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Biometric bytes
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Biometric Bytes Breaking news from the biometrics industry
Precise Biometrics wins US DOS order Swedish fingerprint and smart card technology supplier Precise Biometrics has received a follow-up order from the US Department of State, as part of the DOS BLADE programme (Biometric Logical Access Development and Evaluation). The technology has been deployed at the agency’s headquarters and in consulates around the world and is aimed at increasing computer network security through the implementation of smart cards and biometrics. The order is for more than 2,000 units – a combination of the company’s fingerprint and smart card reader devices, Precise 200 MC and Precise 250 MC. Both the Precise 250 MC and Precise 200 MC have been approved for purchase by the US Federal government as a part of the US General Services Administration’s (GSA) Approved Products List (APL). The GSA APL is an important requirement in the procurement process for the US Federal government Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) and the closely aligned Federal Information Processing Standards 201 (FIPS 201). By fall this year all US Government agencies must initiate the deployment of smart card based ID cards, the so-called PIV (Personal Identity Verification) Cards. Saflink restructuring cuts company in half A restructuring exercise at biometric and smart card middleware vendor Saflink Corporation will see the number of staff cut in half in a bid to dramatically reduce operating expenses and improve operational focus. The majority of the company’s remaining workforce will now be dedicated to Saflink’s Registered Traveler initiative. In addition, the management said it plans to focus its business development resources on the sale of its software and hardware authentication products through existing and new distribution partners. Saflink management believes that it has garnered strong relationships with companies that have mature, national product distribution infrastructure, and that Saflink’s sales activities will be more cost effective through indirect channels in the coming months. In an earlier announcement, Saflink announced several changes in its executive leadership. Steve 8
Oyer, a member of Saflink’s board of directors and chairman of its audit committee, was named interim chief executive officer, while Glenn Argenbright, Saflink’s current president and CEO, was named chairman of the board and president and general manager of Registered Traveler Solutions, a division within Saflink that is focused exclusively on the national Registered Traveler (RT) program initiative. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has recently made several policy decisions designed to expedite the adoption of the Registered Traveler program. Accordingly, Saflink and its Fast Lane Option (FLO) Alliance have stepped up their efforts to secure RT opportunities in various airports around the country, as well as to lay the foundation for signing up customers for the FLO solution. German Federal Criminal Police Office award face contract Cognitec Systems, a provider of face recognition technology and systems, has been awarded a contract to provide software and services to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt – BKA) after winning a pan-European tender. Using photographs and video material, Cognitec’s face recognition software will help research and identification of unknown suspects. This kind of procedure will mainly be used when identification attempts using fingerprint or DNA have failed or are unsuitable. Research in a central, digital photo archive to identify a criminal will help in cases where only a photograph of an unknown suspected person exists. The technology will also be used for the identification of missing and helpless persons. Port of Felixstowe uses hand system vps Video Print Systeme, a European supplier of IT solutions for identity management, has announced that Port of Felixstowe, the largest container port in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe, has chosen its identity and card management system, icms, to manage the contactless biometric identity cards being issued to the thousands of hauliers that enter the port each day.
Port of Felixstowe, part of Hutchison Port Holdings, is introducing haulier identity cards to enhance security at its terminals. The new initiative, known as RHIDES (Road Haulier Identity System) is expected to be fully operational by November 2006, after which the cards will be mandatory to access the port. The system will tighten access controls at the facility and provide a significant deterrent to container theft, as the unique ID cards make each driver directly accountable for his/her container/s. The contactless card used for this project stores the biometric handscan of the driver, which is verified at the gates. Hutchison Port Holdings UK (HPUK), which also operates the UK ports of Harwich and Thamesport, has been in contact with other ports to gauge their interest in introducing a UK-wide haulier identity card. Vein performs well in IBG trial Hitachi America has announced that its Finger Vein technology has performed well in Comparative Biometric Testing (CBT) organised by the International Biometric Group. The company’s technology uses near-infrared light to capture a finger’s vein patterns which are matched to stored data to authenticate an individual’s identity. CBT Round 6 evaluated biometric systems representative of those utilized in access control, point-of-sale, border management, logical access, and ID systems applications. There were about 19,000 genuine comparisons and approximately 25 million impostor comparisons executed. Hitachi achieved very low failure-to-enroll (FTE) rates and enrolment times of 33.3 seconds. Vascular recognition has gained considerable traction in Japan, and is in the process of being introduced into global markets including the USA. fingerPIN technology launched A new approach to fingerprinting has been launched which takes advantage of the concept of traditional PINs as well as fingerprints. fingerPIN not only looks at the fingerprint but also at the sequence of fingerprints that are presented (a sort of biometric PIN code). According to the company this approach can reduce the risk of someone fraudulently logging on or accessing a secure area using a third person’s fingerprint data from 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 10 billion due to the difficulty of cracking a combination of several unique fingerprints used in a specific sequence. The fingerPIN provides this enhanced level of security through a simple software upgrade to existing fingerprint readers and by storing fingerprints as an encrypted digital pattern. fingerPIN has also announced that MatchLogon is the first company to integrate fingerPIN into its successful PC/Network logon software.
Card Technology Today October 2006
Biometric Bytes Breaking news from the biometrics industry
Precise Biometrics wins US DOS order Swedish fingerprint and smart card technology supplier Precise Biometrics has received a follow-up order from the US Department of State, as part of the DOS BLADE programme (Biometric Logical Access Development and Evaluation). The technology has been deployed at the agency’s headquarters and in consulates around the world and is aimed at increasing computer network security through the implementation of smart cards and biometrics. The order is for more than 2,000 units – a combination of the company’s fingerprint and smart card reader devices, Precise 200 MC and Precise 250 MC. Both the Precise 250 MC and Precise 200 MC have been approved for purchase by the US Federal government as a part of the US General Services Administration’s (GSA) Approved Products List (APL). The GSA APL is an important requirement in the procurement process for the US Federal government Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) and the closely aligned Federal Information Processing Standards 201 (FIPS 201). By fall this year all US Government agencies must initiate the deployment of smart card based ID cards, the so-called PIV (Personal Identity Verification) Cards. Saflink restructuring cuts company in half A restructuring exercise at biometric and smart card middleware vendor Saflink Corporation will see the number of staff cut in half in a bid to dramatically reduce operating expenses and improve operational focus. The majority of the company’s remaining workforce will now be dedicated to Saflink’s Registered Traveler initiative. In addition, the management said it plans to focus its business development resources on the sale of its software and hardware authentication products through existing and new distribution partners. Saflink management believes that it has garnered strong relationships with companies that have mature, national product distribution infrastructure, and that Saflink’s sales activities will be more cost effective through indirect channels in the coming months. In an earlier announcement, Saflink announced several changes in its executive leadership. Steve 8
Oyer, a member of Saflink’s board of directors and chairman of its audit committee, was named interim chief executive officer, while Glenn Argenbright, Saflink’s current president and CEO, was named chairman of the board and president and general manager of Registered Traveler Solutions, a division within Saflink that is focused exclusively on the national Registered Traveler (RT) program initiative. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has recently made several policy decisions designed to expedite the adoption of the Registered Traveler program. Accordingly, Saflink and its Fast Lane Option (FLO) Alliance have stepped up their efforts to secure RT opportunities in various airports around the country, as well as to lay the foundation for signing up customers for the FLO solution. German Federal Criminal Police Office award face contract Cognitec Systems, a provider of face recognition technology and systems, has been awarded a contract to provide software and services to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt – BKA) after winning a pan-European tender. Using photographs and video material, Cognitec’s face recognition software will help research and identification of unknown suspects. This kind of procedure will mainly be used when identification attempts using fingerprint or DNA have failed or are unsuitable. Research in a central, digital photo archive to identify a criminal will help in cases where only a photograph of an unknown suspected person exists. The technology will also be used for the identification of missing and helpless persons. Port of Felixstowe uses hand system vps Video Print Systeme, a European supplier of IT solutions for identity management, has announced that Port of Felixstowe, the largest container port in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe, has chosen its identity and card management system, icms, to manage the contactless biometric identity cards being issued to the thousands of hauliers that enter the port each day.
Port of Felixstowe, part of Hutchison Port Holdings, is introducing haulier identity cards to enhance security at its terminals. The new initiative, known as RHIDES (Road Haulier Identity System) is expected to be fully operational by November 2006, after which the cards will be mandatory to access the port. The system will tighten access controls at the facility and provide a significant deterrent to container theft, as the unique ID cards make each driver directly accountable for his/her container/s. The contactless card used for this project stores the biometric handscan of the driver, which is verified at the gates. Hutchison Port Holdings UK (HPUK), which also operates the UK ports of Harwich and Thamesport, has been in contact with other ports to gauge their interest in introducing a UK-wide haulier identity card. Vein performs well in IBG trial Hitachi America has announced that its Finger Vein technology has performed well in Comparative Biometric Testing (CBT) organised by the International Biometric Group. The company’s technology uses near-infrared light to capture a finger’s vein patterns which are matched to stored data to authenticate an individual’s identity. CBT Round 6 evaluated biometric systems representative of those utilized in access control, point-of-sale, border management, logical access, and ID systems applications. There were about 19,000 genuine comparisons and approximately 25 million impostor comparisons executed. Hitachi achieved very low failure-to-enroll (FTE) rates and enrolment times of 33.3 seconds. Vascular recognition has gained considerable traction in Japan, and is in the process of being introduced into global markets including the USA. fingerPIN technology launched A new approach to fingerprinting has been launched which takes advantage of the concept of traditional PINs as well as fingerprints. fingerPIN not only looks at the fingerprint but also at the sequence of fingerprints that are presented (a sort of biometric PIN code). According to the company this approach can reduce the risk of someone fraudulently logging on or accessing a secure area using a third person’s fingerprint data from 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 10 billion due to the difficulty of cracking a combination of several unique fingerprints used in a specific sequence. The fingerPIN provides this enhanced level of security through a simple software upgrade to existing fingerprint readers and by storing fingerprints as an encrypted digital pattern. fingerPIN has also announced that MatchLogon is the first company to integrate fingerPIN into its successful PC/Network logon software.
Card Technology Today October 2006