Members of the European Parliament passed new rules that would require the introduction of biometric passports this summer, according to the EU Observer. The new rules state that all EU countries, as well as in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, should start issuing passports containing biometric elements, such as facial images and fingerprints, as of June […]

The initial phase of the Israeli smart card system that will identify commercial and general aviation aircraft flying into the country will launch in April, according to a Flightglobal.com news report. At first all general aviation pilots approaching Israeli airspace will have to identify themselves using the system and the program will be rolled out […]

Inspection systems and extended access control are next hurdles By Zack Martin, Editor More than 100 million electronic passports have been issued in the two plus years since governments initiated production of the new travel credentials. The U.S. State Department alone has issued almost 15 million of the contactless documents. But while there are many […]

The United States Coast Guard has chosen Datastrip, a developer of mobile biometric tools, to supply them with as many as 300 handheld authentication devices as part of a $300 million contract to get the Coast Guard compliant with the Transportation Security Administration’s Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program, according to a TMC Net article. […]

At the 2009 NDIA Biometrics Conference in Arlington, Va., General Victor Renuart of the North American Aerospace Defense Command will speak to attendees about the Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD – 24) that establishes a framework for federal agencies to ensure that all biometrics are interoperable and that processes and procedures surrounding use of biometrics […]

Zetes, a European supplier of biometric technology, has announced that they have been awarded two new contracts by the Cote d’Ivoire government. The new contracts are coming off the involvement Zetes had in the project involving regular biometric passports as the new contracts deal with diplomatic and service passports as well as supplying biometric visas […]

LaserCard Corp., a provider of secure ID solutions, announced a follow-on purchase order valued at $5.4 million to supply secure credentials for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Identity Card program. This brings the total value of orders received for the program during the company’s current fiscal year to $12.8 million. The national ID cards […]