The U.S. Army has decided to extend it smart card pilot program for Army spouses and retirees. The pilot, which began in October 2011, now runs through September.

The smart card pilot is seen as an alternative means of identification to a username and password for logging into many Army and Department of Defense Web sites that contain personally identifiable information. 

The Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Ltd., Aavin, in Chennai, India has gotten off to a rough start, with many participants complaining about incorrect data stored on government-issued smart cards, reports The Hindu.

This past Saturday, consumers and milk suppliers were able to verify information for issuing smart cards, but Aavin supplied incorrect or incomplete information in many cases. 

The introduction of biometric multimodal fusion has helped lead to greater accuracy in biometric authentication, but its adoption rate is still overall fairly low, reports ZDNet Asia.

Biometric authentication today is relying on more methods to determine a person’s identity. Rather than just using fingerprints, identities can be determined through face, iris, vein and body odor. Combining several metrics has led to greater accuracy in verification. 

In the wake of information leaks to Web sites like WikiLeaks, the Department of Defense is instituting a PKI hardware-based authentication system on its classified network, the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet). To that end, it’s evaluating a new smart card for use as a hardware token.

Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana is conducting the evaluation, in conjunction with Air Force Global Strike Command and members from select units and combatant commands, as the DoD’s SIPRNet hardware token Initial Operational Test and Evaluation. 

Thursby Software Systems, Inc. has released the PKard Reader, a touch Web browser solution for the iOS that includes secure authentication to a personal smart card.

With the PKard Reader, users can access a Web portal, collaboration sites and e-mail through either an iPad or an iPhone. A combination plug-in card reader and two-factor authentication app provide a secure user experience. The card reader accepts industry standard CAC, PIV, PIV-I and CIV smart cards and supports many industry and U.S. government standards, including ISO 7816, EMV level 1, NIST IR 6887, FCC class B part 15, CE, RoS, HSPD-12, FIPS 140-2 and FIPS 201. 

Biometrics firms Morpho and AOptix have formed a partnership to deploy advanced biometric systems targeted to border management and aviation security industries.

Under the terms of the partnership, AOptix products will be integrated into Morpho’s border management product line. This includes InSight Duo, AOptix’s combined face capture and iris recognition system. 

GD Burti, the Brazilian subsidiary of Giesecke & Devrient, has met the security requirements to issue Brazilian eID cards.

The high-security Registry of Civil Identity cards have been granted certification by Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia da Informação, Brazil’s IT authority. GD Burti has delivered more than one million cards as part of an initial pilot project. RIC cards store biometric data and will make it easier for Brazilian nationals to visit other Mercosur treaty states.