The Transportation Security Administration has launched a 90-day employee screening pilots at seven airports as a requirement of the Omnibus Appropriations Act passed by Congress in January 2008. The legislation mandates examination of several types of employee screening in order to determine ways to enhance aviation security.

Evaluation of biometric access control will occur at Boston’s Logan International Airport and Denver International. The Omnibus Appropriation Act provides up to $15 million for these employee screening programs. These airports were selected from more than 100 that expressed interest in participating in the pilots because of their diverse flight operations, passengers and physical layouts.

LaserCard Corp. has received a purchase order to supply optical memory cards for the Italian Ministry of Justice employee ID program. The Ministry plans to issue the cards as secure ID badges containing personal data including employment, biometric identification and health information, to all Ministry employees.

Italy’s national printer and mint, Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato S.p.A (Poligrafico), issued the purchase order to LaserCard’s Authorized Value-Added Reseller, Laser Memory Card S.p.A., of Rome. Poligrafico is the prime contractor for the project and will add a contact chip to the card, enabling it to access to e-government services, and also will personalize the cards using data supplied by the Ministry of Justice. LaserCard expects to deliver more than $100,000 worth of optical card stock to Poligrafico in June for this program. The Ministry intends to enroll employees immediately and to begin card issuance in July.

The cards will comply with national optical memory/IC chip standards set for Italy’s Citizen ID Card and are designed to operate within the planned national ID infrastructure. LaserCard has previously supplied approximately $18 million worth of optical memory cards and secure encoders for both the Italian Citizen and Foreign Resident ID Card programs.

The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) has awarded Unisys Canada Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unisys Corp., a contract to deploy and manage an identification management system, using fingerprint and iris biometric technology to verify the identities of airport workers at 29 airports throughout Canada.

The new system, based on products from ImageWare Systems Inc., will replace the existing application used in CATSA’s Restricted Area Identification Card (RAIC) system. The RAIC system is designed to enhance aviation security by verifying the identities of airport workers via biometrics and making sure that only those workers with security clearance are permitted to enter restricted areas. It also enables CATSA to update the security clearance status of all 100,000 airport workers instantly at all airports across the country.

Entrust Inc., a Dallas-based digital identity vendor, will provide its public key infrastructure to the Taiwanese government to help authenticate biometric information stored on e-passports.

Taiwan will begin offering the new e-passports to its 23 million citizens by the end of 2008. The validity of the information stored on the chip will be ensured using PKI from Entrust Authority Security Manager. Entrust provides e-passport security for the U.S., U.K., Slovenia, Singapore, New Zealand and now Taiwan.

“The need to securely identify people moving across national and international borders has never been more important than it is today,” says Poh-Chuan Tan, public sector director of HP Asia Pacific and Japan. “We are excited to be enabling the implementation of biometric e-passports in Taiwan to help increase border security without adding to traveler waiting times.

Citizens from Brunei will soon have biometric passports, according to BruneiDirect.com. The $7.1 million e-passport project, run by the Immigration and National Registration Department, replaces the country’s existing machine readable passport.

The ePassport is compliant with International Civil Aviation Organisation standards and contains a 72-kilobyte chip, facial and fingerprint images. The project is a joint undertaking between Information Technology Protective Security Service and German company Giesecke & Devrient.

Read the full story here.

Daon has joined the Federation for Identity and Cross-Credentialing Systems Inc. (FiXs) bringing its biometrics platform and standards leadership to the organization. It also has accepted a position on the FiXs Board of Directors.

FiXs is a coalition of commercial companies, government contractors, and not-for-profit organizations whose mission is to establish and maintain a worldwide, interoperable identity and cross-credentialing network built on security, privacy, trust, and standard operating rules. FiXs currently has 24 member companies.

Contact or contactless?

Which is it when it uses your body to transmit the data? We will have to see as NTT show off a new device that transforms the human body into a "personal area network (PAN)" that enables users to communicate with devices just by touching them.

The new product, called Firmo, consists of a card-sized transmitter carried in the user’s pocket. The card converts stored data into a weak AC electric field that extends across the body, and when the user touches a device or object embedded with a compatible receiver, the electric field is converted back into a data signal that can be read by the device.

Firmo is not actually based on PAN, but based on NTT’s RedTacton human area network technology, which is designed to enable convenient human-machine data exchange through natural physical contact — even through clothing, gloves and shoes, according to NTT.

But this new touching technology is not cheap. A set of five transmitters and one receiver will set one back more than $7m500, but NTT expects the price to come down with mass production.

LochIsle Inc., an Ottawa-based access control company, has launched an access control system that enables businesses to manage and monitor system through a Web interface. The iLoch system is available for licensing by access-control system manufacturers.

The iLoch system grants or denies people access based on the access rights set by the lock owner using an online interface. Instead of traditional keys, the iLoch is opened with an iButton or other credential. If an iButton is lost, the iButton owner can easily associate permissions to a new iButton using the online interface, rendering the lost keys inactive. The projected cost for an iLoch system is less than half that of competitive solutions, the company states.

The Port Authority of Los Angeles has contracted with Unisys Corp. to design and manage an identification and access control system, using smart card and biometric technologies, to identify workers who require access to restricted areas in the port.

The three-year contract is part of the federal Transportation Worker Identification Credentials program. Workers enrolled in the pilot would present a card to a biometric-enabled reader and place a finger on a reader at all entrances. The readers then compare the cardholder to stored biometrics and automatically grant or deny access. Under the contract, Unisys is to plan, design, develop and manage a field test of the new system and help participating terminal operators integrate TWIC-enabled access control systems using a tamper-resistant credential or smart card which will contain biometrics (fingerprint) and digital photograph.

Lockheed Martin and IBM will join together to develop and maintain the Next Generation Identification system for the FBI. NGI is the new multi-modal, state-of–the-art biometrics system that will be used by state, local and federal authorities.

The NGI system will now also include palm prints, iris and facial recognition capabilities in addition to fingerprints. Lockheed Martin will provide program oversight as well as biometric and large systems development. As a subcontractor, IBM will provide information technology services, as well as specific software and hardware to be used in the NGI system.

IBM had previously protested the contract award to Lockheed. It wasn't immediately know if the computing giant dropped its protest bid with this announcement.

Port employees will have some additional time to get their Transportation Worker Identification Credential. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that the final compliance date for TWIC will be April 15, 2009, which reflects a realignment of the Sept. 25, 2008 compliance date.

The extension is a result of talks with port officials and industry, and realigns the enrollment period with the original intent of the TWIC. The ID card was established in the Maritime Transportation Security Act and the SAFE Port Act to serve as an identification program for all Coast Guard credentialed mariners and personnel requiring unescorted access to secure areas within a port.

The British government will begin testing facial-recognition technology at airports in the United Kingdom this summer. Individuals who hold new passports issued by the United Kingdom or European Union will be eligible to participate in the trial.

Participants will pass through unmanned gates, where their faces will be scanned electronically, and those facial images will be matched with the digitized photos on record. If the image is verified, the passenger will be allowed to proceed through the gate. The test is one of the first conducted globally to demonstrate the viability of facial-recognition technology to verify the identities of travelers at airports.

L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc. is providing the live scan technology to the Biometric Identification Services for Connecticut’s first full-service fingerprint and background check facility that recently opened in Wethersfield.

The facility, the first-of-its-kind in Connecticut to operate outside of a police station, will provide citizens with a more convenient, secure and rapid process for completing fingerprint based background checks required for state-licensed and other jobs such as school employees, bus drivers and day care workers as well as for applicants for pistol permits, prospective foster parents and public service licenses.

LaserCard Corporation has received a follow-up purchase order totaling $1.6 million for optical memory cards for vehicle registration programs in three states in India.

LaserCard's Authorized Value-Added Reseller has completed
a business restructuring, enabling accelerated investments in the development of its vehicle registration card issuance and support infrastructure.

The VAR has informed LaserCard that it anticipates that its reorganized business model will facilitate faster program growth. Shipments on these orders are scheduled for the third quarter of 2008. Meanwhile, the VAR has indicated that orders may exceed $1 million in each of the next two quarters for the same three states and is hopeful of adding additional states this year.

France-based Evolis has introduced a new printing module for its Tattoo2 entry-level printer. Tattoo2 targets applications such as membership cards, student IDs, loyalty cards or employee and visitor badges.

The new features include an improved print module that enables better print quality for the user. Evolis also changed the printer’s firmware and drivers to meet the needs of better print quality.

Besides providing color and monochrome printing the printer can also be upgraded to fit other needs, such as direct transfer onto thermosensitive cards, printing on paper tickets, ISO-compliant magnetic encoding or RFID encoding.

At STIHL’s plant in Wil, Switzerland some 700 employees produce chainsaws which are shipped worldwide. The site has implmented a contactless access control system from primion Städtler and Häfele using LEGIC contactless technology, Dialock Integra offline door terminals and a ZKSWIN software module.

Daon, a Reston, Va.-based identity software vendor, released DaonEngine Version 4.0. The latest version of the company’s software provides new capabilities and additional functionality which enables Daon partners to deliver flexible and secure identity solutions more quickly.

The new version extends Daon’s support for Service Oriented Architectures, enabling customers to offer biometric identity services to applications internal or external to the enterprise. DaonEngine 4.0 also offers enhanced fusion and normalization support, asynchronous operations, NIST processing, systems monitoring support as well as Java Message Service support.

The company also announced that it has been awarded a contract by a U.S. government agency to license DaonEngine 4.0, but the company declined to release the name.

Bahrain's Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Smart Card initiative, which will enable citizens to easily travel across member states, has been completed. Minister for Cabinet Affairs Shaikh Ahmad bin Atiyatullah Al Khalifa said in the coming phases, the GCC smart card would also serve as a driver license and bear the holder's medical history.

Future plans include streamlining the issuance of smart cards in Bahrain and offering around-the-clock issuing centers and ones that operate in the evenings. Work is in full swing in the GCC states to provide the necessary systems and devices that can read the smart card.

The Universal Electronic Payments System, E-Zwich, has been launched in Ghana. E-Zwich is a smart card that works both on-line and offline because the cardholder's biometric has to be verified before a transaction is authorized.

The E-Zwich platform makes possible electronic payments to all Ghanaians whether banked, unbanked or underbanked because its accessible even in the remotest parts of the country, where electricity and telecommunication services might be unavailable or unreliable. The E-Zwich smart card includes a biometric that enables the card owner to approve all transactions using a fingerprint.

The accreditation card will provide access to both the county and to the various Olympic venues. Project Semaphore, the forerunner of the e-Borders scheme, will eventually record extensive data on all international passenger movements.

The agency will start procurement of e-Borders this summer. The agency doesn't plans to verify the biometrics of everyone entering and leaving the UK.

Port workers in Portsmouth, N.H. began enrollment for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential last week, according to Seacoastonline.com. To apply for the TWIC workers must present two forms of identification and submit their fingerprints for a background check. The IDs will be issued six to eight weeks after enrollment.

Read the full story here.

Three additional Mexican states have chosen Gemalto to supply them with electronic driver licenses. The contract is in cooperation with Cosmocolor, a system integrator in Latin America, who specializes in digital identity solutions.

The company partnered with Gemalto previously to implement the first Mexican electronic driving license in the Nuevo León State in January 2007.Comocolor and Gemalto, now provide services and technology to the States of Mexico, Veracruz and Sonora. The three states have a population of more than 110 million people with more than 50 million drivers.

Examining results from the UK's Chip & PIN rollout

With Chip & PIN well established across the UK, fraud figures are painting an interesting picture of its impacts. Is it really making a difference when it comes to the never-ending battle against fraud? Consult Hyperion's Richard Allen discusses card fraud in an EMV world with AVISIAN Executive Editor Chris Corum.

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CoreStreet announced that its PIVMAN product can now provide electronic authentication and validation of Common Access Cards for securing physical access to U.S. Department of Defense facilities worldwide.

The CoreStreet PIVMAN Solution encompasses software for handhelds and PCs, and is leveraged for both mobile and fixed authentication stations, as well as including a management station.

CoreStreet provides the critical Public Key Infrastructure certificate validation technology behind the DOD’s Robust Certificate Validation Service. The DOD implemented the CoreStreet Validation Authority as a solution for cost effective and scalable validation services for all 3.5 million service members and contractors.

LaserCard Corp. announced a follow-on purchase order to supply identity cards for the national ID program of a Middle Eastern nation. The $1.9 million order calls for the continued supply of optical smart cards to be issued via approximately 40 issuance offices in cities throughout the country.

This order is a follow-on to an earlier $11 million contract under which LaserCard Corporation supplied cards, installed the first 20 issuance sites, and provided services including the development, integration, and supply of the personalization systems and operator training. Deliveries are expected to be completed in the June quarter.

New Mexico’s Motor Vehicle Division has begun issuing licenses using a new system from Digimarc, following a line system upgrades in a number of states, including Indiana and Oregon.

The Digimarc solution includes centralized driver license production from a secure facility and multiple applicant screening steps to confirm identity. Staff will also use facial recognition technology to compare a driver license applicant’s photo against all other photos of registered drivers in the database to determine whether the applicant is attempting to obtain a duplicate license under a false identity.

CryptoMetrics has been awarded a contract to provide face recognition products and services for the Taiwan Bureau of Consular Services electronic passport project.

CryptoMetrics is working closely with prime systems integrator Hewlett Packard, and providing its VisPro and VisMatch software, which will be utilized to confirm the identity of passport applicants. These biometric solutions capture facial images and process them for matching against a watch list database of known persons who pose potential national security threats.

The Inter-Agency Procurement Services Office has chosen Sagem Sécurité to supply voter registration kits to the Republic of Guinea. Sagem Sécurité will supply 1,000 portable enrollment stations and an Automatic Fingerprint Identification System to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the National Independent Electoral Commission. These systems will be used to register voters’ biometric data in order to establish secure voter lists.

The White House Office of Management and Budget released a report detailing agencies in compliance the HSPD-12, the presidential order mandating interoperable ID cards throughout the federal government.

The agencies, which reported as of March 1, told OMB:

• Fewer than 1% of federal employees that agencies have identified as requiring credentials based on their long-term access to federal facilities or information systems have received Personal Identification Verification credentials;

• More than 2.5 million, or 59%, of federal employees, including military personnel, have completed background investigations;

A month-long pilot program in Israel to test a new anti-skyjack system was recently completed with near-perfect results. The Security Code System (SCS), also known as Code Positive, is a pilot identification system for civil aircraft flying in Israeli airspace.

Developed by Israel's Elbit Systems, Code Positive consists of a smart card reader installed on every aircraft participating in the program, and a smart card that is assigned to each pilot. When the aircraft approaches Israeli airspace, the pilot must verify his or her identity using the card with the control center. The next phase of the program, which is expected to begin within two or three months, will include the gradual introduction of SCS into all aircraft operated by foreign airlines that fly to and from Israel.

Sun Microsystems and the Java Card Forum announced the availability of version 3.0 of Java Card platform specification. The new Java Card 3.0 platform specification is available in two separate editions: Java Card Platform v.3.0, Classic Edition and Java Card Platform v.3.0, Connected Edition.

Both editions are compatible with applications written for previous versions. Java Card technology adoption is expanding rapidly with an estimated 1.2 billion units deployed in sectors as diverse as telecommunications, corporate ID and financial services, in 2007 alone.

TrustBearer Labs announced support for the Belgium eID, the Belgian national identification card, with its TrustBearer OpenID service. With TrustBearer OpenID support, the Belgium eID smart card can now be paired with the OpenID Web authentication standard, making it possible for more than 7 million Belgian citizens to use their eID cards to access any Web site that accepts OpenID. The card is required to be carried by all citizens older than 15, and is used for identification and access to government services.

TrustBearer Labs launched a public OpenID service, https://openid.trustbearer.com, which pairs an OpenID account with a user's smart card or other authentication device, which is used to securely authenticate the user. This gives the user full control of what information, if any, is transmitted to third parties during authentication.

IBG will be holding a teleconference: European Union Considerations for e-Passport, Biometrics, and Border Control Programs, Thursday, April 24th, at 9 am EST/3 pm BST which will outline requirements, specifications, and legalities EU Member States should consider when developing e-Passport, biometrics, and border control systems.

The teleconference will address EU-BMS, SIS-II, Prum Treaty and National AFIS System requirements. The impact of ISO and ICAO Machine Readable Travel Document standards on European Citizen Card and Residence Permits will also be discussed. Finally, the use of PKI and biometrics for BAC- and EAC-compliant passports will be examined, including usability of the advanced authentication mechanisms.

Web Access: www.biometricgroup.com/webcon

Dial-in Phone Number: 303-205-0044

Event Date: April 24th, 2008 at 9 am EST/3 pm BST

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is proposing that commercial air carriers and cruise line owners and operators collect and transmit international visitors’ biometric information to DHS within 24 hours of leaving the United States.

Non-U.S. citizen have their fingerprints collected when entering the country through the US VISIT program, but Homeland Security also wants to collect the information to confirm that the traveler has left the country.

A conversation with GlobalPlatform's Kevin Gillick

Around the globe, government ID leaders struggle with the myriad of standards determining which are key to their implementations. Host Chris Corum speaks with Kevin Gillick, Executive Director of the GlobalPlatform to learn how this not-for-profit industry group is helping agencies navigate these waters. International standards such as ISO, industry standards including GlobalPlatform specifications, and application standards like FIPS 201 are investigated.

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FLO Corp. is now offering two membership benefits programs to boost customer satisfaction with its Registered Traveler services. The company's Gold Ambassador membership card at $100 per year and Platinum Ambassador card at $200 per year provide discounts, identity theft protection, concierge services and other targeted rewards for members. FLO cards enable members to access all airport RT lanes — airport security lanes that use biometrics, such as iris scans, to expedite check-in — across the country.

Innovative Card Solutions’ new card has a chip that generates on single-use passcode using an algorithm. It can be used as an ATM or credit card, a building access card or for network access through the ActivID Card Management System.

When you need to use the card, press on its switch and the PKI chip will run an algorithm that generates a one-time passcode for you to use. The Smart DisplayCard's built-in PKI chip enables cardholders to use PKI login, e-mail encryption and digital signature capabilities. The Smart DisplayCard meets both Underwriters Laboratories and ISO specifications, and is rugged. VeriSign's recently announced VIP solution uses InCard's product as its VIP Credential.

Bell ID’s ANDiS4FIPS201 Card & Application Management solution has been placed on the GSA Approved Products List in recognition of its compliance with the FIPS 201: Electronic Personalization standard.

ANDiS4FIPS201 has been tested and approved as an electronic card personalization product which generates and loads mandatory and optional objects to a PIV Card, as defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Bell ID’s ANDiS4FIPS201 offers U.S. government agencies a card and application management system enabling them to manage the life cycle of the card and the PIV application it holds. The ten different containers on the card are managed individually by ANDiS, enabling items with different lifecycles to be held on the same card. In addition, ANDiS4FIPS201 supports open source interfacing, which allows for swift and seamless integration with other components of the PIV card-issuing infrastructure.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will launch its Global Entry pilot program this summer at New York's Kennedy International, Bush Houston Intercontinental and Washington Dulles International airports.

Global Entry is designed to expedite the screening and processing of low-risk, frequent international "trusted" travelers entering the U.S., CBP explained. Biometric fingerprint technology will be used to verify the passenger's identity and confirm his or her status as a Global Entry participant.

Global Entry will be available for U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents who are frequent international travelers, provided they have not been found guilty of a criminal offense, charged with a customs or immigration offense, or declared inadmissible to the U.S. under immigration legislation.

By combining fingerprint recognition from Precise Biometrics on SIM cards and automated boarding gates from IER, the companies aim to solve the challenge of offering passengers efficient travel while demands on aviation security is increasing. The new IER SpeedBoarding Gates with fingerprint technology from Precise Biometrics are currently being launched at the Passenger Terminal Expo in Amsterdam.

One lane in the SpeedBoarding Gate offers fingerprint recognition in combination with a frequent flyer’s card or a registered traveler card, using a mobile phone with NFC functionality. The biometric solution is based on Precise Match-on-Card, enabling fingerprints to be both stored and matched inside a SIM card in a mobile phone.

When the passenger uses the mobile phone at the gate, the fingerprint information is sent down to the SIM card and matched against the reference fingerprint inside the card. The second lane will offer fingerprint recognition in combination with a temporary database solution where the passengers register their fingerprints at check-in, which is then verified at boarding. The fingerprint information is stored in a database and is erased when the flight is completed.

The DSVII-PA biometric passport reader from Exton, Pa.-based Datastrip provides passport authentication for border crossing, immigration and travel applications requiring on-the-spot verification of travel documents.

The hand-held device authenticates ID cards by reading 2-D bar codes, OCR-B and contact/contactless chips. It supports an evolving list of ID document standards and applications, including Border Crossing, US-VISIT and Common Access Card. The 2-pound device includes a 600-dpi scanner for full-page passport imaging and a 508-dpi capacitive fingerprint sensor for instant verification of biometric passports.

Datacard Group announced that Beijing Postage Stamp Printing House has completed the installation of the first Datacard MJ7500 card personalization system in China and the Asia Pacific region. This system will produce more than 20 million anti-counterfeiting labels which will be used on the official licensed products for retail sale during an international multi-sport event being held in Beijing, China.

“The cooperation between Beijing Postage Stamp Printing House and Datacard is a great opportunity to set a new standard of Drop-on-Demand (DoD) inkjet personalization printing in China and throughout Asia,” said Jeff Peters, vice president of marketing for delivery, fulfillment and packaging solutions for Datacard Group.

The Port Authority of Los Angeles has contracted with Unisys Corporation to design and manage an identification and access control system, using smart card and biometric technologies, to identify workers who require access to restricted areas in the port. The three-year contract is part of the federal Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWIC) program.

e-Smart Technologies learned from court filings that IDsmart LLC directed its engineers to use e-Smart's technology in developing IDsmart's biometric smart card product.

The original complaint filed by e-Smart Technologies against IDsmart alleged theft and misappropriation of biometric smart card technology. IDsmart also confirmed that, because its engineers had been instructed to use e-Smart's technology, IDsmart did not actually have a product design and was unable to "release" any product until approximately four months ago.

Mary Grace, President and CEO of e-Smart said, "IDsmart now admits not only that their engineers used e-Smart's technology but also that they have known for more than a year that e-Smart's technology was used in developing IDsmart's claimed biometric smart card product."

Stockwell Day, minister of Public Safety Canada, recently met with Michael Chertoff, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to discuss a number of issues pertaining to the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. Also discussed was the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. Under the U.S. WHTI Final Rule, as of June 1, 2009, Canadians entering the U.S. at land and sea border crossings will be required to show their passports.

The Enhanced Driver's License pilot project launched this past January is recognized as an acceptable alternative to passports at the Canada-U.S. border under the U.S. WHTI.

Gemalto has been selected as sole supplier of the digital security technology to be used in electronic passports for Ivorian citizens. Under the 5-year contract, Gemalto will supply system integrator Zetes with its Sealys eTravel Inlays, the secure devices embedding its secure electronic passport software technology.

More than one million passports are currently in use in Cote d’Ivoire and the government intends to roll out the first electronic passports in June 2008 with a view to renewing all of them by end 2009. The Ivorian authorities plan to incorporate the electronic capability in all new travel documents. Gemalto was formed in June 2006 by the combination of Axalto and Gemplus.

More Than 8,000 staff and faculty at the University of Minnesota will be using Secure SafeWord from Secure Computing to provide two authentication methods–a token that can automatically generate new passwords and a PIN. The new system will eliminate the need of employees to memorize multiple passwords when accessing the university's network.

Editor Zack Martin talks to Jeremy Grant, senior vice president and identity solutions analyst at the Stanford Group Company, about the Digimarc selling its identification business to competitor L-1 Identity Solutions. Digimarc had the majority of driver licenses business in the U.S., with L-1 in the second spot. With Real ID around the corner why did Digimarc choose to sell now? What does this mean for the driver license market? Listen and find out.

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During a hearing earlier this week in front of the U.S. House of Representative Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement a representative of the physical access control industry told Congress that more money is needed to take full advantage of the interoperable federal identification card.

Rob Zivney, vice president of marketing for Santa Ana, Calif.-based Hirsch Electronics and chair of the Security Industry Association’s Personal Identification Verification Working Group, testified before the subcommittee on some of the challenges his industry faces when creating products for the new credential.

LaserCard Corp. has received a purchase order to supply a next generation card encoding solution for the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Permanent Resident Card, or Green Card, Program. LaserCard will supply 40 next generation encoders, associated software and services. The new solution will replace "Green Card" personalization equipment which is more than a decade old. The encoders and software, valued at approximately $170,000, are expected to be delivered over the next six months.

LaserCard’s personalized Embedded Hologram is unique among all data storage technologies used on cards in that it permanently marks the digital recording medium with eye visible data, in this case the facial image of the cardholder.

Irvine, CA-based HID Global introduces the Fargo HDP5000 card identity system which includes the hardware, software and materials needed to create secure, professional ID cards with superior print quality using retransfer technology. The HDP5000 system joins HID’s suite of Fargo all-in-one systems that also includes the DTC550 and the DTC400 card printing systems. The smart chips or antennas are unaffected by the heat of the printhead.

Wireless match-on-card fingerprint trials have passed security and speed tests and barely missed, in two out of three instances, the accuracy tests, according to results released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Still, this match-on-card ID technology, designed for use in personal identification verification cards that many federal agencies must adopt this fall, does meet the agency's standardized accuracy criteria, NIST reports.

The Government Accountability Office says the White House Office of Management and Budget needs to make some changes to how interoperable identification credentials are being deployed throughout the federal government.

Linda Koontz, director of Information Management Issues at the GAO, gave the recommendation during a hearing Wednesday on HSPD-12 in front of the U.S. House of Representative Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement. The complete list of witnesses can be found here. The GAO says progress has been made with issuing ID cards to federal employees and contractors but there are still issues that need to be addressed.

Gemalto has begun production of three million electronic health care cards for Azerbaijan, the largest and most populous country in the south Caucasus region of Eurasia. Partnering with IT company, Bestcomp, the pilot phase started in February with roll-outs expected to continue until 2010.

This first large scale e-government project in the country means a health care card for its citizens that will simplify the submission of claims to the country's social security services by using digitizing claims forms. It also offers identification, transaction security and speeds up reimbursements.

Gemalto has already implemented similar programs in Algeria, Belgium, China, Finland, France, Germany, Mexico, Puerto Rico, UK and Slovenia.

The Athena IDProtect 72K Java Card received U.S. Government FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certification while the Athena ASEPCOS Digital Signature smart card received the French Government Common Criteria EAL4+ certification for SSCD Type 3, enabling users to choose from Open Platform or file system based solutions for highest level of security required by government and large enterprise projects and digital signature according to the European directives.

The Athena IDProtect Java Card provides 72KB of available memory for customer applications with support for RSA 2048, AES, and 3DES on a Java Card 2.2.2 and Global Platform 2.1.1 operating system. The Athena ASEPCOS Digital Signature smart card provides 72KB of available memory for digital signature and authentication certificates and keys and additional user data. Available also with dual interface contact/contactless interfaces and match-on-card fingerprint biometrics, the Athena ASEPCOS Digital Signature card is an ideal platform for Government and Enterprise ID which requires Common Criteria certification.

Finger biometrics and photographs will be integrated with individual records in the Indian Multi-purpose National Identity Cards to be issued to each citizen after the next census in 2011. The smart cards will carry a national identity number and will be given to every citizen above 18 years. The MNIC pilot project has been under implementation since November 2003 in 12 states and one union territory and the first phase has been completed with the production and distribution of the smart cards.

Read the full article here.

Austin-based IdentiPHI has issued the new SAFsolution 5 to provide the industry’s the administration of enterprise-wide biometric and smart card security and authentication. SAFsolution 5 tightly integrates with Microsoft Windows Active Directory or similar platforms and supports the market’s range of authentication methods. SAFsolution 5 enables organizations to dramatically improve security by replacing passwords with biometric or smart card authentication methods.

SAFsolution 5 provides a high level of control and flexibility for administrators. It also includes new features designed to upgrade the user experience and reduce administrative overhead. Last logon recall, simple drop-down logon customization, secret questions, support for Citrix and Windows remote desktops are some of the improvements. SAFsolution 5 enables customers to select the authentication methods that best fit their needs and enables integration with market leading identity and access management applications.

Editor Zack Martin examines the missing links in protecting and authenticating online identity for social networking sites, especially for minors. With sites like MySpace and Facebook having millions of users, some younger than ten years old, people want to talk about how to protect the children. But at what cost? And will strong authentication ever become mandated by the government for social networking sites much like new strong authentication requirements for financial institutions? All this and more during a discussion between Zack and host Ryan Kline.

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To see an interview with Ashley Grills and her role in a MySpace scheme linked to a girl's suicide, visit ABC.com.

HID Global announced an initiative aimed to make it easier for companies to use one badge for physical and logical access. The Irvine, Calif.-based identity vendors has partnered with enterprise identity management companies Avaleris, Imprivata and Passlogix to offer more products to customers.

The HID Global IT Channel Program is focused on its Crescendo smart cards. The cards support both physical and logical access and provide support for a number of enterprise applications.

These new IT-oriented vendors offer enterprise applications such as single sign-on, user provisioning, smart card based strong authentication, secure remote access, pre-boot authentication, data encryption and other IT security-related applications.

Security provider Gemalto's on-demand Device Administration Service, is getting a boost from two companies that that aim to make it easier for small and mid-size companies to secure their networks.

Alternative Technology and Envoy Data announced at the RSA Conference in San Francisco that they'll be incorporating Gemalto's Device Administration Service (DAS) into their offerings. Alternative Technology is a distributor of products and services targeted at the thin-client/server-based computing and wireless markets. Envoy Data is a smart card and PCMCIA technical distributor to the government, military, financial, medical and aerospace sectors.

Fingerprint vendor UPEK Inc. and online age and identity provider IDology Inc. have partnered to offer authentication services to online businesses. The joint solution is being demonstrated at the RSA Conference in San Francisco.

The partnership combines IDology’s ExpectID service with UPEK’s Authentication Service. Consumers open an account and answer multiple choice questions regarding information about their past. The questions are derived from IDology searching public data sources for information about the individual. The consumer would also register a fingerprint that would be used to access the sites in the future. It was unclear how consumers would obtain the fingerprint scanner.

“Both business and consumers are increasingly facing online threats and are looking for ways to better protect themselves,” said Jon Dancu, president and CEO of IDology, Atlanta.

A new Gemalto-sponsored survey finds U.S. consumers are wary of password security for online commerce transactions. The survey, conducted by TNS Sofres, concludes that banks and other providers need to do more to protect consumers.

The "Digital Trust Barometer" survey of 1,000 consumers, released at the RSA Conference, showed that people's concerns about digital security go beyond the Internet. Some 57% of Americans said they were afraid someone will steal their account passwords while banking online and another 38% said they simply do not trust online payments. Only 22% felt "very good" about the security in any of the digital technology they use, indicating the vast majority of Americans remain wary.

Biometric electronic passports will be made available to 23 million Taiwan citizens by the second half of 2008, according to Computerworld Singapore. The country awarded its National Identity System contract to Hewlett-Packard.

To meet international security standards, the NIS will integrate products from Entrust, Safenet, 3M and Cryptometrics, with 64K contactless chips. The chip will contain the passport holder’s digital photo and detailed passport information in electronic form. The country would endorse the data stored on the chip to ensure the passport was not altered.

Datastrip Inc., Exton, Pa., has partnered with Codebench Inc. to verify PIV, TWIC and FRAC identification cards as well as enroll cardholders into physical access control system at government and military facilities. Datastrip will integrate CodeBench’s software into its Datastrip's DSV2+TURBO handheld.

PIVCheck Mobile, the software from Boca Raton, Fla.-based Codebench, provides a solution with Ethernet, WiFI and optional GSM connectivity for cardholder validation of PIN, fingerprint biometric and certificates. It validates certificates by performing Internet-based queries from the DSV2+TURBO to compare them to an OCSP Responder, Certificate Authority or TSA Hot Lists.

PIVCheck Plus Mobile offers the same features and adds the ability for automated enrollment into compatible physical access control systems. Once an ID card is verified, software transmits the card's data wirelessly from the DSV2+TURBO to the access control system. Also available is PIVCheck Certificate Manager that revalidates the imported card certificates. This tool revalidates certificates on a periodic basis to ensure continued validity and can automatically suspend a PACS badge associated with a revoked certificate.

The American Association of Airline Executives recently processed its 100,000th passenger enrollment. The AAAes Central Information Management System (CIMS) operates a network that links airports running the Transportation Security Administration’s Registered Traveler programs.

The CIMS enables approved service providers to deliver interoperable RT services at participating airports across the country so a passenger can enroll in any providers program and use all of the RT lanes around the country. The CIMS is responsible for several RT functions, including processing all records, interfacing with the TSA for background checks, ensuring a chain of trust from vetted enrollments and issued credentials, and sending alerts to all service providers regarding revoked credentials.

Currently, AAAE, through its Transportation Security Clearinghouse (TSC) subsidiary, has agreements with five RT service providers. Three of them, Verified Identity Pass, Unisys, and Vigilant, offer RT services at a total of 17 U.S. airports.

Giesecke & Devrient will be presenting a new generation of USB security tokens at the RSA conference in San Francisco next week. All data and applications can be stored together with the user's digital identity on the StarSign Mobility Token, which features a MicroSD card and embedded smart card technology.

The token can be used without driver software or administrator rights, and leaves zero footprint on the computer after the work session. It enables corporate IT departments to retain control over proprietary applications and data, even in networks involving more than one company.

All U.S. driver license-issuing agencies have applied for an extension for Real ID. Maine, which had been the only state not granted an extension, committed to take additional steps to achieve a level of security commensurate with Real ID.

Specifically, Maine Governor John Baldacci will seek legislation to halt Maine’s practice of issuing licenses to those not lawfully present in the country. Maine will also begin capturing and retaining photographs of individuals applying for a state ID, even if no ID is issued.

A UK-based hacker has demonstrated a man in the middle attack aimed at biometrics. Matthew Lewis, of London-based Information Risk Management, unveiled the biologging attack at a Black Hat hacker conference in Amsterdam.

Lewis says biometric data is vulnerable because it isn’t encrypted between the sensor and the processor, according to the story in Techworld. The biologger captures the biometric data while its in transit between the two.

Evaluating the reality of the hack from his perspective and industry insiders

In this episode, the publicized Mifare Crypto-1 hack is examined. Interviews with the researcher that uncoverd the alleged vulnerability, Karsten Nohl, as well as NXP representative Manuel Albers and Smart Card Alliance's Randy Vanderhoof delve into the topic from all sides.

Albers reports that between 1 and 2 billion of these chips have been issued to date and are in use in transit systems and security and access applications.

Nohl stated that he would wait until next year to make the complete nature of attack public, suggesting "if you are relying on Mifare security, you should start migrating." When asked if the intent was to give the issuers time to migrate or if he was holding the industry ransom, he replied, "I would acknowledge that we are playing along in the obscurity game ... we want every one of these systems to wake up and realize how insecure they are ... to convince the last ones that are still claiming we have not found it, we will have to release it."

Download MP3.

http://www.secureidnews.com/podcasts for older podcasts.

Lumidigm has partnered with biometric reader manufacturer and port solution provider Innometriks. Responding to Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) reader requirements, Innometriks has integrated Lumidigm Venus fingerprint sensors into its TWIC readers.

The Innometriks reader combines the Lumidigm Venus fingerprint sensor along with an HID smart card reader, a large 3.5-inch color LCD, and a vandal-proof keypad to provide an outdoor fingerprint biometric reader that works in all weather conditions. Administered by the Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Coast Guard, the TWIC program will require port personnel and additional transportation workers to use a tamper-resistant biometric credential to gain authorized access to secured outdoor areas.

Maine government officials will have till the close of business Wednesday to agree to various driver license security requirements or the state’s licenses won’t be accepted to board aircraft or access federal facilities after May 11.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has granted extensions to 49 of 50 states, the District of Columbia and all five U.S. territories. DHS officials realized earlier this year that states could not meet the full requirements of the Real ID Act by May 11, as set by Congress.

Agent Vi, an enterprise video analytics software company, has partnered with national systems engineering firm Abeo Technical Solutions LLC to provide video analytics software for the Potomac Basin Security System (PBSS) project.

The area includes Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Bolling Air Force Base and the Washington Navy Yard. Funded by the Naval Air Systems Command, the PBSS project combines biometrically enabled access control, geospatial technology, radar surveillance, video analytics and other sensor technologies to protect transportation facilities, secure areas and critical infrastructure. Agent Vi's technology is currently deployed in more than 25 countries.

A University of Washington research project is using RFID tags to follow the daily movements and interactions of a dozen volunteers, reports the Seattle Times. The RFID Ecosystem project hopes to predict the benefits and pitfalls of an RFID-filled future before it happens.

The research team and its leader, Professor Gaetano Borriello, have used 200 antennas placed throughout the UW computer-science building to track a group of tag-bearing students, faculty, and staff as they work – or take breaks. Though less intrusive than cameras, the system can provide a far more precise depiction of an office worker’s daily routine.

The UK-based De-La-rue has won an $18 million tender to work on Rwanda's identity card project. The company which brought in sophisticated equipments to finish the work is now capturing biometric data in which a digital picture, electronic fingerprint and signature are included.

The government has registered 5.3 million Rwandans above 16 years who will be given new national identity cards. The government has decided to fund the project but every card holder will be obliged to pay Rwf500 (US$0.9) to get it. A chip will be installed in these smart cards to make sure the information about the service providers such as the banks, insurance companies and revenue authority corresponds with the information on the identity card.

The ID will be swiped through an electronic machine that will read the information on the card and the fingerprints. Rwanda will be the first country on the continent to issue smart cards though Senegal and South Africa have the first phase of the electronic national identity cards, according to a report by East African Business Week.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of State announced the final rule for the land and sea portion of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

The WHTI final rule requires travelers to present a passport or other approved secure document denoting citizenship and identity for all land and sea travel into the United States. WHTI establishes document requirements for travelers entering the United States who were previously exempt, including citizens of the U.S., Canada and Bermuda. These document requirements will be effective June 1, 2009.

Commercialization of first-to-market ICT DisplayCard, a wafer-thin, one-time-passcode card for dual-factor authentication, to be spotlighted at security industry's premier forum, the RSA Conference and Expo

Innovative Card Technologies' DisplayCard, a security device for e-banking, e-commerce and data access, is being deployed by 11 leading financial institutions and enterprises in the U.S. and internationally. Five of the deployments are currently live, with six in production for distribution to consumers in Q2 2008.

The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, which was formally launched on the 1st of October last year, is scheduled to begin operation tomorrow. The smart card scheme was created to provide smart card based cashless health insurance coverage upto Rs.30,000 for all the BPL families in the unorganized sector for the next five years.

The Central Government of India has already issued guidelines and a draft tender document has been prepared and sent to all the states. The draft contract agreement, to be signed between the insurance companies and respective state governments, has also been finalized and circulated. Medical procedures and their costs have been standardized by a group of experts.

The need for a reliable solution to counter fraud, illegal immigration and cross-border terrorism has created a case for e-Passports in the Asia Pacific region. The United States' Visa Waiver Program that necessitates e-Passports for select countries further enhances this demand.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Strategic Assessment of Asia Pacific e-Passport Markets- e-Passport, a machine-readable travel document containing smart card technology, comes in the form of a standard passport with the integrated circuit chip embedded in it. This technology is more secure and sophisticated than conventional passports.

The March meeting of the influential Government Smart Card Interagency Advisory Board (IAB) was recently held in Washington D.C. FIPS201.com was on hand to cover the event and has provided, as a service to the IAB and the smart card community, an audio recording of the presentations. Access the audio and accompanying slides from the meeting at FIPS201.com.

Catcher Holdings announced an important feature enhancement to its CATCHER® family of command and control platforms with the addition of smart card readers provided by SCM Microsystems, Inc. The SCM technology is being integrated into both the CATCHER® Rhino and CATCHER® Grizzly integrated computer communications platforms, enabling the devices to read the Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card mandated under Homeland Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), the Department of Defense Common Access Card (CAC), the First Responder Authentication Credential (FRAC) and Mifare-based cards. The readers meet both the ISO 14443 and ISO 7816 standards for contactless and contact smart card identify verification.

The intelligence community’s venture capital arm is investing in an access control system that leverages digital certificates on smart cards for stand-alone electronic locks. The Card-Connected system developed by CoreStreet allows the locks to authenticate digital credentials and enforce access policy without being networked. The smart card is presented to a reader at a stand-alone electronic lock which contains access policies for the location. Identity is verified by the card’s digital certificate, and the card also can contain data on access privileges. Log data about the transaction is written to the card. In a typical deployment, the same card also would be used to gain access to the main entrance of a facility. In-Q-Tel is an independent company set up by the CIA to invest in commercial development of technologies that could be used by the intelligence community.

NEC Corporation and Daon have been working for several months on Japan's new multi-modal biometrically enabled border control. The system went live in November 2007 and was used to successfully process more than 10,000 travelers through Narita International Airport during the first morning of operation. Fingerprints and facial images are obtained from persons entering the country who are 16 years of age and older (except legally exempted person). Fully integrated with the NEC technology, Daon's identity management system provides the centralized and client biometric infrastructure for the border clearance and automated system, with DaonEngine™ serving as the platform and additional Daon software being used at over 500 immigration workstations at over 34 airports and seaports.

Heathrow Airport owner BAA is pulling a biometric fingerprint system at the new Terminal 5 (T5) the day before the building opens to the public due to concerns about the data protection of fingerprint information from passengers. BAA said in a statement, "Following a meeting with all relevant parties, including the Information Commissioner and the Border and Immigration Agency, the introduction of fingerprinting for domestic passengers and passengers transferring onto domestic flights at Heathrow will be temporarily delayed." In the interim, BAA will open Heathrow T5 and use a photographic identification system, which is already in place.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun collecting additional fingerprints from international visitors arriving at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The change is part of the department’s upgrade from two- to 10-fingerprint collection. JFK is the tenth port of entry to begin collecting 10 fingerprints from international visitors. US VISIT is evaluating 10 fingerprint collection at these airports. It will use the results to inform the deployment of the technology to the remaining air, sea and land border ports of entry that will transition to collecting 10 fingerprints by December 2008.

Precise Biometrics has been awarded an order to supply 50,000 licenses of Precise Match-on-Card™ for an employee ID card program to one of the largest Police Departments in the USA. Precise Biometrics supplies the technology to enable the Police Department to prove their employees' identities in a fast, secure and reliable way. The project will run during 2008 and 2009, and may result in additional hardware orders. Swedish company Precise Biometrics has more than 12 million deployed card licenses and close to 80 million contracted licenses for its Match-on-Card technology.

The Albanian government has chosen French company Sagem Securite to produce new biometric passports and identity cards for Albania. Paris-based Sagem Securite will start producing them within the next six months. The company was chosen from among seven companies bidding in an international tender. No new ID cards have been produced for Albanians since the fall of communism in 1990 because of problems with the country's civil registry.

Noortech has been awarded a new physical security project by Saudi Customs. Luberef awards Noortech a contract to supply time attendance and access control systems. The project expects completion in two weeks and is located at one of Saudi Customs' facilities in Riyadh. In addition to the Saudi Customs, Noortech is being retained by a growing number of government and private sector bodies to cater to their physical security systems needs.

CoreStreet announced a strategic investment and technology advancement agreement with In-Q-Tel, the independent strategic investment firm that identifies innovative technology solutions to support the mission of the broader U.S. Intelligence Community. This agreement will allow for development and enhancement of new converged security solutions, including breakthrough Card-Connected technology.

After a successful pilot program, digital security provider Gemalto is rolling out nationally Algeria's first electronic health care program involving a social security smart card known as Chifa that will simplify administrative procedures while eliminating paperwork for claims submissions. The company won the project in 2006 and tested 700,000 cards in five regions prior to full implementation.

Four of Cherry Electrical smart card reader products have been granted FIP201 certification by the U.S. government. As a result, U.S. federal agencies and contractors are now authorized to use applicable Cherry keyboards and stand-alone smart card readers for logical access control under the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12.

HSPD-12 requires the use of a common identification credential for both logical and physical access to federally controlled facilities and information systems. In response, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published FIPS201 (Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 201), which specifies Personal Identity Verification (PIV) requirements for federal employees and contractors.

The applicable products are Cherry’s G83-6644 and G83-6744 keyboards with integrated smart card readers, its ST-1044U stand-alone smart card reader, and the SR-4044 PCMCIA smart card reader.

Discussing and demonstrating the issuance, personalization and use of dual-interface FIPS 201 Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards is the focus of the Smart Card Alliance's presence at ISC West in Las Vegas on April 2-4. "The past three years have been years of tremendous change for the federal government, in terms of moving to a common credential -- the PIV card -- for both physical access control and information security," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. Over 25 Smart Card Alliance members are exhibiting at ISC West, demonstrating a full range of products to implement smart card-based physical and logical access systems. The Physical Access Council will also hold an in-person meeting at the event.

The India transport department will soon begin providing insurance for current driver’s license holders. The present driver’s license will soon turn into a smart card loaded with personal details that come with the insurance cover. A private-public partnership will be in place to issue the smart cards. The private party will computerize the database. While vehicle owners will pay a bit more for a smart card, the private party will pay the first year’s insurance premium. The vehicle user will have to pay it from the following year. In six months’ time all new applicants will be issued the smart cards, while old users have been given two years to re-apply and obtain the card. The private partner will supply computer hardware and peripherals, infrastructure — all this at no cost to the transport department. Instead, the private partner will collect the smart card fee from vehicle users.

HID Global has teamed with Dynamic Card Solutions (DCS) to launch the CardWizard FCP 20/20 instant issuance financial card printing system. The system is aimed at banks, credit unions and retailers for on-site instant issuance of debit, credit and prepaid cards. HID’s line of Fargo’s HDP functionality offers superior card image quality, essential in the financial card industry.

The German ministry of health has issued details on recent and estimated future costs of the health care smart card project in response to a parliamentary inquiry, initiated by the Liberal Democrats within Germany. The party had 34 questions, most of which related either to security issues or to the costs of the ongoing smart card project.

According to the ministry of health, the annual budget of the German health-IT organization in charge of the program Gematik has almost tripled, from €26m in 2006 to an estimated €70m in 2008. This was considered the first official release of the budget since the project began.

The biggest share of costs for the smart card project is not from the health-IT organization Gematik, but because of the health insurance companies, according to e-Health Europe.

Privaris, a provider of personal, wireless identity verification solutions, and OSI Security Devices, Inc., a provider of standalone and integrated smart reader locking hardware, are partnering to provide organizations with an end-to-end wireless access control and identity verification solution. Disrupting the access control market, OSI Wireless Access Management Systems (WAMS) and Privaris’ plusID have become interoperable to offer customers a secure, wireless biometric solution that can supposedly be implemented overnight at a fraction of the installation and maintenance costs of traditional access control solutions.

Priva Technologies, Inc. has been approved by the Transportation Security Administration as a service provider for its Registered Traveler program. “Our Cleared Security Platform was designed to be the most powerful and efficient credentialing and authentication technology available today, making it ideal for airport security screening,” according to Jeff Minushkin, Priva’s chairman and CEO. “It can significantly speed up security checks at airports for travelers who qualify for the program at the same time making the security checks themselves more robust than is possible with any other existing technology.”

Maison de la France director Pascal Lepetre has urged travel agents to take note of the new biometric requirements for the Schengen visa. Agents also need to keep in mind the online appointment system for Schengen visa application implemented in October 2007, added Lepetre. With nine new countries recently entering the Schengen Zone, travellers are now able to visit 24 European destinations with the visa, but they have been required to appear at the French Consulate in Dubai to supply biometric information since February. "Not all consulates are equipped with this biometric technology yet, as it is still in a trial period, but anybody applying at the French Consulate in Dubai has to go in person and have their picture and fingerprints taken - travel agents should be aware of this by now," explained Lepetre.

Digimarc to focus on growing demand for Digital Watermarking Solutions

Digimarc has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its ID Systems business to L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc. in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $250 million based on the current market price of L-1 company stock. The acquisition has been approved by the respective Board of Directors of each company.

American Banknote Corporation, parent of the ABnote Group, announced recently that it has acquired Keystone Manufacturing (Plastics) Ltd., of Toronto, Canada.

The acquisition provides the ABnote Group access to Keystone’s customers, along with the positive reputation of Keystone’s position in the smart cards industry.

Innovative Card Technologies, developer of the ICT DisplayCard for e-banking, e-commerce and data access authentication, and ActivIdentity, a provider of identity assurance solutions, recently launched the Smart DisplayCard. Smart DisplayCard is the first product to incorporate a one-time passcode display and a PKI chip into a wafer-thin card format, according to the companies.

The state with the largest illegal immigration may elect to opt out of Real ID driver license implementation despite Federal sanctions that would prevent its citizens from entering federal buildings or airplanes, according to the Arizona Republic. Opposition is building to proposed legislation that would bring Arizona into compliance with the Real ID mandates. If the proposed plan were implemented Arizona would become the first state on the U.S./Mexican border to issue the enhanced licenses.