More security at US airports but The Sunday Times discovers flaws in the system
Chris Haslam
Security screening for arriving passengers has been stepped up yet again at American airports, but The Sunday Times has learnt of worrying flaws in new fingerprint-scanning technology.
Last week, Logan airport, in Boston, became the third US airport to install the 10-finger scanners. Dulles airport, which serves Washington, DC, began using the devices in November and Atlanta airport began this month. By the end of the year, the devices will be installed at every international airport in the USA, as well as at seaports and border crossings.
NonUS residents have had two fingers scanned on entry since 2004, but the Department of Homeland Security believes the 10-finger standard will allow easier identification of undesirables, based on full or partial prints left at the scene of a crime or collected from terrorist safe houses or battlefields.
Described by Identix, their manufacturer as “slap and roll” technology, the scanners require four scans to capture a full set of prints. These are then compared with more than 3.2m fingerprints held in the FBI and Department of Defense databases.
Identix claims that the scanner can perform its duties ...   more »

The process developed by Somark involves a geometric array of micro-needles and an ink capsule, which is used to 'tattoo' an animal. The ink can be detected from 4 feet away.
By K.C. Jones
A startup company developing chipless RFID ink has tested its product on cattle and laboratory rats.
Somark Innovations announced this week that it successfully tested biocompatible RFID ink, which can be read through animal hairs. The passive RFID technology could be used to identify and track cows to reduce financial losses from Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (mad cow disease) scares. Somark, which formed in 2005, is located at the Center for Emerging Technologies in St. Louis. The company is raising Series A equity financing and plans to license the technology to secondary markets, which could include laboratory animals, dogs, cats, prime cuts of meat, and military personnel.
Chief scientist Ramos Mays said the tests provide a true proof-of-principle and mitigate most of the technological risks in terms of the product's performance. "This proves the ability to create a synthetic biometric or fake fingerprint with biocompatible, chipless RFID ink and read it through hair," he said.
Co-founder Mark Pydynowski said during an interview Wednesday that the ink doesn't ...   more »

The NUS has attacked government proposals to test the ID card scheme on teenagers opening a bank account or taking out a student loan
Students have launched a stinging attack on UK government proposals to make young people "guinea pigs" for ID cards.
Leaked Home Office documents reveal teenagers may need an ID card to open a bank account or take out a student loan from 2010 — making them among the first people to have the biometric cards in the UK.
The National Union of Students (NUS) described the revelation in the leaked National Identity Scheme Delivery Strategy document as "morally reprehensible" and said it would bog students down in red tape.
NUS vice president for welfare, Ama Uzowuru, said: "It is extremely disappointing that the government is planning to use students as guinea pigs for this scheme by forcing them to take on ID cards in order to apply for a loan.
"Besides being morally reprehensible, this plan is also completely impractical. The student loan system is complicated enough as it is, without introducing yet another layer of bureaucracy to the process. Many students change address at least once a year and would be obliged to report such ...   more »

Microchips Everywhere: Boon for Retailers, Bane for Privacy Advocates
Here's a vision of the not-so-distant future:
--Microchips with antennas will be embedded in virtually everything you buy, wear, drive and read, allowing retailers and law enforcement to track consumer items -- and, by extension, consumers -- wherever they go, from a distance.
--A seamless, global network of electronic "sniffers" will scan radio tags in myriad public settings, identifying people and their tastes instantly so that customized ads, "live spam," may be beamed at them.
--In "Smart Homes," sensors built into walls, floors and appliances will inventory possessions, record eating habits, monitor medicine cabinets -- all the while, silently reporting data to marketers eager for a peek into the occupants' private lives.Science fiction?
In truth, much of the radio frequency identification technology that enables objects and people to be tagged and tracked wirelessly already exists -- and new and potentially intrusive uses of it are being patented, perfected and deployed.
Some of the world's largest corporations are vested in the success of RFID technology, which couples highly miniaturized computers with radio antennas to broadcast information about sales and buyers to company databases.
Already, microchips are turning up in some computer printers, ...   more »

By Shenandoah Sowash
STEVENS POINT -- As America continues to struggle with overseas outsourcing and increasing global competition, professors at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point are working to arm graduates with the skills needed to become global citizens.
Robert McGough, a senior education specialist, researcher and program manager with the World Bank, encourages professors to take seriously the need to give students a global education.
"Some see globalization as a destructive influence, as a bad thing ... at this time in history, globalization is here to stay, and we must learn to live with it," McGough told instructors Thursday during the 12th annual UWSP Teaching Conference, "Teaching with a Global Perspective: Preparing Students to be Global Citizens."
Globalization affects everyone, even the World Bank, which now outsources a majority of its accounting work to New Delhi, McGough said.
"Countries such as India and China are destined to be superpowers, or at least major players," McGough said.
Drawing on the need for sustainability, economic development and self-sufficiency, McGough offered a strong case for educating college students in the ways of the world.
"Over time, you'll find more college graduates going overseas for work. ... These other countries are going to be ...   more »