Government ID, Smart Cards, Identification and Authentication

G&D providing driver licenses, passports to Republic of Kosovo

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Giesecke & Devrient will produce and supply 600,000 passports and 400,000 driver licenses to the Republic of Kosovo.

G&D developed both the passport and the driver’s license in close cooperation with the Kosovar Ministry of Internal Affairs, who also had EU advisors confirm that the documents met a high security standard. Several technologies protect the driver license against counterfeiting, including a multi-laser image, a lenticular surface and laser engraving along with other security features.

The passport contains similar features as well. Optically variable devices known as kinegrams protect the data fields containing the holder’s personal data and enable immediate verification of the document’s authenticity. The Ministry of Internal Affairs stressed the ability to spot forgeries quickly without special equipment. Airport personnel can also use a black light to reveal a picture of the passport holder printed in invisible ink. Known as INFACIO, this G&D innovation renders data alteration and forgeries virtually impossible.

Both documents conform to the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Union for machine-readable passports. [end] 

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