Thales, the Trusted Provider of Accurate and Efficient Biometric Technologies

Rhea-AI Summary

Thales has reinforced its leadership in biometric technology by enhancing its facial recognition solutions amidst the Covid context. The company's biometric authentication offers over 99.3% accuracy without masks and approximately 97% with them. All solutions comply with GDPR, supporting various applications like border control and airport security. Thales emphasizes the importance of ethical usage of facial recognition technology in its recent position paper. With a workforce of 81,000 and €17 billion in sales for 2020, Thales continues to innovate in digital identity and security.

Positive

• Over 99.3% accuracy in facial recognition without masks, and approximately 97% with masks.
• Compliant with GDPR, enhancing security in border control and airport applications.
• Position paper promoting ethical use of facial recognition technology.

Negative

• None.

• Fully adapted to the current Covid context, Thales provides highly accurate biometric authentication and identification methods for smooth and secure user experiences.
• Thales solutions offer full compliance with GDPR and support ‘touch less’ use cases such as access management, border control, airport security, air passenger experience and much more.
• In a recent position paper Thales promotes the responsible use of facial recognition technology for a more ethical approach.

PARIS LA DÉFENSE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Thales has built an undisputed leadership in many markets over the past 30 years and continues this track record in the biometric technology domain. The company regularly benchmarks the accuracy of its algorithms and develops new security mechanisms to fight fraud and to continuously improve efficiency of its face recognition technologies. However Thales reminds that the global acceptation of biometrics is closely linked to the responsible and transparent use of it. This is an essential parameter for people adoption expressed in a recent position paper.

(Photo: Thales)

With the global digital transformation of the world, facial recognition technology and biometrics at large, have rapidly shown their potential in bringing both the security and the convenience expected for today’s applications. While we are still at the early stage of a global adoption, the technology is ideal for the Covid-era by providing a touch-free experience. In particular, facial authentication helps us easily and safely cross borders, enrol to digital services or be granted physical access to a building without the need for keys or badges.

Thales took a lead in training its algorithms¹ to adapt to the new context of mask wearing. Thanks to its deep neural network algorithms the technology is more than 99.3 % accurate when no mask is present, and around 97% for mask wearers². On top, complex liveness detection mechanisms have been deployed to flag ID fraud and spoofing attempts, recognizing unalive versions of a face (pictures, videos, masks etc). In addition to these technical advances, Thales solutions are also designed to comply with established data protection and privacy regulations (such as GDPR) and the group openly values the need for ‘ethical biometrics’ in a recent position paper.

“Our engagement to technologies goes far beyond the quality and the accuracy of our solutions. Today the main stake is not only to launch new solutions but to make sure they are designed to be ethically used, in line with Thales purpose and with people expectations” said Youzec Kurp VP Identity & Biometrics Solutions at Thales. “Biometrics being a highly-sensitive technology it became critical to call for more transparency and ethics in its usage; so we can build the trust we need to welcome such innovations in our daily lives.”

¹uses these algorithms for its Face Recognition Platform (FRP), Cogent Automatic Biometric Identification System (CABIS), Mobile Biometric Identification (MBI), Cogent Mugshot System (CMS), and Software Development Kits (SDK).

² as long as the reference photo is of good quality, (such as in a passport or ID document) and that the mask does not hide the eyes

About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies, investing in digital and “deep tech” innovations – connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum computing – to build a confident future crucial for the development of our societies. The Group provides its customers – businesses, organisations and governments – in the defense, aeronautics, space, transport, and digital identity and security domains with solutions, services and products that help them fulfil their critical role, consideration for the individual being the driving force behind all decisions.

Thales has 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2020 the Group generated sales of €17 billion.

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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211108006222/en/

PRESS CONTACTS

Thales, Media Relations

Digital Identity & Security

Vanessa Viala

+33 6 07 34 00 34

vanessa.viala@thalesgroup.com

Source: Thales

FAQ

What is Thales's accuracy rate for facial recognition technology in the current Covid context?

Thales's facial recognition technology boasts over 99.3% accuracy without masks and around 97% accuracy for mask wearers.

How does Thales ensure compliance with data protection regulations?

Thales's biometric solutions are designed to comply with GDPR, addressing privacy concerns in various applications.

What does Thales's recent position paper emphasize about biometric technology?

The position paper highlights the importance of ethical and responsible use of facial recognition technology.

How many employees does Thales have globally?

Thales has approximately 81,000 employees operating in 68 countries.