Loss of Privacy

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National ID cards will be issued before the end of the year in Tanzania.

The $176 million (about Sh200 billion) project has been delayed for decades now with documents, meetings and tendering moving from one office to the other. And now it has attracted the international community, including the World Bank.

Currently, five companies have been cleared for the final stage of the tender competition from which the authority will select one to start designing and making the ID cards.

Armenia is due to start issuing their ID cards sometime this year.

The current passports will not be valid in Armenia in 2011. They will be replaced by biometric passports and ID cards. Most probably, the social security cards will not be necessary, either.

The biometric passports and ID cards will contain more information about the citizens than the current documents. They will include a photo, the name, the surname, the middle name, the date of birth, the address, the prints of four fingers and the signature of the citizen.

The ID cards will be used inside Armenia, while the passports will be provided only when leaving the country, Head of the Passport and Visa Department of RA Police Norayr Muradkhanyan said. The new documents will be valid for ten years.

One of five case studies used to justify the United Kingdom’s DNA retention law was completely fake. The database currently holds the DNA of people, even if they are innocent. The fake case was copied from another case with the name of the individual changed. Officials claim it is just a regrettable administrative error. It is really gross incompetence and an attempt to deceive the public.

If you want to enter the vault or other sensitive areas at Israel Discount Bank, you’re going to have to do it with facial recognition. The new measure, announced Monday is for employees and customers.

The Rechovot-based C-True company’s C-entry system is an advanced biometric system which the bank has tested for half a year.

The system can even identify people in difficult conditions such as dim light. Changes, such as sunglasses, beards, moustaches, different hairdos, or a hat do not affect its ability.

C-True specializes in 3D real-time machine vision. Founded in 2006, it benefits from the academic atmosphere and resources of the Weitzman Science Park in Rechovot. C-True is staffed by mathematicians, computer scientists, physicists, and engineers. The company says its labs include advanced physical simulation, strong mathematical infrastructure, and an advanced optical laboratory.

Check out the story with cnet.