BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRC) today announced that its Digimarc facial recognition-based Biometric Identification solution is helping many States to prevent identity theft and fraud and enhance traffic safety. Eight U.S. driver license issuers are using or are in the process of implementing Digimarc facial recognition solutions to ensure that only one license is issued to each legitimate ID holder.
According to a Feb. 17, 2007 article in the New York Times ("Driver License Emerges as Crime-Fighting Tool…"), the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) recently used the Digimarc solution to nab a suspect on "America's Most Wanted" criminal list.
Similarly, the Kansas City Star reported in a Feb. 24, 2007 article ("Driver's Licenses Help Combat Fraud") that the Kansas Department of Revenue, another customer of the Digimarc facial recognition solution, has "identified more than 1,200 cases in which people tried to dupe the system and get another identity on another license" over the past two and a half years.
Every night, Digimarc facial recognition-based Biometric Identification solutions help State driver license issuers run a combined 650+ billion image comparisons – checking new or renewal driver license portraits against each State's own driver license database and flagging potential duplicate images for further investigation. Digimarc anticipates by the end of 2007 the solution will run more than 3 trillion combined image comparisons each night as States roll out new systems.
"Digimarc facial recognition biometrics ensures individuals applying for a driver license have not already been issued a valid license under another name or identity," said J. Scott Carr, executive vice president, Digimarc. "We use sophisticated facial recognition technologies that match the new portrait to the State database of issued licenses to identify potential duplicates. Our industry-leading Biometric Identification solution has proven to be very effective in helping jurisdictions deter driver license fraud and as a result also fight crime associated with the fraudulent use of State-issued identity credentials."
According to Digimarc estimates, 29% of all U.S. driver license issuing jurisdictions are using facial recognition-based biometrics to ensure the goal of "one driver, one license" and additional jurisdictions have expressed an intent to do so. Digimarc estimates that it serves approximately 2/3 of the jurisdictions currently using facial recognition-based biometrics and is actively pursuing opportunities in other States considering biometrics in the driver license enrollment process.
States have reported that duplicate license offenders caught by the system include minors who want to buy alcohol, individuals with revoked or suspended driving privileges and career criminals including drug dealers and sex offenders who use false identification to evade capture and arrest.
