The industry organization that for more than two decades promoted the use of smart cards is expanding its mission to include other secure technologies. The Smart Card Alliance recently became the Secure Technology Alliance to reflect this new focus. The group’s longtime executive director, Randy Vanderhoof, talks about the organization’s plans and the future of secure embedded technologies — from wearables to IoT — in this episode of the RegardingID Podcast.

The biometric authentication system of the future may include passwords transmitted through the human body. Researchers at the University of Washington have come up with a secure way to transmit data. They say it can be done using low-frequency transmissions generated by fingerprint sensors and touchpads found on devices we use everyday.

Prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks Dr. Nicole Spaun had a background focused on examining the geology of other planets. But after those events she went to the FBI to help train personnel on the art of facial recognition. While automated systems have come a long way employees still need to be trained in facial recognition as well.

Automobile manufacturers are taking advantage of technology more and more to connect card to the Internet but missing from the equation is authentication and security. Paul Madsen with Ping Identity talks with Regarding ID’s Gina Jordan about the risks for drivers – and what automakers and owners can do to ward off these kinds of attacks.

Brainprint is the latest biometric that can enable access by measuring a brain’s reaction to different stimuli. Researchers at Binghamton University in New York have developed a way to verify a person by measuring the brain’s response to certain stimuli. Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Zhanpeng Jin spoke with Regarding ID’s Gina Jordan about the research.

EveryKey, a device that can enable access to mobile devices, laptops and even a car or home, zoomed to 676% of its crowd funding target on IndieGogo earlier this month. The product also has a recognized name backing it, John McAfee, the guy who founded a wildly successful anti-virus company and is now running for U.S. president as a Libertarian Party candidate. McAfee is now EveryKey chief evangelist and talked with Re:ID’s Gina Jordan about the system.

Many bold claims were made about facial recognition technology in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. Vendors said facial recognition could spot wanted criminals in a crowd and perhaps stop terrorists from entering the country. The reality was quite different as it turns out that the technology works best with cooperative subjects and good quality images.

MasterCard is getting serious about enabling biometric payments for online purchases. Bob Reany, senior vice president of Identity Solutions at MasterCard, talks about the development and implementation of a mobile and biometric authentication strategy that for online purchases.

NIST, the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence and the NSTIC National Program Office are working together on a new project focused on protecting privacy and security when reusing credentials online. The trio is accepting comments on the project, which will examine how commercially available privacy-enhancing technologies may be integrated into identity broker solutions.

Galois is the final winner of the fourth round of NSTIC pilots. The company and its partners will build tools that rely on biometric authentication to enable the storing and sharing of private information online and integrating mobile device, IoT and transit application for secure home applications.