Unrealistic depictions on television of how biometric technology works had created misperceptions about the identification technologies. This misperception that it’s simple to create copies of biometric images – and worse that the actual images are stored and easily compromised – have led many to believe that biometrics as an identification technology is insecure and privacy invasive. Let’s set the record straight.

Florida has banned the use of biometrics in schools over fears that the technology could used to steal the identities of students. Will this impact other states?

The latest set of iPhones will include near field communication and consumers will be able to pay by using the Touch ID fingerprint sensor built into the handset. The Apple Watch, a new wearable from the computing giant, will also have NFC and enable payments.

In order to enable quicker and more secure payments on mobile devices, retailers are turning to different APIs that store payment card data in the cloud but use stronger authentication — such as biometrics — to identify consumers.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed the biometric ban and now schools won’t be able to take palm scans, iris scans, or fingerprints of kids. The systems were used by children in lunch lines and other application at some schools in the state.

The FIDO Alliance releases more details on the Samsung Galaxy S5’s fingerprint payment technology. The group also announced that Samsung and ARM have been added to the alliance’s board of directors.

In the latest Regarding ID podcast, Florida State Senators discuss why many want a biometric ban in schools. The bill has passed and Senate and the House and is expected to be signed by Gov. Rick Scott. The ban is intended to protect students from having their identities stolen even though senators couldn’t point to an instance where a biometric database has been breached and used to steal an individual’s identity.

The State of Florida will be the first in the nation to ban the use of biometrics in schools. The proposed legislation has pass through both the Senate and the House and is awaiting Gov. Rick Scott’s signature.

The Spring issue of Regarding ID magazine is online. Read about exterminating the password, host-card emulation, the British Columbia electronic ID and the basics of one-time password tokens. Find these and more stories in the latest issue Regarding ID magazine.

PayPal and its partner Samsung announced a collaboration that enables Samsung Galaxy S5 users to login and shop with the swipe of a finger in online, mobile and in-store payments wherever PayPal is accepted. With FIDO Ready software on the device and the new Samsung Galaxy S5 fingerprint sensor, users can securely and privately communicate between their device […]