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:

Central Bank of Jordan Picks BIO-key to Build National Biometric Authentication

The Central Bank of Jordan has selected BIO-key International to build a national biometric authentication platform for the country’s financial sector, serving a population of 11.6 million. Utilizing BIO-key’s PortalGuard and WEB-key technologies, the central bank aims to eliminate customer reliance on passwords, hardware tokens, and legacy credentials across digital banking channels. The regulator seeks to reduce operational costs while establishing biometric identity verification as the national standard for Jordanian financial institutions to modernize digital banking security and remove legacy credentials.

Keyfactor Moves to Buy Cofide to Give AI Agents Verified Identities

Machine identity management provider Keyfactor has announced its intent to acquire UK-based identity platform Cofide to issue cryptographic identities to AI agents and software workloads. Built on open standards including SPIFFE, OAuth, and OIDC, Cofide replaces static credentials with short-lived, verified workload identities to govern non-human digital actors across multi-cloud environments. The technology will be integrated into the Keyfactor Trust Control Plane to help enterprise security teams manage machine identities alongside certificates and keys to secure autonomous AI workloads and non-human identities.

Nepal Buys 10 Million Biometric Licences From IN Groupe Without a Tender

Nepal’s Cabinet has approved a government-to-government agreement to purchase 10 million Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) licenses from French firm IN Groupe without competitive bidding. Negotiated by the Department of National Identity and Civil Registration at a proposed rate of €0.0995 per license, the procurement replenishes expired software database capacity used to store and match biometric records for national ID cards and passports. The direct purchase relies on proprietary system compatibility exceptions under Nepal’s Public Procurement Act to maintain national biometric database operations and citizen registration.

Indian MP Asks the Supreme Court to Halt Police Facial Recognition at Protests

Communist Party of India (Marxist) Member of Parliament AA Rahim has petitioned the Supreme Court of India to halt law enforcement’s use of facial recognition, smart spectacles, and biometric surveillance at peaceful public assemblies. The Article 32 petition argues that Delhi Police’s deployment of AI-powered facial matching and mobile command vehicles at civilian protests violates constitutional privacy rights established in the landmark Puttaswamy judgment. Citing a lack of statutory authorization, public privacy impact assessments, and clear data retention schedules, the case seeks to bar police and private hardware vendors from retaining protester biometric data captured without legal authority.

Study Finds Simple Facial Changes Can Skew Age Verification Models

A research study from Greece’s Centre for Research and Technology Hellas found that digital facial modifications like simulated beard stubble, mustaches, and cosmetics can alter the outputs of face-based age-estimation models. Evaluating seven artificial intelligence vision models across benchmark datasets using an age threshold of 13, researchers observed that digital beard overlays produced an average decision flip rate of 20.8 percent for underage subjects, while AI-generated beards increased estimated ages by an average of 6.5 years. The preprint findings highlight demographic vulnerabilities and technical robustness challenges as online services deploy facial age estimation to verify minor accounts.

Canada Opens Qualification Stage for Immigration Biometrics Front End

Public Services and Procurement Canada has launched an Invitation to Qualify on behalf of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to modernize the front end of the Canadian Immigration Biometric Identification System (CIBIDS). Running through September 10, the open prequalification process seeks suppliers to upgrade collection-facing hardware and software used globally to capture applicant fingerprints and facial photos, while maintaining the existing processing back end. Applied under Canada’s National Security Exception and Buy Canadian Policy, the procurement prepares front-end infrastructure for expanding routine biometric enrollment to Canadian citizenship applicants.

Unico Adds Global ISO 42001 Certification for IDCloud AI Governance

Identity verification firm Unico has earned ISO/IEC 42001 certification from TÜV Rheinland for the Artificial Intelligence Management System powering its IDCloud platform across Brazil, Mexico, and the United States. Running on Google Cloud Platform, the certified framework establishes audited organizational policies, risk assessment controls, and ongoing monitoring for Unico’s proprietary facial biometrics, liveness detection, and fraud prevention engines. The AI governance credential joins Unico’s existing ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 certifications to validate artificial intelligence risk management and data governance.

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team