During this perfect storm called COVID-19, a lot of so-called solutions in the identity management and trace-and-track solutions industries have sprung-up. The common thread linking them together is the proclamation that fingerprint scanners have the potential to infect the individual touching it. Therefore, according to this prevailing wisdom, contactless biometrics is the best thing since sliced bread.
Interestingly, the identity management “solutions” offering “selfie” onboarding using facial recognition and/or voice recognition seem to be reluctant to answer specific questions on the validity and forensic value of their products.
Questions such as:
- Can their solution guarantee that there is only ONE digital identity of the individual on-boarded/registered/enrolled onto their system?
- Can they guarantee that there are NO synthetic identities on their system? Not a single one?
- Can they, beyond any doubt, prove in a court of law that the evidence they have of the individual identity on their system proves that the person on-boarded/ registered/enrolled onto their system was physically present at the specific time and place of that on-boarding/registration/enrollment?
These questions are critical to ensure the identity management solution not only complies with legislation, but also helps prevent crimes related to identity theft or fraud. These include:
- Illicit gains through money laundering, including human trafficking and drug trafficking.
- Terrorism Funding
- Cyber Crime
When asked for comment on their “solutions’” ability to address these concerns, the silence was deafening, or the response either evasive or nonsense.
The most prolific and escalating dynamic enabling identity fraud is that of synthetic identity creation.
In forensic science, Locard’s principle holds that the perpetrator of a crime will bring something into the crime scene and leave with something from it, and that both can be used as forensic evidence.
Dr. Edmond Locard (1877–1966) was a pioneer in forensic science. He became known as the Sherlock Holmes of France. He formulated the basic principle of forensic science: “Every contact leaves a trace”.
Regardless of from which angle you look at a fingerprint, it has forensic value. This has been forensically tested, broadly and intensely, over many decades.
If a fingerprint is found on a specific place and collected correctly – with a full chain of custody – it has the ability to either confirm an individual’s physical presence at a location, or indicate that they handled something. The onus is then placed on the individual, if identified, to explain why they were in or at a specific place, and why they touched a specific object.
In forensic terms, this is what makes the Locard principle invaluable in establishing identity.
The Diverse Authentication Library (DAL)
The DAL-Global solution, incorporating the Identity-ATM, is the only system in the world with the capability to create a single digital twin of a single human being with forensic proof.
DAL-Global offers a scalable, cloud-based platform and customisable business processes focused on a Forensic Identity Management Solution. This solution comprises Registration, “Onboarding”, Protection and Authentication of Identities. The DAL-Global infrastructure is built, hosted and managed by DAL as a third-party service provider, and offered as Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS).
Contact us and let us mitigate your risks and manage your identity verification at an optimised level.
About Dawid Jacobs
Dawid Jacobs is a prominent South African Identity Management Specialist. He received intensive training in the South African Police Service (SAPS) as a Fingerprint Expert and Crime Scene Forensic Investigator (CSI).
During his career in the SAPS, he identified, matched and verified hundreds of thousands of crime scene and other fingerprints. On numerous occasions, Dawid testified as an expert in the South African High Court, authenticating the identity of individuals accused of involvement in various crimes.
Dawid also compiled study material on Fingerprint Identification and the Investigation of Crime Scenes for forensic educational institutes. He has also been invited to various conferences, and has been interviewed by published media and on radio and television, to provide professional input on identity theft and how to prevent it.
Dawid was part of the creation of the first Pro-Active Identity Protection and Verification system, which allows for various methods of authentication, including Automated and Physical (Forensic) Fingerprint Identification Systems, a Multi Factor Identity Authentication solution and Blockchain Identity Attestation solution. All these solutions are based on the critical importance of optimised accuracy in the enrolment phase of an identity, using forensic protocol procedures.
The Identity Management Solutions Dawid helped create are designed for the global market. They focus on making every individual economically inclusive, and help to reinstate trust between institutions and their customers.
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawid-jacobs-61a18b1a/
Is COVID ‘infecting’ your security systems?
During this perfect storm called COVID-19, a lot of so-called solutions in the identity management and trace-and-track solutions industries have sprung-up.
Let’s assess the validity and forensic value of these products.