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Zamna raises $5M to automate airport security checks between agencies using blockchain
When VChain-now-Zamna first appeared, I must admit I was confused. Using blockchain to verify passenger data seemed like a hammer to crack a nut. But it turns out to have some surprisingly useful applications.
The idea is to use it to verify and connect the passenger data sets which are currently silo-ed between airlines, governments and security agencies. By doing this, says Zamna, you can reduce the need for manual or other checks by up to 90 percent. If that's the case, then it's quite a leap in efficiency.
In theory, as more passenger identities are verified digitally over time and shared securely between parties, using a blockchain in the middle to maintain data security and passenger privacy, the airport security process could become virtually seamless and allow passengers to sail through airports without needing physical documentation or repeated ID checks. Sounds good to me.
Zamna says its proprietary Advance Passenger Information (API) validation platform for biographic and biometric data, is already being deployed by some airlines and immigration authorities. It recently started working with Emirates Airline and the UAE's General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners (GDRFA) to deliver check-in and transit checks.
Here's how it works: Zamna's platform is built on algorithms that check the accuracy of Advanced Passenger Information or biometric data, without having to share any of that data with third parties, because it attaches an anonymous token to the already verified data. Airlines, airports and governments can then access that secure, immutable and distributed network of validated tokens without having actually needing to ‘see’ the data an agency, or competing airline, holds. Zamna's technology can then be used by any of these parties to validate passengers’ biographic and biometric data, using cryptography to check you are who you say you are.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 28 2019, @02:42PM (1 child)
In NSW Australia property buyers are forced to use a government mandated privately owned escrow service when placing down the deposit for property purchase.
Think about that for a moment.
One person lost their deposit. The scammer faked the 2factor auth and jumped the email system. Game over. Money stolen. No one wanted to be blamed or pay back the lost deposit.
How would you feel?
(Score: 2) by aiwarrior on Monday October 28 2019, @04:38PM
I know this is the use of escrows, I just do not think this is any big innovation, nor do i think that there should be a startup being an escrow. In most places escrows need to be licensed and are heavily regulated businesses. For the cases you mention escrow is useful i think. Even so this is why I loved the concept of bank checks. It is a kind of escrow but criminal fraud law is activated automatically, and everyone is in equal footing.
You can forward date the check, and you have a grace period to cancel and denounce the other party if he failed his/her agreement. In Portugal If you cancel the check and somebody tries to withdraw it and there are no funds you are charged with fraud a crime punishable by jail and you may lose access to formal financial services like a bank account for a given amount of time. Given that it became illegal to make cash payments above 3000 euros without source documentation, it makes life quite hard. On the other hand if the other part scams you, you go to the police get a formal complaint record and go to the bank cancel the check before the date is due. You automatically start a criminal case investigation also.
The check is also the binding document which is normally earmarked for a specific destination. So you can go around carrying a huge cash amount, which cannot be stolen without extortion or hostage situations, but these are extreme situations where there is not much you can do. This sounds almost as convenient as blockchain, just that it is being phased out :(