Challenging times call for innovative ID solutions
In these unprecedented times of worldwide Coronavirus lockdowns, the legitimate restriction and monitoring of citizens’ movement is more topical than ever. Businesses, cities and entire countries are enduring near total closure. More and more, it appears that technology may well hold the key to how we return to some kind of ‘normality’.
So, what is the ‘exit strategy’?
Today, freedom of movement is largely limited to specific purposes and groups of people, with the sole objective of preventing spread of the virus.
The current situation can’t last forever, of course. As governments begin to plan or implement their ‘exit strategies’ for emerging from lockdown, the World Health Organisation has issued guidance on the factors that must be considered before restrictions are eased. These include the ability to ‘manage virus importation risks’, ‘trace every contact’ and ‘minimise outbreak risks in special settings like health facilities and nursing homes’. In order to manage the ongoing risks as we return to normality, it is clear that authorities will need systems in place for identifying and monitoring selected individuals.
From paper forms to police patrols
Already we have witnessed a huge variety of methods to keep track of citizens and visitors, especially if they have been identified as a risk. The need to act quickly has resulted in some low-tech solutions. In France, members of the public who needed to leave their homes were required to carry a paper permission form with them, which had to be printed out or written by hand. Police patrols and checkpoints in numerous other countries have been used to confirm whether people have a legitimate reason to be out and about.
Elsewhere technology has been rolled out to keep tabs on the population. Electronic tags to monitor people under home quarantine have been reported in Hong Kong, Bahrain and the US state of Kentucky. Drones, number plate recognition technology and electronic thermometers have all seen widespread use around the globe. But these solutions are heavily reliant on hardware and therefore expensive to roll out on a mass scale.
Are low-cost non-hardware solutions the key?
Naturally attention is turning to lower cost, non-hardware solutions. The French paper-based system was quickly replaced by a smartphone version, while in the UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has revealed plans for an app that will send alerts to users who have been in contact with someone displaying Covid-19 symptoms. Meanwhile, in China, citizens’ movement is being controlled by means of a colour-coded app which dictates where they are allowed to go, in line with their current state of heath – anyone with a green code is fee to travel.
Veridium’s 4 Fingers TouchlessID
Contactless, or touchless technology is especially relevant for hygiene reasons at the moment. Similarly, the capacity of solutions to tie in with databases is crucial, whether on a company or national level. One such authentication solution is Veridium’s 4F TouchlessID, which is an innovative approach for touchless capture and export of fingerprints from nearly any smartphone. This makes it ideal for enterprises seeking to improve employee and customer security, as well as government and law enforcement agencies needing to capture fingerprints and then export them for matching against legacy databases. To find out more about how Veridium ID can support you with passwordless technology and secure your business for the future, please contact us at [email protected].
