Government ID, Smart Cards, Identification and Authentication

Contactless technology seen as key to securing visas and passports in countries around the globe

Tuesday, July 1, 2003

BY ANDY WILLIAMS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

A focus on securing borders is leading countries to review their official government-issued documents. Simple paper documents—the passports of old—are simply no longer adequate in this modern, post 9-11 world. This is giving rise to the inclusion of advanced identification technologies, including biometrics, PKI, and contactless chips.

There are 1828 words in the rest of this article …

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After a nearly three-year delay, the Algerian government has finally launched its biometric passport program.

Magharebia reports that the biometric passports, which contain a contactless smart card chip that holds a digitized photo, fingerprints and signature, were supposed to be released in 2009. But the documents were delayed due to complexities with the operation of the project and the need to thoroughly research and analyze other countries’ experiences with biometric passports.

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Visa, in partnership with Monitise, has launched a suite of new mobile financial services on its revamped Debit Processing Service platform, enabling mobile phone users to check their account history and balances, transfer funds between accounts, and receive real-time transaction alerts.

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IMS Research has launched a new report predicting that within five years 90% of passport holders will be using e-passports with integrated smart card IC chips.

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In an effort to streamline passenger security, Jakarta, Indonesia’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport has opened the country’s first biometric immigration gate.

Fingerprint biometric identification provider BIO-key International, Inc. and Oakwell Engineering Limited partnered to create the new gate, designed for use by passengers with electronic passports. Passengers submit their e-passports and authenticate with a fingerprint.

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Privacy advocates in Canada have been raising concerns over the risk involved in two new biometric programs from the government that result in the sharing of private biometric data with other countries’ governments and possibly private corporations, according to an Embassy Magazine article.

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The Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) announced that the registration of Emirati newborns is now mandatory for electronic passports (e-passport) and ID cards, according to ArabianBusiness.com.

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