SecuGen introduces UN20 Bluetooth

SecuGen has unveiled the UN20 Bluetooth, a Bluetooth enabled OEM fingerprint sensor that is FAP 20 certified.

According to the company, the UN20 Bluetooth uses a Bluetooth interface with a simple set of commands that allows the developer to capture fingerprint images, extract templates, and to enrol, search and match fingerprint templates all within the UN20 device. The UN20 Bluetooth hardware is FBI certified for use in the FIPS 201 PIV programme under the FAP 20 category. Additionally, the template extraction and matching algorithms running on the device are NIST MINEX certified.

UN20 Bluetooth, is the second of SecuGen new Unity BDP line of fingerprint products that provide a Biometric Development Platform. At the heart of the UN20 Bluetooth, and all Unity BDP products, is SecuGen’s FAP 20 certified U20 sensor combined with a fully programmable Linux system and integrated into one compact package almost identical in size to the U20 itself. The Unity BDP provides the tools and technologies needed for developers and OEMs to develop a variety of custom designed fingerprint biometric products. In addition to the UN20 Bluetooth, SecuGen is releasing a series of additional UN20 OEM sensors and Unity finished products that will feature different capabilities over the course of the coming months.

“Bluetooth connectivity opens the opportunity to use SecuGen world class technology with a variety of Bluetooth enabled products and platforms,” says Dan Riley, SecuGen VP of Engineering. “We are very excited to have developed a high quality Bluetooth OEM fingerprint solution that has been repeatedly asked for by our OEM partners. We are proud to surpass their expectations by offering a fully featured product with an embedded Linux environment at an exceedingly low cost.”

“We listen closely to the needs of our OEM partners,” says Won Lee, CEO of SecuGen. “We are pleased to introduce the highly demanded UN20 Bluetooth, the second of our new Unity Biometric Development Platform product line. The Unity BDP represents years of effort, technological innovation and commitment to delivering the world’s best optical fingerprint readers and sensors.”

Source: Planet Biometrics

Bitcoin service allows businesses to confidently accept instant transactions

Retailers wanting to simply accept bitcoin face several challenges. whereas purpose of Sale and Payment Service suppliers became trade titans through simplifying the method, there square measure still risks that require to be thought of.

An integral a part of the retail payment method is that the want for speed. whereas bitcoin transactions square measure thought of virtually instant, new transactions can’t be thought of secure as a result of a scarcity of network confirmations.

The first confirmation happens once a group action is enclosed within the blockchain, that takes not than 10 minutes underneath ideal conditions. each time a replacement block is additional to the blockchain, each group action gets another confirmation. The trade customary for acceptive a payment as secure is six confirmations, which might usually take associate degree hour.

Accepting instant bitcoin payments needs a bourgeois to simply accept zero confirmation transactions, that may be a risky proposition as a result of double defrayment, wherever a devious client will amendment a payment before a block is additional to the blockchain.

“For an occasional worth item like a candy, the chance could also be manageable.”

- BlockCypher

As shortly because the merchandise square measure bimanual over, the client will send another, far-smaller payment with a bigger fee than the first payment, bumping it to the front of the process queue. If the fraudster is fast enough, the second, little payment can become the one cemented within the blockchain, therefore stealing the worth back from the seller. there's even a free on-line tool designed to make double-spending attacks, that has been an excellent instructional resource for the community.

Bitcoin risk mitigation services will offset this risk. The business executive of standard exchange ShapeShift, Erik Voorhees, same that “Many businesses, like ShapeShift, square measure engineered around risk mitigation ways for instant payments.”

The emerging trade started with BlockCypher in 2014. the corporate offers several services additionally to risk mitigation, like simple ways that to make made-to-order wallets, run analytics, and use microtransactions on the blockchain. Their most simple set up prices $75 per month, however, which has a Confidence issue score for zero confirmation transactions, and guarantees payments up to $9.

“By observance group action propagation, the amount of nodes that have received it, and the way quickly they received it, we will calculate its likelihood to be the “winning” group action at any given purpose in time,” states BlockCypher.

The company has picked up many massive partners together with Deloitte, Capgemini, EY, PwC, and a shopper list that reads sort of a United Nations agency’s who within the bitcoin-accepting business world. BlockCypher is employed behind the scenes at exchanges like Coinbase and OKCoin, at Wallets like Xapo and Vaulturo, and BTMs like Lamassu and Bitaccess.

When managing transactions of high worth, however, the corporate still recommends expecting longer to feature security whereas exploitation their product. “Double defrayment attacks, whereas very unlikely, will still occur,” the corporate admits.

“Blockchain confirmations ultimately give the best level of security, particularly once managing higher worth addresses.”

- BlockCypher

Merchants yearning for risk mitigation services on top of amounts of 9 bucks address GAP600. based by Daniel Lipshitz in 2015, the corporate guarantees transactions with no ought to be anxious regarding block confirmation times and double defrayment. GAP600 processes tens of millions in USD valued transactions per month.

The company may be a world bitcoin underwriting service that goes on the far side BlockCypher’s giving by adding associate degree insurance product to a risk mitigation score. Their giving can “confirm a group action at intervals seconds of it touching the environment,” in keeping with founder and business executive Daniel Lipshitz. The business executive told BraveNewCoin that they guarantee the worth of the transactions they make sure, “Should we tend to get this wrong, we'd reimburse the worth of the transactions.”

The system offers a number of totally different tiers of membership covering larger levels of risk for higher premiums. “We have an internet interface for account management and applied mathematics analysis,” Lipshitz explains. the top results is that GAP600 underwriting is that the 1st to supply, “instant acceptance of bitcoin transactions with no money risk.”

His company will this while not requiring any Anti-Money washing (AML) or apprehend Your client (KYC) identification checks. “At no time will we management or hold the bitcoins,” Lipshitz states. “It is pure analysis on whether or not the group action is nice or are a failing or double pay.”

Much like BlockCypher, the total method is finished through code behind the scenes. the method is automatic once integrated into websites and businesses. However, the corporate is presently self-funding the insurance, that incurs risk that the bed subscriptions square measure designed to hide.

“We presently square measure self-financed and manage the chance on our own books,” Lipshitz admitted, whereas stipulating that they “have spare capability to fulfill our commitments.” because the company grows, a lot of insurance merchandise for his or her own protection ought to become obtainable, too. “We square measure in discussion with underwriters to amass additional insurance to modify bigger growth.”

“As bitcoin becomes a lot of and a lot of a neighborhood of our money landscape, and is adopted by giant money establishments, GAP600 are ready to supply this service to filter the paradox of zero confirmed bitcoin group action acceptance.”

- Daniel Lipshitz, GAP600 CEO

Another service making an attempt some live of mitigating Bitcoin transactional risk is that the internet notecase GreenAddress. The service has found out instant confirmations with a minimum of 10 of the capable bitcoin exchanges, that has been particularly handy to several bitcoin traders.

Instead of assignment scores, however, GreenAddress operates by securing every notecase with a multi-signature address, and so having the partner exchanges acknowledge GreenAddress’ key, in order that they apprehend the supply and that they may be secure within the indisputable fact that GreenAddress won’t enable its’ users to form double-spent payments.

source : http://bravenewcoin.com

US Federal Reserve Releases First Distributed Ledger Research Paper

The Fed has printed new analysis on distributed ledger school.

The paper, that explores applications of the technology in payments and dealing settlement, was written by groups from the Fed Board furthermore because the Fed Banks of recent dynasty and Chicago.

Though analysis has been printed within the past by members of the Federal Resrve system, most notably the Fed Banks from Hub of the Universe and Chicago, the paper's unleash represents the primary major unleash from the Fed Board.

Overall, the analysis casts a good internet, together with each a top-down read of the ideas behind blockchain, furthermore as each the challenges and opportunities for money corporations or payment system operators watching potential integrations.

The paper's authors wrote:

    “An necessary goal of this paper is to look at however this technology may be employed in the world of payments, clearing, and settlement and to spot each the opportunities and challenges facing its sensible implementation and doable long-run adoption.”

Its publication comes slightly below 2 months when Fed governor Lael Brainard careful the central bank's interest within the school, furthermore as its intention to pursue in-depth analysis on the subject.

According to the Fed, researchers interviewed thirty representatives from each the general public and personal sector, drawing from established firms and startups operating with the school.

source : www.coindesk.com

Buy Royal Mint gold using Bitcoin tech - via your Isa firm

The Royal Mint is to supply a brand new thanks to invest in gold victimisation the technology behind Bitcoin, the digital currency, launching in 2017.

This wedding of arguably the world’s oldest plus with its most futurist technology is alleged to supply important edges to non-public investors – if they'll perceive however it works.

The following Q&A ought to facilitate.

What precisely is that the Royal Mint aiming to offer?

It is already doable to shop for and sell gold on-line – while not the difficulty of taking delivery and storing the dear metal – however investors presently got to use specialist websites like BullionVault.

The Royal Mint’s new service, against this, is meant to permit investors to trade its gold, command within the Mint’s vaults, at any hour of the day or night via their existing investment look.

No such corporations square measure on board nonetheless, however a spokesperson for the Mint confirmed that it had thought firms like artificer Lansdown in mind as partners for the new service.

The Mint is functioning with associate degree yankee firm, CME Group, to develop and run the new service, which can even be on the market to fund managers and different third parties.

The Royal Mint will already supply gold commerce services. Its gold is command in Sipps (self-invested pensions) as of this year, though it's not a moment method.

Another Mint service, “Signature Gold”, permits investors to shop for fractions of a gold bar hold on in its vaults, once more providing uninterrupted commerce, for a 0.5pc annual management fee.

However, this is often done via the Royal Mint’s web site, not third-party investment retailers.

Why is 'Bitcoin’ technology involved?

For large-scale commerce to be doable on multiple platforms, a secure digital record of possession is required. this is often wherever the new technology (called “blockchain”) comes in.

Essentially, it's a web ledger of transactions, updated cryptographically, whose entries can't be deleted or emended once further.

Copies of the ledger square measure shared over the net by multiple parties. For the record of possession to be lost, all copies would wish to be deleted.

Charlie Morris, a multi-asset investment manager at Newscape Capital associate degreed an knowledgeable on gold commerce, said: “What this technology will do is exist in associate degree open world. i feel corporations like BullionVault and GoldMoney square measure nice, however their system works fantastically during a circuit. only if you trust the organisation, which individuals do, that’s fine.

“But with blockchain technology, somebody will trade gold here and in Japan, with it sitting within the Royal Mint’s vaults, and you don’t each would like accounts with constant supplier.”

Cryptographic possession records is either public or non-public.

Public systems treat a “peer-to-peer” basis. Anyone within the world will browse the ledger, submit transactions for verification, and be concerned within the verification method.

In Bitcoin’s case, there square measure thousands of “nodes”, operated by market participants. there's no central establishment or middle man.

The larger the quantity of nodes, the larger the extent of security. huge computing power is needed to verify every dealings and add it to the ledger.

Private blockchains have some quite restricted access and central management. this might mean limitations on WHO will browse the ledger, be concerned in substantiating additions to that, and indite to that.

A smaller range of “trusted” participants like money establishments makes transactions faster and cheaper.

Arguably a personal system of this sort is no totally different from existing record keeping tools.

However, a completely open system with anonymous participants, like Bitcoin’s, will cause restrictive headaches.

The Royal Mint and CME have nonetheless to determine WHO can have access to their ledger.

A Mint spokesperson same the new technology was “a terribly economical mechanism for pursuit possession and transfer”.

How is that this totally different from a gold ETF?

From a sensible purpose of read, the Royal Mint’s providing seems somewhat the same as associate degree exchange-traded fund like ETF Securities Physical Gold.

Such ETFs square measure funds that own gold bullion and issue shares that enable investors, in effect, to have a fraction of their gold assets.

The funds appoint freelance custodians – one thing that man Morris same was vital for trust – and hold their gold in secure vaults.

ETFs is bought via stockbrokers and investment retailers and command in Isas and Sipps. However, investors square measure shopping for shares within the ETF, whereas the Royal Mint is providing direct gold possession.

Whether {there can|there'll} be important security and potency gains from the Royal Mint’s use of the new cryptanalytic technology will depend upon its precise implementation.

One sensible profit is that commerce are going to be on the market twenty four hours on a daily basis, three hundred and sixty five days a year whereas dealing in ETFs is feasible solely whereas the securities market is open.

How much can the Royal Mint charge?

The Mint won't charge storage fees, however there'll be dealings prices. For the gold itself, evaluation can occur on the commerce platform and be subject to provide and demand.

A Mint spokesperson said: “It is sensible that Royal Mint gold, that represents direct possession of physical gold, would value somewhere round the 'spot’ value – however ultimately the market can decide this.” 
Will different assets be listed via this new technology in future?

Experts square measure divided, though non-public cryptanalytic ledgers square measure probably to become a lot of wide utilized in money services.

Earlier this year Santander became the primary high-street bank to use such technology in international cash transfers. It’s even doable that, one day, commerce in shares can imitate.

Mr Morris said: “If I place my future hat on, i feel the total world goes this manner, and gold is that the experiment. Gold is easy – there’s rather more quality in shares, and also the entire system isn’t able to be shifted nonetheless.”

source : www.telegraph.co.uk