Identity Documents Research Articles

Femtosecond Laser-Induced Recrystallized Nanotexturing for Identity Document Security With Physical Unclonable Functions.

Counterfeit identity (ID) documents pose a serious threat to personal credit and national security. As a promising candidate, optical physical unclonable functions (PUFs) offer a robust defense mechanism against counterfeits. Despite the innovations in chemically synthesized PUFs, challenges persist, including harmful chemical treatments, low yields, and incompatibility of reaction conditions with the ID document materials. More notably, surface relief nanostructures for PUFs, such as wrinkles, are still at risk of being replicated through scanning lithography or nanoimprint. Here, a femtosecond laser-induced recrystallized silicon nanotexture is reported as latent PUF nanofingerprint for document anti-counterfeiting. With femtosecond laser irradiation, nanotextures spontaneously emerge within 100ms of exposure. By introducing a low-absorption metal layer, surface plasmon polariton waves are excited on the silicon-metal multilayer nanofilms with long-range boosting, ensuring the uniqueness and non-replicability of the final nanotextures. Furthermore, the femtosecond laser induces a phase transition in the latent nanotexture from amorphous to polycrystalline state, rather than creating replicable relief wrinkles. The random nanotextures are easily identifiable through optical microscopy and Raman imaging, yet they remain undetectable by surface characterization methods such as scanning electron and atomic force microscopies. This property significantly hinders counterfeiting efforts, as it prevents the precise replication of these nanostructures.

Identity Documents and Gender Identity: Towards Inclusive Practices

Identity Documents and Gender Identity: Towards Inclusive Practices

Toward Next Generation Quantum-Safe eIDs and eMRTDs: A Survey

Security mechanisms of Electronic Personal Documents (eCards) depend on (asymmetric) cryptography that is and always has been subject to the threat of compromise, be it from conventional attacks or quantum computers. With Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC), we now have alternative building blocks at hand that can be leveraged to protect against both kind of attacks. Thus, PQC should be incorporated into eCard ecosystems, yet it is not clear how this is done best. In the work at hand, we review the state of currently used crypto-systems for eCard security, as well as their possible quantum-secure replacements. Further, we identify and categorize respective challenges that need to be addressed, present and assess existing approaches for their solution, and formulate research questions for open issues. By providing an overview of the situation, we help unraveling the issue and pave the way toward quantum-safe electronic Identity Documents and electronic Machine-Readable Travel Documents.

Sexual Behaviors in Iranian Working Children and the Correlated Risk Factors: Result of the Large-Scale Rapid Assessment and Response (RAR) Survey

This study aimed to investigate the sexual behaviors among working children and the associated factors. This cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 1937 working children in the 10–18 age range in 15 provincial capitals in 2019–20 (Feb–May); the Response rate was 94.9%. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the variable of sexual behaviors. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) are reported. The prevalence of sexual behaviors in working children was 4.2%. The results showed a significant difference between those who reported sexual behaviors and those who did not in terms of age, identity document (ID), running away from home, alcohol use, and substance use. There was a statistically significant relationship between fathers’ unemployment and sexual behaviors among working children. Furthermore, we found that having divorced parents could increase the odds of sexual behaviors by 3.74 times. The findings showed that related welfare and support organizations should design and implement effective and continuous training and interventions to raise awareness and reduce the prevalence of high-risk sexual behaviors in working children. They should also provide family counseling and promote parental supervision of children.

Study on the classification of villages in Jilin Province based on space syntax and machine learning

This paper employs machine learning and space syntax to classify villages, revealing implicit formation and development patterns in their spatial layouts. The study addresses village classification in Jilin Province from micro and macro perspectives. At the macro level, we present the classification method for villages based on geospatial distribution features (CVGD).We analyze the geographic distribution of villages and utilize village density for classification, effectively portraying the spatial distribution characteristics of villages. At the micro level, we propose the classification method for villages based on spatial structural features (CVSS). We use space syntax to extract spatial features of villages. Representative features chosen through comparative analysis serve as input variables in clustering algorithms, classifying villages based on high-dimensional data to explore their spatial traits. The paper summarizes village spatial characteristics from different classifications and studies how geographic factors affect village structure. It aims to offer potentially valuable theoretical insights for rural development. Abbreviations: POI: Point of Interest; DBSCAN: Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise; OPTICS: Ordering Points to Identify the Clustering Structure; WGS-84: World Geodetic System; ID: Identity Document; SSE: Sum of Squared Errors; CVGD: Classification Method for Villages Based on Geospatial Distribution Features; CVSS: Classification Method for Villages Based on Spatial Structure Features; GIS: Geographic Information Systems; ISUF: International Seminar on Urban Form; LiDAR: Light Detection and Ranging

Enhancing Identity Document Classification in KYC Processes: An Evaluation of the Bag-of-Visual-Words Model and Segmentation Impact

Enhancing Identity Document Classification in KYC Processes: An Evaluation of the Bag-of-Visual-Words Model and Segmentation Impact

Correction to: Too “Full of Gender” How Activists Conceptualize the Promises and Pitfalls of Gender-Neutral Identity Documents

Correction to: Too “Full of Gender” How Activists Conceptualize the Promises and Pitfalls of Gender-Neutral Identity Documents

NDMFCS: An automatic fruit counting system in modern apple orchard using abatement of abnormal fruit detection

Automatic fruit counting is an important task for growers to estimate yield and manage orchards. Although many deep-learning-based fruit detection algorithms have been developed to improve performance of automatic fruit counting systems, abnormal fruit detection has often been caused by these algorithms detecting non-target fruits that have similar growth characteristics to target fruits. For abnormal fruit detection, detected fruits in the back row of the tree were defined as DFBRT, while detected fruits on the ground were defined as DFG. Both of them would result in a higher number of fruits counting than the ground truth. This study proposes an automatic fruit counting system called NDMFCS (Normal Detection Matched Fruit Counting System) to solve this problem for improving fruit counting accuracy in modern apple orchard. NDMFCS consists of three sub-systems, i.e. object detection based on You Only Look Once Version 4-tiny (YOLOv4-tiny), abatement of abnormal fruit detection based on threshold, and fruit counting based on trunk tracking and identity document (ID) assignment. YOLOv4-tiny was selected to implement detection of fruits and trunks, whose output is confidence and pixel coordinates of detected object. The DFBRT and DFG were abated by thresholds to improve detection performance of fruit. This meant that detected fruits were removed when their distance from camera is further than a distance threshold or the confidence of fruit detection is less than a confidence threshold. Finally, fruit counting was implemented by trunk tracking and ID assignment, where each fruit was assigned a unique tracking ID. Results on 10 sets of original videos indicated that average fruit detection precision was improved from 89.1% to 93.3% after abatement of abnormal fruit detection. Also, Multiple Object Tracking Accuracy and Multiple Object Tracking Precision were improved on average by 4.2% and 3.3%, respectively, while average ID Switch Rate was decreased on average by 1.1%. And average fruit counting accuracy was improved to 95.0% by 4.2%. Coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.97, which indicated the number of fruits counted by NDMFCS was near to the ground truth. These results demonstrate that the abatement of abnormal fruit detection can improve performance of apple counting, which has the potential to provide a technical support for estimating fruit yield in modern apple orchards.

Too “Full of Gender” How Activists Conceptualize the Promises and Pitfalls of Gender-Neutral Identity Documents

Abstract The social movements literature identifies a dilemma that activists face between principles of affirming and deconstructing identity. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 85 activists from diverse political perspectives, this article shows that, in discussing identity documents (IDs), progressive activists took a practical approach that recognized both the advantages and drawbacks of recognition. They expressed support both for initiatives that would provide additional sex/gender marker options—beyond M or F—on IDs and those that would remove sex/gender markers from IDs altogether. This article argues that progressives readily perceived the drawbacks of recognition in the case of IDs because this context—more than others—cues concerns about state regulation and surveillance. Conservatives, who advocate for limiting government power in other contexts, were less likely than progressives to support the idea of removing sex/gender markers from government IDs, appealing to other priorities to justify this stance. Together, these findings underscore the extent to which expediency motivates social activists. They also show how both political orientation and social context shape preferences for emphasizing versus de-emphasizing sex/gender.

Utilizing the Ethereum blockchain for retrieving and archiving augmented reality surgical navigation data.

Conventional techniques to share and archive spinal imaging data raise issues with trust and security, with novel approaches being more greatly considered. Ethereum smart contracts present one such novel approach. Ethereum is an open-source platform that allows for the use of smart contracts. Smart contracts are packages of code that are self-executing and reside in the Ethereum state, defining conditions for programmed transactions. Though powerful, limited attempts have been made to showcase the clinical utility of such technologies, especially in the pre- and post-operative imaging arenas. Herein, we therefore aim to propose a proof-of-concept smart contract that stores intraoperative three-dimensional (3D) augmented reality surgical navigation (ARSN) data and was tested on a private, proof-of-authority network. To the author's best knowledge, the present study represents a first-use case of the Interplanetary File Storage protocol for storing and retrieving spine imaging smart contracts. The content identifier hashes were stored inside the smart contracts while the interplanetary file system (IPFS) was used to efficiently store the image files. Insertion was achieved with four storage mappings, one for each of the following: fictitious patient data, specific diagnosis, patient identity document (ID), and Gertzbein grade. Inserted patient observations were then queried with wildcards. Insertion and retrieval times for different record volumes were collected. It took 276 milliseconds to insert 50 records and 713 milliseconds to insert 350 records. Inserting 50 records required 934 Megabyte (MB) of memory per insertion with patient data and imaging, while inserting 350 records required almost the same amount of memory per insertion. In a database of 350 records, the retrieval function needs about 1,026 MB to query a record with all three fields left blank, but only 970 MB to obtain the same observation from a database of 50 records. The concept presented in this study exemplifies the clinical utility of smart contracts and off-chain data storage for efficient retrieval/insertion of ARSN data.

The vulnerability of in-between statuses: ID and migration controls in the cases of the ‘Windrush generation’ scandal and Brexit

ABSTRACT In this article, I argue that identity documents (ID) and migration statuses are both tools of population control and subjectivities that individuals have an interest in holding. I use documentary analyses and interviews with 31 EU27 citizens in the UK, 21 UK citizens in Belgium and the UK and with nationality bureaucracies in the two countries. States create legitimate, illegitimate and in-between statuses, and in-between statuses show how being exempt from certain ID and migration controls can create paradoxical vulnerabilities. Windrush generation migrants in the UK were exempt from migration controls but then in some cases were treated as irregular migrants because of the lack of proof of status. EU citizens were free from many migration controls, but can have difficulties in naturalization and dealing with new requirements brought about by Brexit because the procedures can require proof of rights usually produced through the migration controls they were exempt from.

An Early Warning Model of Telecommunication Network Fraud Based on User Portrait

With the frequent occurrence of telecommunications and network fraud crimes in recent years, new frauds have emerged one after another which has caused huge losses to the people. However, due to the lack of an effective preventive mechanism, the police are often in a passive position. Using technologies such as web crawlers, feature engineering, deep learning, and artificial intelligence, this paper proposes a user portrait fraud warning scheme based on Weibo public data. First, we perform preliminary screening and cleaning based on the keyword “defrauded” to obtain valid fraudulent user Identity Documents (IDs). The basic information and account information of these users is user-labeled to achieve the purpose of distinguishing the types of fraud. Secondly, through feature engineering technologies such as avatar recognition, Artificial Intelligence (AI) sentiment analysis, data screening, and follower blogger type analysis, these pictures and texts will be abstracted into user preferences and personality characteristics which integrate multi-dimensional information to build user portraits. Third, deep neural network training is performed on the cube. 80% percent of the data is predicted based on the N-way K-shot problem and used to train the model, and the remaining 20% is used for model accuracy evaluation. Experiments have shown that Few-short learning has higher accuracy compared with Long Short Term Memory (LSTM), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). On this basis, this paper develops a WeChat small program for early warning of telecommunications network fraud based on user portraits. When the user enters some personal information on the front end, the back-end database can perform correlation analysis by itself, so as to match the most likely fraud types and give relevant early warning information. The fraud warning model is highly scaleable. The data of other Applications (APPs) can be extended to further improve the efficiency of anti-fraud which has extremely high public welfare value.

Memory Efficient Local Features Descriptor for Identity Document Detection on Mobile and Embedded Devices

In this paper, we propose a data-driven approach to training a memory-efficient local feature descriptor for identity documents location and classification on mobile and embedded devices. The proposed algorithm for retrieving a dataset of patches is based on the specifics of document detection in smartphone camera-captured images with a template matching approach. The retrieved dataset of patches relevant to the domain, which includes splits for features training, features selection, and testing, is made public. We train a binary descriptor using the retrieved dataset of patches, each bit of the descriptor relies on a single computationally-efficient feature. To estimate the influence of different feature spaces on the descriptor performance, we perform descriptor training experiments using gradient-based and intensity-based features. Extensive experiments in identity document location and classification benchmarks showed that the resulting 128 and 192-bit descriptors which use gradient-based features outperformed a state-of-the-art 512-bit BEBLID descriptor for arbitrary keypoints matching in all cases except the cases of extreme projective distortions, being significantly more efficient in cases of low lighting. The 64-bit gradient-based descriptor obtained within the approach showed better quality than 128 and 256-bit BinBoost descriptors in scanned document images. To evaluate the influence of the descriptor size on the matching speed, we propose a model based on the required number of processor instructions for computing the Hamming distance between a pair of descriptors on various energy-efficient processor architectures.

Elirium of Skin Infestation: Epidemiological and Clinical Profile of 73 Patients

Background This was a descriptive and prospective study that focused on 73 cases of delirium of skin infestation (DSI) from January 1st to December 31st, 2018, in the dermatology department of the Bamako Dermatology Hospital (HDB). Aim The aim of this work was to describe the epidemiological and clinical profile of delusions of infestation (Ekbom syndrome), to deepen our knowledge of the disease in order to improve its overall management. Methods We carried out a descriptive cross-sectional study of cases of identity document (ID) seen in dermatological consultation in the HDB dermatology department between January 1st and December 31st, 2018. Now, this department is the largest dermatological reference center in the country. In our study, we have included any patient with delirium of parasitic infestation (defined as an unshakeable conviction that small vermin, insects, lice, maggots, proliferate in the skin and sometimes in the body without biological proof). Results Delirium of skin infestation constituted 0.3% of consultations in the service. The average age was 52-years with extremes ranging from 12 to 85-years. They were 45 female (62%) and 28 male (45%). The age group (25-64) was the most represented. Out-ofschool patients represented 65% of the sample. Among them, 6 cases (8%) were known in psychiatry. The agents incriminated by the patients were mainly ants, earthworms and cicadas. The specimen sign was found in 89% of cases. Insomnia was the most frequent associated sign, at 75%. The types of lesion complications observed in our patients were mainly lichenification, ulceration and excoriation. Seventy-two percent (72%) of patients have refused referral to the mental health service. The profile of Ekbom syndrome was the one of the adult women, described in the previous work. Conclusion Delirium of skin infestation is generally considered as rare disease, increasingly observed during our dermatology consultations. Its frequency is probably underestimated.

Lives “on hold”

The relationship between a personal identity and the state-issued Identity Document (ID) isthe focus of this article, which examines stories published in the “Horror Affairs” column of thepopular South African tabloid, the Daily Sun. These highly emotional stories tell of the despair anddesperation felt by individuals at the lack of an ID book, which is blamed on the inefficiency of thestate Department of Home Affairs. In order to explicate this relationship I make use of Agamben’snotion of “bare life” and the camp in conjunction with Lacan’s idea of the Symbolic Order toargue that if the Identity Document provides the means by which the individual is made to signify,the lack of an Identity Document threatens to reduce the individual to “bare life”. By publishingthe stories of those deprived of the visibility that the ID provides, the Daily Sun, I show, directlyengages in this exchange, and, in contrast to Home Affairs, bestows its own even stronger gift ofidentity by the fact of appearance in its pages.

An efficient method to detect series of fraudulent identity documents based on digitised forensic data

Document fraud is a transnational form of crime, and its serial character has already been highlighted. To combat this phenomenon, the Interstate Database of Fraudulent Identity Documents (BIDIF) has been created and implemented in Switzerland. It supports the comparison of documents and the detection of series, i.e., documents that share a common source. To efficiently use such a system, forensic document examiners would benefit from a harmonised and proven profiling method. Thus, the aim of this study is to develop a method for comparing documents and establishing series. The method is meant to improve the detection capabilities of forensic document examiners operating BIDIF or engaged in the profiling of fraudulent documents. First, a method based on the visual characteristics of digitised images of fraudulent identity documents has been developed. Subsequently, the method was qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated using four tests. The first test verified the ability of the method to detect pre-existing series. The second test checked the capability of the method to detect links amongst isolated documents. Finally, two further tests were carried out to compare the method impact on the successful detection of series. These tests were carried out by professional forensic document examiners and Master students in forensic science, respectively. This allowed a comparison of the method influence on series detection. The method allowed a significant increase in the number of series and links detected, while also decreasing the occurrence of false negatives and false positives. Furthermore, links were more rapidly detected.

Understanding digit‐only financial account passwords: ID card, structure, and security

Password-based authentication is widely used in website access. Current studies on password security have focused considerable attention on letter-only passwords or passwords that include both letters and digits. However, little research has been conducted on commercial and digit-only passwords. In this paper, we comprehensively evaluate digit-only passwords by analyzing approximately 130,000 passwords from the 12306 data set. We observe that approximately 20% of six-digit passwords belonging to Chinese users include the user's identity document (ID) card information. Most of the passwords are found to be related to the user's birth dates. Additionally, we demonstrate that male users are more likely to set passwords with digits extracted from their ID card numbers than female users. It is the first time that the relation between real-user passwords and ID card series numbers was considered. It focuses on actual attack methodologies and real-user passwords, which renders this study an explicit study on digit-only password security. We propose a password-encryption authentication model based on FF3-1 to implement secure storage of passwords. We experiment with ciphertext and plaintext passwords using three–three and four–two structures combined with probabilistic context-free grammars. The cracking success rates of ciphertext passwords are found to be 0.086% and 1.06%, and they can recover 59.83% and 33.2% of the passwords in the test set. Conversely, using plaintext passwords results in the recovery of 98% and 85% of passwords in the test set. Our results demonstrate that the use of encryption for password storage can significantly reduce the cracking success rate of attackers.

Buenas prácticas implementadas en el marco de la pandemia COVID 19 para garantizar el derecho a la identidad de los recién nacidos en el Perú

 Before March 16, 2020, the National Register of Identification and Civil Status – RENIEC, as governing body in charge of the national registry of identification and civil status in Peru, it has been working as usual. One of its main functions is the inscription of births. However, with the arising of the COVID 19 pandemic and all the restrictions that this situation provoked, there were a series of problems for the registration of newborns. Therefore, RENIEC as several bodies of the State directly related to this role, looked for practical solutions to guarantee the right to identity of newborns. The given solutions were based on good practices implemented by these institutions previously to COVID 19 – such as the online Certificate of live birth – and others that arose because of the pandemic (suspension of the terms, use of certificate of live birth to identify the newborn, biofacial DNI (National Identity Document), which allowed, during this health emergency, to continue with the registration of births and to obtain the national identity document of the newborn swiftly, effectively and without leaving home. The situation was different in other countries of the region where the right to identity of newborns was affected because they did not have the adequate mechanisms to make the registration. Therefore, the good practices implemented by the different Peruvian institutions directly related to the inscription of births have been successful because they have guaranteed the right to identity of newborns, but above all they have been implemented considering the human being and its dignity as center and end of society and State, framing its actions within the bioethics and person-based current.

Barriers to Possessing Gender-Concordant Identity Documents are Associated with Transgender and Nonbinary People's Mental Health in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Purpose: This study sought to expand on previous scholarship focused on gender-concordant identity documents (IDs) as a social determinant of health. We examined the association between barriers to legal gender recognition and the mental health of transgender and nonbinary people in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Methods: We used data from a 2018 nationwide community-based survey of trans and nonbinary people in Aotearoa (N = 818). Variables of investigation included: gender-concordant IDs, mental health (past-month psychological distress, past-year nonsuicidal self-injury, past-year suicidality) and barriers to changing gender markers on a birth certificate or passport. Associations between gender-concordant IDs and mental health were determined using generalized linear regression models. Results: In total, 34.8% reported the correct name on all of their IDs. The proportion with the correct gender marker on both birth certificates and passports was 16.0%. Participants with gender-concordant IDs were more likely to be older, have higher levels of income and education, and have had genital reconstruction. In addition, 68.7% of participants reported experiencing at least one barrier to changing gender markers on their IDs, and these participants had significantly higher average points of psychological distress scores (b = 2.39) and greater odds of suicidal ideation (odds ratio = 2.02) than those with gender-concordant IDs, after adjusting for sociodemographic variables. Conclusion: We present novel findings on higher levels of mental health problems among trans and nonbinary people who faced barriers in trying to obtain gender-concordant IDs compared with those with gender-concordant IDs. Removing barriers to legal gender recognition may be an effective way to improve mental health.

The potential of using the forensic profiles of Australian fraudulent identity documents to assist intelligence-led policing

ABSTRACT The manufacture and distribution of fraudulent identity documents (IDs) is a pervasive and prolific crime problem, enabling the activities of organized crime networks and terrorist cells. As reactive policing methods are ill-equipped to handle the transversal and repetitive nature of document fraud, in 2012 Baechler et al. suggested a complementary method that uses the systematic profiling and comparison of fraudulent IDs to identify those produced by the same source. While this method has been successful in Europe, it is yet to be implemented worldwide, and there is currently little known about the Australian fraudulent document climate. In this pilot study, 43 fraudulent IDs from Sydney-based New South Wales police stations were examined. Adapting the method used in Europe, these documents were imaged, and their visual characteristics were extracted before being organized into an excel database and manually compared. The characteristics chosen are fundamentally linked to the manufacturing process, including the printing methods and replication of security features. Of the documents examined 88% were linked to at least one other document, and five series emerged. These results suggest that the Australian document market may be structured, and that there may be prolific offenders operating at its core, much like in Europe.