The identity-tech knowledge base for AI systems and human operators.

Welcome to ID Tech’s digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

NEXT Biometrics Plans Bankruptcy Filing After Funding Efforts Fail

NEXT Biometrics’ board has resolved to prepare a bankruptcy petition for filing on Monday, October 12, after financing and legacy-asset divestment efforts failed to secure sufficient liquidity. The Norwegian fingerprint sensor company had shifted its focus to Anywhere-in-Display technology, but non-binding sale and licensing discussions remain unfinished, and larger shareholders declined additional bridge funding. NEXT reduced its annual operating cost run rate from approximately NOK 73 million to NOK 41 million, with the full cash effect expected from December. The board says capital resources are exhausted and will continue evaluating alternatives until filing.

Judge Stays DHS Policy Blocking Biometrics for Detained Immigration Applicants

U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali has stayed a DHS policy that generally ended biometric collection for detained people pursuing USCIS immigration benefits. The December 2025 policy left applicants unable to attend required appointments, exposing their applications to abandonment decisions. Ali found the plaintiffs likely to succeed in arguing that DHS had not adequately explained the change or considered its effects. The interim Administrative Procedure Act stay restores earlier collection arrangements, including ICE’s collection obligation. The judge declined a separate preliminary injunction, and DHS must report on compliance by October 21.

Delhi High Court Stays Mandatory Aadhaar Attendance for Prosecutors

The Delhi High Court has stayed mandatory Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance for public prosecutors following a challenge by their welfare association. The Directorate of Prosecution’s order required daily attendance through biometric machines or a mobile facial-recognition application. Prosecutors argue that fixed office attendance does not accommodate court appearances, jail duties, police-station visits and other case-related work already documented through judicial processes. Their petition also challenges compulsory Aadhaar authentication without an alternative mechanism on privacy and constitutional grounds. Justice Amit Mahajan’s stay suspends the order while the association’s challenge proceeds.

X Adds Device Biometrics and Selfie Checks for Suspected Bot Accounts

X has introduced liveness checks for suspected automated accounts, offering device biometrics or a short selfie video to establish human presence. Face ID, Touch ID and supported Android biometric checks run on the device, with X receiving a result and integrity signal rather than biometric scans. A third party analyzes selfie videos and supplies X with a confidence score. Accounts awaiting verification cannot post, follow or send direct messages. Checks must be completed through the official mobile app or an iOS App Clip; a hand-motion option is listed as coming soon.

Cisco Talos Tracks Google MFA Relay Attacks Against Taiwan Researchers

Cisco Talos has identified UAT-11985, a phishing campaign targeting Taiwanese research organizations with counterfeit Google sign-in pages. Academic invitations and altered QR-code posters lead victims to attacker infrastructure that relays credentials and multi-factor authentication challenges in real time. A persistent WebSocket connection updates the fake page as the genuine login advances, supporting authenticated-session token harvesting. Talos assesses that invitation messages likely used AI assistance and that the kit was originally developed in Simplified Chinese. It has published detection rules, a ClamAV signature and indicators of compromise.

SASSA Defends Intensified Proof-of-Life and Biometric Grant Controls

The South African Social Security Agency has defended intensified grant reviews and proof-of-life checks after reports of payments to allegedly ineligible recipients and parliamentary scrutiny. SASSA says eLife certification confirms that beneficiaries are alive and are the legitimate recipients of assistance, while Beneficiary Biometric Enrolment would strengthen identity assurance and transaction security. The agency rejects claims that verification is intended to arbitrarily terminate grants. It also requires recipients to report changes in income, employment, marital status, banking details and residential circumstances that may affect eligibility.

Veridocs Expands Physical ID Authentication Into Banking

Veridocs is extending its casino-developed document authentication technology into bank branches and credit unions. The platform inspects IDs under ultraviolet, infrared and white light, comparing them with more than 4,500 government-document templates and screening against fraud databases and over 1,000 global watchlists, according to the company. Cross-branch alerts can identify recent visits by the same individual before account opening or other transactions proceed. Veridocs records authentication outcomes and says limited encrypted scan samples may be shared for model training, with clients able to opt out.

TECH5 Names Co-Founder Rahul Parthe as New CEO

TECH5 has appointed co-founder and chairman Rahul Parthe as chief executive, giving its former CTO operational and strategic responsibility while he continues directing technology strategy. Former CEO Machiel van der Harst remains a board member and becomes co-chief operating officer. Parthe’s priorities include national-scale expansion, payment and financial-inclusion partnerships, and development of face, fingerprint and iris algorithms. TECH5’s Digital Public Ecosystem model connects identity infrastructure with payments, credentials and public services, with Honduras’ BIEN and Papua New Guinea’s SevisPNG among its existing national programs.

M-Commerce Plans Fingerprint-Protected USB Encryption Device

Japan’s M-Commerce plans to begin selling BEncryptor, a fingerprint-protected USB encryption device, in November. The hardware performs biometric verification and AES-256 encryption internally, while electronic certificates govern file sharing among authorized users. Each device can hold up to 50 certificates. M-Commerce says fingerprint and authentication information are not sent to the connected computer, and device-generated private keys cannot be extracted. BEncryptor can also function as automatically encrypted USB storage, record its computer-use history and optionally restrict operation to designated computers without requiring special drivers.

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team