Tag Archives: facial recognition

Are You Responding to the CBP RFI, “RFI Land Vehicle Primary Zone Traveler Photo Capture Device”?

Facial recognition firms, let’s talk about Requests for Information from the Department of Homeland Security. I wrote about one in 2021, so I figured I’d write about another one that was just published today.

But before I do, let me just say that…um…I’m experienced in responding to Requests for Information (RFIs) from the Department of Homeland Security…and that’s all I can say.

And this new RFI is intriguing.

The RFI with Notice ID RFI-LVPZTPCD was issued by U.S Customs and Border Protection today (April 30) and is due in one month (May 30). The description includes the following:

“CBP is seeking a solution for capturing facial images of vehicle occupants in an officer-manned primary zone at an inbound vehicle point of entry (POE).”

Today’s CBP RFI-LVPZTPCD envisions the use case in which people are entering the U.S. in a car…and are NOT getting out of the car. But you still have to capture their faces at a sufficient quality level, which is easier said than done. Heck, in May 2022 it took me several tries to capture a passport facial image at CVS when I WASN’T in a car. Now add distance, odd camera angles, and possibly an intervening car windshield, and you’re in for big challenges.

I wonder how many facial recognition vendors are planning to respond to this RFI…and how many need the experienced proposal help that Bredemarket can provide.

  • I know one biometric firm that often responds to Department of Homeland Security RFIs, but this firm does not have a “Land Vehicle Primary Zone Traveler Photo Capture Device.” So while this firm has used Bredemarket’s proposal services in the past, it won’t respond to this particular RFI.
  • I know another biometric firm with a keen interest in land vehicle primary zone traveler photo capture devices, and perhaps this firm may respond to this RFI. But this is the firm that didn’t renew my consulting contract in the fall of 2024, and I haven’t heard from them since.

Of course, there are other facial recognition firms out there, some of which may have outstanding solutions to the CBP’s problem.

And in case you haven’t heard, Bredemarket has an opening for a facial recognition client, and can provide winning proposal development services.

So if I can help your facial recognition firm respond to this RFI, book a call: https://bredemarket.com/cpa/

Putting the P in CPA.

(San Ysidro Port of Entry picture by Philkon (Phil Konstantin) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15343509.)

TSA Photo Requests: “The Current U.S. Government” Can Already Obtain Your Facial Image

There have been many recent stories about Transportation Security Administration (TSA) capture of the facial images of travelers, an outgrowth of the same post-9/11 concerns that resulted in REAL IDs in 2008…I mean 2025. (Maybe.)

One story from HuffPost clearly states its view on the matter. The title of the story? “Why You Can (And Should) Opt Out Of TSA Facial Recognition Right Now.”

I guess we know where HuffPost stands.

As to the “why” of its stance, here’s a succinct statement:

“Do you really want to be submitting a face scan to the current U.S. government?”

And perhaps there are good reasons to distrust the Trump Administration, or any administration. 

After all, the TSA says it only retains the picture for a limited time: “Photos are not stored or saved after a positive ID match has been made, except in a limited testing environment for evaluation of the effectiveness of the technology,”

But maybe…something happens. Someone accidentally forgot to delete the files. Oops.

And if something happens, the federal government has just captured an image of your face!

Guess what? The federal government can probably already get an image of your face, even if you don’t allow TSA to take your photo.

After all, you had to show some sort of identification when you arrived at that TSA checkpoint. Maybe you showed a passport, with a picture that the U.S. State Department received at one point. No, they don’t retain them either. But maybe…something happens.

But who does retain an image of your face?

Your state driver’s license agency. And as of 2019:

“Twenty-one states currently allow federal agencies such as the FBI to run searches of driver’s license and identification photo databases.”

So if a federal agency wants your facial image, it can probably obtain it even if you decline the TSA photo request.

Unless you strictly follow Amish practices. But in that case you probably wouldn’t be going through a TSA checkpoint anyway.

But if you are with a facial recognition company, and you want your prospects and their prospects to understand how your solution protects their privacy…

Bredemarket can help:

  • compelling content creation
  • winning proposal development
  • actionable analysis

Book a call: https://bredemarket.com/cpa/ 

(Security checkpoint picture generated by Imagen 3)

Is Milwaukee Selling PII for Free Facial Recognition Software Access?

(Part of the biometric product marketing expert series)

Perhaps facial recognition product marketers have heard of stories like this. Or perhaps they haven’t.

Tight budgets. Demands that government agencies save money. Is this the solution?

“Milwaukee police are mulling a trade: 2.5 million mugshots for free use of facial recognition technology.

“Officials from the Milwaukee Police Department say swapping the photos with the software firm Biometrica will lead to quicker arrests and solving of crimes.”

Read the article at https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2025/04/25/milwaukee-police-considering-trading-mugshots-for-facial-recognition-tech/83084223007/

As expected, activists raised all sorts of other concerns about facial recognition in general. But there’s an outstanding question:

What will Biometrica do with the 2.5 million images?

  • Use them for algorithmic training? 
  • Allow other agencies to search them?
  • Something else?
  • And what happens to the images if another company acquires Biometrica and/or its data? (See 23andMe.)

Biometrica didn’t respond to a request for comment.

And other facial recognition vendors operate differently.

How does your company treat customer data?

And how do you tell your story?

Do you have the resources to market your product, or are your resources already stretched thin?

If you need help with your facial recognition product marketing, Bredemarket has an opening for a facial recognition client. I can offer

  • compelling content creation
  • winning proposal development
  • actionable analysis

If Bredemarket can help your stretched staff, book a free meeting with me: https://bredemarket.com/cpa/

(Wheelbarrows from Imagen 3)

Why Does TPRM Fail? Not Because of the TPRM Software Providers.

For years I have maintained that the difficulties in technology are not because of the technology itself.

Technology can do wonderful things.

The difficulties lie with the need for people to agree to use the technology.

And not beg ignorance by saying “I know nothing.”

(Image of actor John Banner as Sgt. Schultz on Hogan’s Heroes is public domain.)

Case in point

I just saw an article with the title “TPRM weaknesses emerge as relationship owners fail to report red flags.”

Unlike some clickbait-like article titles, this one from Communications Today succinctly encapsulates the problem up front.

It’s not that the TPRM software is failing to find the red flags. Oh, it finds them!

But the folks at Gartner discovered something:

“A Gartner survey of approximately 900 third-party relationship owners…revealed that while 95% saw a third-party red flag in the past 12 months, only around half of them escalate it to compliance teams.”

Among other things, the relationship owners worry about “the perceived return on investment (ROI) of sharing information.”

And that’s not a software issue. It’s a process issue.

wildebeests on a stairway, young to old, with the oldest wildebeest possessing a trophy
Wildebeest maturity model via Imagen 3.

No amount of coding or AI can fix that.

And this is not unique to the cybersecurity world. Let’s look at facial recognition.

Another case in point

I’ve said this over and over, but for U.S. criminal purposes, facial recognition results should ONLY be used as investigative leads.

It doesn’t matter whether they’re automated results, or if they have been reviewed by a trained forensic face examiner. 

Facial recognition results should only be used as investigative leads.

Sorry for the repetition, but some people aren’t listening.

But it’s not the facial recognition vendors. Bredemarket has worked with numerous facial recognition vendors over the years, and of those who work with law enforcement, ALL of them have emphatically insisted that their software results should only be used as investigative leads.

All of them. Including…that one.

But the vendors have no way to control the actions of customers who feed poor-quality data into their systems, get a result…and immediately run out and get an arrest warrant without collecting corroborating evidence.

And that’s not a software issue. It’s a process issue.

No amount of coding or AI can fix that.

I hope the TPRM folks don’t mind my detour into biometrics, but there’s a good reason for it.

Product marketing for TPRM and facial recognition

Some product marketers, including myself, believe that it’s not enough to educate prospects and customers about your product. You also need to educate them about proper use of the product, including legal and ethical concerns.

If you don’t, your customers will do dumb things in Europe, Illinois, or elsewhere—and blame you when they are caught.

Illinois, land of BIPA. I mean Lincoln.

Be a leader in your industry by doing or saying the right thing.

And now here’s a word from our sponsor.

Not the “CPA” guy again…

Bredemarket has openings

There’s a reason why this post specifically focused on cybersecurity and facial recognition.

If you need product marketing assistance with your product, Bredemarket has two openings. One for a cybersecurity client, and one for a facial recognition client. 

I can offer

  • compelling content creation
  • winning proposal development
  • actionable analysis

If Bredemarket can help your stretched staff, book a free meeting with me: https://bredemarket.com/cpa/

Bredemarket has openings. Imagen 3 again.

You’re Not Lost in the Supermarket. The Supermarket Knows Exactly Who and Where You Are.

I’m all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily

Facial recognition laws and regulations vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and as organizations apply facial recognition, they can’t just assume that facial recognition laws are the same as other privacy laws.

Caution urged as UK supermarkets check out facial recognition

This is the point that UK professor Fraser Sampson makes in a Biometric Update article. Among other things, Sampson (former UK Biometrics & Surveillance Camera Commissioner) notes the following:

This is not just any data processing, this is biometric processing. Major retailers have deep and wide experience handling customer data at macro level, but biometrics are elementally different. Using a biometric recognition system in the UK means they are processing ‘special category data’ and biometric data differs even from other types of special categories. This brings a number of significant risks, obligations and restrictions, some technological, some legal, some societal. The opportunities for missteps are many and the consequences profound. An early decision for the supermarket would be whether they want to be the controller, joint controller or processor; an early mistake would be to think it doesn’t matter.

Data controllers and data processors

For those who don’t inhabit the world of GDPR, the UK GDPR, and other privacy laws, here is Data Grail’s definition of a data controller:

A data controller is a service provider or organization determining the purposes and means of processing personal data. In simpler terms, a data controller decides why and how personal data collection, storage, and use occurs. They have the ultimate responsibility of ensuring data processing activities comply with applicable privacy laws and regulations. Data controllers bear the legal obligations associated with data protection, including providing transparency, obtaining consent, and safeguarding the personal data of data subjects.

Contrast that with a data processor:

Data processors are entities or organizations that process personal data on behalf of data controllers. They act under the authority and instruction of data controllers and handle personal data for the specified purposes defined by the data controller. Data processors are contractually bound to ensure data security and confidentiality. They don’t have the same decision-making power as data controllers and must adhere to the instructions provided by the data controller.

If you’re a supermarket in the United Kingdom, and you’re collecting facial biometric (and other) data, do you want to be a data controller or a data processor? And how will you manage the privacy aspects of your data collection?

Enter the facial recognition vendor

And if you’re a vendor of facial recognition software selling to UK supermarkets, how will you advise them?

And…you should have known this was coming…how will you provide content for your prospects and customers that educates them on the nuances of facial recognition privacy regulations?

If you need help with your facial recognition product marketing, Bredemarket has an opening for a facial recognition client. I can offer

  • compelling content creation
  • winning proposal development
  • actionable analysis

If Bredemarket can help your stretched staff, book a free meeting with me: https://bredemarket.com/cpa/

Bredemarket has an opening for a facial recognition client.

(All images from Imagen 3)

Facial Recognition Marketing Leaders, Riding on the Metro

I just read a story about a young man who went to the Metro, was identified by a facial recognition system, and was snatched up by authorities.

Who wanted him to fight in Ukraine.

Now some of you are puzzled and wondering why Trump wants to send U.S. troops to fight in Ukraine. That…um…doesn’t sound like him.

I forgot to clarify something. This wasn’t the Washington DC Metro. This was the MOSCOW Metro.

“Timofey Vaskin, a lawyer with the nonprofit human rights project Shkola Prizyvnika, told independent Russian TV channel Dozhd that the illegal detention of those potentially liable for conscription had become a massive problem this year, with young males most at risk of being snatched while using the Moscow metro, which has an advanced facial recognition system in place and police officers on duty at every station.”

For the record, use of facial recognition for this purpose is legal in Russia. In the same way that use of facial recognition for national security purposes is legal in the U.S.A. Because when national security is at stake—or when government agencies say national security is at stake—most notions of INFORMED consent go out the window.

Know your use cases…or get someone who does

Facial recognition isn’t only used for national security, or for after-the-fact analysis of a crime such as the Boston Marathon bombings. It’s also used for less lethal purposes, such as familiar face detection on doorbell cameras…except in Illinois.

If you are marketing a facial recognition product, you need to understand all the different use cases for facial recognition, and understand which use cases your product marketing should address, and which it should not.

And if you need help with your facial recognition product marketing, Bredemarket has an opening for a facial recognition client. I can offer

  • compelling content creation
  • winning proposal development
  • actionable analysis

If Bredemarket can help your stretched staff, book a free meeting with me: https://bredemarket.com/cpa/

Imagen 3. Bredemarket has client openings.

How Can You Maximize Your Facial Recognition Or Cybersecurity Marketing Impact?

(This news was originally supposed to be embargoed until Monday April 21, but…well…things happen.)

Facial recognition and cybersecurity marketing leaders,

Stretched?

Is a stretched team holding you back from creating stellar marketing materials? Are competitors taking your prospects from you while you remain silent?

I’m John Bredehoft from Bredemarket, and I currently have TWO openings to act as your on-demand marketing muscle for facial recognition or cybersecurity:

  • compelling content creation
  • winning proposal development
  • actionable analysis
CPA?

Bias can be good when it’s a bias to action.

Bias?

Satisfy your immediate needs and book a call: https://bredemarket.com/cpa/

Zoom Scam With Faces

An interesting variant on fraudulent deepfake scams.

Kenny Li of Manta fame was sucked into a scam attempt, but was able to perceive the scam before any damage was done.

Li responded to a message from a known contact, which resulted in a Telegram conversation, which resulted in a Zoom call.

“In the call, there were team members who had their cameras on, and [the] Manta founder could see their faces. He mentioned that “Everything looked very real. But I couldn’t hear them.” Then came the “Zoom update required” prompt…”

Li didn’t fall for it.

(Imagen 3)

And one more thing…

The formal announcement is embargoed until Monday, but Bredemarket has TWO openings to act as your on-demand marketing muscle for facial recognition or cybersecurity:

  • compelling content creation
  • winning proposal development
  • actionable analysis

Book a call: https://bredemarket.com/cpa/