Singapore using Facial Recognition for Citizen Verification
An estimated four million Singaporeans now have their faces stored in a database allowing for access to government services via face verification. The new facial recognition system has been rolled out by the Singapore Government Technology Agency (GovTech).
The implementation is part the country’s digital government transformation and Smart Nation initiative. iProov and Toppan Ecquaria are the technology partners providing the biometric authentication tech behind this new service.
credit: Geralt
While iProov provides the biometric back-end to the system, Ecquaria provides the secure connection between the end user and the business or government system.
The two companies were selected after several months of testing and a vetting process to ensure the security of the system. With sensitive information at stake for the citizens, security and privacy are large concerns.
The new system will eliminate the need for passwords currently used by citizens when accessing government services.
They have dubbed the face verification ‘SingPass’. And it will now contain biometric facial recognition information for every resident of Singapore.
While this service may provide ease of access to hundreds of government and commercial services, there is the potential for privacy concerns.
The collection of this facial recognition data on every resident in the country also has the potential to be used to track and monitor those same individuals.
The Singapore government has already opened up the system to let corporations take advantage of SingPass. Many businesses, including banks are able to let citizens access their accounts using the system.
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