Crossmatch Team a Finalist in IARPA Nail to Nail Fingerprint Challenge

Crossmatch says it is part of a multinational team that includes Britain’s FlexEnable and France’s ISORG that has been selected as a finalist in the Nail-to-Nail  Fingerprint Challenge sponsored by the U.S. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA). The team is developed a proof-of-concept automated capture technology that eliminates human operators from physically interacting with the subject and rolling the fingerprints, which is the current method used by law enforcement personnel. Crossmatch says this current approach is susceptible to poor technique or training and can result in decreased print quality affecting the ability to identify live or latent fingerprints. Winners of the challenge are expected to be announced this fall.

JENETRIC Fingerprint Scanner Part of Smart Borders Project at German Airport

Germany’s JENETRIC says its LIVETOUCH quattro fingerprint scanner is part of the European Commission’s “Smart Borders” that includes piloting biometric technology for identity checks to detect previously denied persons who enter the Schengen area, to better identify criminals, identify persons who are staying in the European Union longer than authorized, and to enable an automated border control process. The four-year old Smart Borders project has included pilot tests at land, sea and air borders. JENETRIC’s technology has been piloted for several months at the Frankfurt Main airport. The company says it works with the German Federal Police and the information technology firm secunet Security Networks AG on the pilot. JENETRIC says the pilot test results show that the capture of travelers’ fingerprints has been simplified, allowing officers to concentrate on the actual verification of the traveler’s identity.

Knightscope Introduces Stationary Detector with Options for Concealed Weapons and Radiation

Knightscope, which develops and manufactures indoor and outdoor surface-patrolling robots for security purposes, had introduced K1, a stationary machine for live streaming video day and night for security in indoor and outdoor environments. The K1 will initially be marketed at airports, hospitals, retail and other environments that have sensitive entrance and exit points. The person-size machine provides 360-degree views as well as license plate recognition, people and signal detection, broadcast and intercom functionality, and options for detection of concealed weapons and radiation. The company says it developed K1 in response to client demand. The company is offering K1 under its Machine-as-a-Service business model, pricing it at $5 per hour for both indoor and outdoor usage. The options for concealed weapons and radiation detection will be ready for shipping in 2018 at $7 per hour.

Raytheon’s Forcepoint Cyber Company Acquires Behavior Analytics Firm RedOwl

Raytheon’s [RTN] Forcepoint company has acquired a cyber security firm that focuses on human behaviors, a deal that Forcepoint says complements its own human-centric approach to cyber security. Terms of the deal for Maryland-based RedOwl were not disclosed. The Baltimore Sun in a report says that Red Owl has about 60 employees. RedOwl’s technology platform is called user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) and provides a “holistic” view of personal behavior, including cyber, physical and financial activities. Forcepoint says it plans to integrate UEBA across its own cyber security solution set and with existing customers’ technologies for real-time insight into anomalous activity. Most of the RedOwl team will report to Heath Thompson, senior vice president and general manager for Forcepoint’s Data and Insider Threat Security business. In a post on Forcepoint’s blog, Thompson says the acquisition allows the company’s solutions to “now ingest multiple data sources—including structured and unstructured data—whether that’s from databases, Workday (HR), Salesforce, or other widely used applications and programs, and draw correlations that legacy DLP (data loss prevention) wouldn’t let you do. With the volume of data sources we can analyze, we can build a view of what ‘good’ and ‘safe’ look like for both security and compliance considerations.”