Public Sector Turns To Biometrics, Advanced Analytics For Security

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A new report from Accenture shows that the public sector is turning to biometrics and advanced analytics services to help manage security. The report, Emerging Technologies in Public Service, examines the adoption of emerging technologies across government agencies with the most direct interaction with citizens or the greatest responsibility for citizen-facing services: health and social services, policing/justice, revenue, border services, administration and pensions / social security.

As part of the report, Accenture surveyed nearly 800 public service technology professionals across nine countries in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific to identify emerging technologies being implemented or piloted. These technologies include advanced analytics/ predictive modeling, the internet of things, intelligent process automation, video analytics, biometrics/ identity analytics, machine learning, and natural language processing/generation.

Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of respondents cited Improved data security and privacy protection as the top benefit anticipated by investing in emerging technologies. This is true across all industry sectors represented in the survey, not only those responsible for public safety.

“As public service and government agencies continue to collect and monitor increasing amounts of data, it becomes increasingly critical to take every possible step to protect not only the quality and collection of the data, but to protect all information that could identify individual citizens as well,” said Terry Hemken, who leads Accenture’s Health & Public Service Analytics Insights for Government business.

The study shows that biometric solutions are in high demand and in widespread use, with e-passports and iris recognition being implemented most frequently. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of survey respondents reported that they are piloting, implementing or researching the use of biometrics and identity analytics.