Government ID, Smart Cards, Identification and Authentication

Vermont recalls new biometric licenses

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The Vermont State Department of Motor Vehicles has had to recall the more than 4,000 enhanced driver licenses that were developed to assist in Identification when crossing over the Canadian/American border, according to a Daily Mail article. The problem, which reportedly did not create any large delays for travelers, was noticed when border agents were unable to scan the IDs at the border.


The company that developed the IDs for the state, L-1 Identity Solutions, replaced all the IDs at no cost to neither the state nor its citizens earlier this month. Since the issue has been fixed, Vermont has issued a total of 8000 of the IDs and expect to keep issuing them to become more in accordance with laws concerning reentry into the United States.

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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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A new report created by the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law & Social Policy at UC Berkeley School of Law predicts a price tag of at least $40 billion for a mandatory biometric employment verification card for all U.S. workers that would utilize either fingerprint or fingervein scans.

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The UK Border Agency has announced intentions to require applicants applying for six-month stays from outside the European Economic Area to use biometric residency permits starting at the end of February 2012, according to an HR Magazine article.

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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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Just as the University of Georgia police were ending an investigation into a sophisticated fake ID ring, another student dealing in fake driver licenses came to light. The original ring, apparently run by students at the University of Georgia and Gainesville State College, had distributed more than 1,000 fake IDs to students at the two schools.

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Datacard Group announced a contract award from the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) to upgrade to the Datacard MXD Card Delivery System and MXi Envelope Insertion System for enhanced card delivery and mailing for its driver licenses and identification cards.

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