Eye on the Market

 Bioscrypt Prepares for Landing

Bioscrypt Inc., a Toronto-based company that provides identity verification technology, has announced that its fingerprint readers will be deployed in 89 airports in Canada.

The installation is part of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority’s (CATSA) Restricted Area Identification Card (RAIC) project, which seeks to match people employed at the airport to a card with biometrics and, with real-time verification, confirm that the security clearance is valid.

The trial program involved about 40,000 workers and was tried in Kelowna and Vancouver, B.C.; Montreal; and Charlottetown, P.E.I. The trial confirmed that one card and one reader can verify and provide access control with connectivity between individual airports and the CATSA database, says Bioscrypt. "Further, the trial validated the possibility that the RAIC could ‘talk’ to multiple access-control systems and identify lost, stolen, revoked, failed-to-return and suspended cards," according to the company.

Acme Future Security Controls, a Canadian company providing security products and services, has won the contract to be the exclusive supplier to the security authority for the RAIC project and will be providing Bioscrypt readers as required.

CATSA recently said that 29 of Canada’s biggest airports will be equipped with the technology by the end of December.

No Phishing Allowed with MSN Toolbar

MSN unveiled two new MSN Search Toolbar Add-ins, which enable users to customize their toolbars to their specific interests and improve the searching and browsing experience, according to the company.

These latest add-ins for MSN Search Toolbar include a beta of the Microsoft Phishing Filter Add-in, which helps protect customers from potential phishing risks and online identity theft. Phishing occurs when sensitive personal information, such as passwords and credit card information, is fraudulently obtained through the use of apparently official electronic communication, such as an e-mail purporting to be from a financial institution.

Add-ins are available free through downloads at http://addins.msn.com. Consumers can obtain the free MSN Search Toolbar at http://toolbar.msn.com. The latest add-ins are currently available in the United States only.

Restricting RFID

A bill that was introduced into the California Senate earlier this year aims to ban the use of radio frequency identification in the state.

State Sen. Joe Simitian sponsored SB 682, which he introduced to the California Senate in February. While the bill has passed through several committees, as of late August, it was stalled in the California Appropriations Committee. The most recent amendments to the bill were made Aug. 15.

According to Government Computer News, the measure would prohibit use of RFID for three years for student identification and library and health insurance cards as well as for driver’s licenses.

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