located on the ATM. A comparison is then made between the print an their card and the live print just scanned. If this one-to-one ID verification procedure proves positive, the person is then allowed to make withdrawals, deposits, payments, receive payroll, pay bills, etc. New York, NY - According to an AP news story, at least 50 stockbrokers were indicted on charges that they paid $2,000 to $5,000 for two ringers to take stockbroker licensing exams for them. The head of the National Association of Securities Dealers said that test-takers are now being fingerprinted and videotaped to guard against fraud. Dobbs Ferry, NY. - Fingermatrix, Inc. announced a marketing agreement with AMTECH Systems AB of Biometrics In Human Services Enebyberg, Sweden, under which that company will distribute the Fingermatrix CHEK/ONE access control system to commercial and industrial customers throughout Scandinavia. The Fingermatrix CHEK/ONE is a single finger, live scan system used for positive verification of identity and for controlling access to data networks and sensitive physical areas. New York, NY. - Oracle Corp. announced that it will offer a $500 device that lets its customers check users' fingerprints before letting them log on to their computer according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The unit, which matches fingerprints to sets stored in a central file, is made by Identix Inc. of Sunnyvale, California, the paper said. It was noted that the technology is the latest to be marketed as a means of keeping hackers out of sensitive corporate databases. Englewood, CO. - T-Netix, Inc., issued a press release reporting the settlement of patent infringement litigation against Bell South Telecommunications, Inc., regarding their patented three-way call detection and prevention system. TNetix received paid up royalties for BellSouth‟s installed base and will receive compensation for future installations. T-Netix offers patented SpeakEZ Voice Print™ biometric speaker verification applications used by telecommunications, financial services and security industries to prevent fraud. Oxfordshire, UK - AEA Technology and Dreamlight Systems, Ltd., announce a new signature capture and verification application. Up to now, it has not been possible to authorize documents electronically for certain technical, financial, quality assurance or legal reasons. The system electronically “binds” a signature to a document along with a time and date stamp. The system can be configured to fit into electronic document management software systems. Andy.Lewcock@aeat.co.uk BIOMETRIC RELATED EVENTS March 11-13, 1997 - Las Vegas, NV. Biometric Conference For Financial Institutions, Sponsored by the Biometric Digest. For more information contact: (314) 851-0924 http://www.anetstl.com/~wrogers/biometrics/biodigest.html March 13-14, 1997 - NCSA Biometric Conference, National Airport Hilton, Arlington, VA. BiometriCon 11 '97 is a conference dedicated to biometrics. Biometrics involve automated methods for the identification or authentication of individuals using physiological and behavioral characteristics. This hands on conference will feature a complete biometric demonstration system for registration. During biometric enrollment, attendees will receive a smart card encoded with contact information and finger print characteristics. Sponsors of this demonstration are Cogent Systems, HewlettPackard and Orga Card Systems. BiometriCon'97 is being sponsored by Biometric Technology Today magazine, Unisys Corporation, Cogent Systems, Orga Card Systems, Internet Security Systems and the Commercial Biometric Developer Consortium. An exhibit hall, which is open to the public will feature over 35 vendors demonstrating every type of biometric technology. http://www.ncsa.com, or on CompuServe: GO NCSA. April 8-9, 1997 - Ninth Biometric Consortium Meeting, , Holiday Inn, Crystal City, Virginia. Two days of presentation and demonstrations. The meeting is by invitation only. May 19-22,1997 - Orlando, FL, CardTech/SecurTech ’97. Billed as the world‟s leading Card and Security Technology Conference, Benjamin Miller reports that they expect over 500 ehibitors, plan for 150 educational presentations and expect 7,500 attendees from 65 nations at the Orange County Convention Center. For more information contact: www.ctst.com or (301) 654-0551 June 23 - July 4, 1997, Face Recognition: From Theory to Applications, Stirling, Scotland. For more information contact: faces97@cs.gmu.edu Biometrics In Human Services London, England SE1 6BU http://www.vitro.bloomington.in.us:8080/~BC/afb The Biometric Consortium http://www.vitro.bloomington.in.us:8080/~BC/>* The Human Identification System Project http://www.asti.dost.gov.ph/~shoreadm/HIS.html The Connecticut Biometric Web Page http://www.dss.state.ct.us/digital.htm PUBLICATIONS Biometric Technology Today SJB Services, Bank Chambers Cheapside, Langport Somerset TA109PD United Kingdom +44 1458 253344 http://www.sjb.co.uk Biometric Digest P. O. Box 510047 St. Louis, MO 63151-0047 (314) 851-0924 http://www.anetstl.com/~wrogers/biometrics/biodigest.html Got an event of interest to the Human Services Biometric Community? Send your information to the editor at DmintieCT@aol.com or use the mailing address on the last page of the newsletter. RESOURCES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AFB (Association For Biometrics) Contact: Mr. Peter Hawkes British Technology Group Electronics Division 101 Newington Causeway 12 SUBMITTING ARTICLES TO THE BHSUG NEWSLETTER Submissions are invited and encouraged. Submissions must contain the authors name and organization. They must be submitted as plain ASCII text or in Microsoft Word format. All submissions can be addressed via e-mail to the editor: DmintieCT@aol.com or Mail Address: David Mintie DSS Digital Imaging Project 25 Sigourney Street Hartford, CT. 06106-5033 Biometrics In Human Services Editor: David Mintie Connecticut Department Of Social Services Advisory Board: Leonard Aiello Massachusetts Dept. Of Transitional Assistance Richard Nawrot New York Dept. Of Social Services Michael Greene New Jersey Dept. of Social Services The BHSUG Newsletter is a free publication. It is published quarterly and distributed via the Internet. Hard copies are available on request. Current and back issues can be downloaded directly from Connecticut‟s Digital Imaging Web Page: http://www.dss.state.ct.us/digital.htm