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Facial recognition added to NHS login

23/05/20

Mark Say Managing Editor

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A facial recognition function has been added to NHS login service, in turn providing users with access to the NHS App.

The technology has been provided by biometric authentication specialist iProov, which said that following an initial launch on Android it has now also been made available on iOS.

NHS login, which gives the public access to their data on a number of NHS systems, has been integrated with the company’s Flashmark facial verification application.

It involves the generation of a unique one-time colour sequence code in iProov’s servers which is then sent to the user’s device. As the authentication begins, the user’s screen flashes with the sequence for 2.5 seconds, illuminating and reflecting off the face while the video is streamed back to the servers.

A matching engine uses the image against the enrolment and all the subsequent authentication images, along with checking the colour sequence to ensure it was the one sent to the user.

The company said the Flashmarked colour sequences are never repeated for a user and that the images cannot be re-used and are worthless if stolen.

Faster verification

Melissa Ruscoe, programme head for NHS login, said: “iOS users are now able to benefit from faster automatic identify verification when creating their NHS login, giving them a single safe and secure way to access their digital healthcare services such as the NHS App.

“Over the past couple of months we have seen a surge in demand in people registering for their NHS login as they look to manage their health digitally.

“More automated tools like this will help us to improve the experience of our users, increased demand capacity and ensure nobody is waiting too long to complete identify verification checks to gain access to their digital healthcare services.”

Image by teghujaitpras, CC BY 2.0

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