ActivCard and Precise Biometrics Expand Cooperation to Meet Demand For Biometric Smart Card ID Badges
ActivCard Offers Industry’s First Complete Portfolio with Biometric Matching on Smart Cards, Servers, or PCs
Precise Biometrics Match-on-Card Capabilities Added to ActivCard Gold(TM) 2.2
FREMONT, Calif. and LUND, Sweden, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — ActivCard(R) (Nasdaq: ACTI; Nasdaq Europe: ACTI), the leader in IDentity Management (IDM) software for remote access, single sign-on and digital ID card solutions, today announced an expanded cooperation with its partner Precise Biometrics AB (publ), developer and provider of world-leading and user-friendly biometric security solutions based on fingerprints, to deliver smart card-based identification (ID) badge solutions with biometric authentication. ActivCard has incorporated Precise Biometrics’ technology for fingerprint matching on smart cards, Precise Match-on-Card(TM), to its ActivCard Gold(TM) 2.2 software, the most successful and widely deployed smart ID card middleware platform available on the market today.
The expanded partnership between ActivCard and Precise Biometrics will enable network users, integrators and service providers to benefit from a multi-factor authentication solution that includes a biometric credential. By leveraging Precise Match-on-Card capabilities to add fingerprint verification as an additional security factor, users strengthen the PIN-based authentication of their smart ID cards managed by ActivCard Gold 2.2 client software.
By verifying the fingerprint directly on the card, the Precise Match-on-Card method guarantees that the reference biometric template (the user’s identity) never leaves the card, so it is not subject to theft. Also, this method guarantees the user’s privacy: the personal biometric template is under the control of the user at all times — stored on her smart card. The partnership includes the licensing of Precise BioMatch(TM) Pro and Precise BioMatch(TM) J software for integration into ActivCard Gold 2.2’s desktop client software, which was designed for enterprise businesses and U.S. Government civilian agency digital ID card programs.
“Combining smart cards and fingerprint biometrics at the middleware software level is a powerful and cost-effective security solution that virtually eliminates fraud because a thief needs to know your user ID and PIN number, needs a fingerprint matching the one stored on the card and must possess the device that is registered to the ActivCard Gold software,” said David Putnam, director of product marketing, ActivCard. “For users it’s a no- brainer; they’re already familiar with how to carry a plastic card in their wallet and now they can add laying down a fingerprint on a reader for an unbeatable way to protect themselves from identity theft.”
“We are pleased that ActivCard has chosen Precise Match-on-Card as its premier method of fingerprint biometric authentication for its market-leading smart card middleware, designed for non-DoD government agencies and the enterprise,” said Christer Bergman, president and CEO of Precise Biometrics. “The extended cooperation with ActivCard gives us the chance to, not only, pursue the growing number of opportunities within civilian government agencies and industry, but also to continue our ongoing sales within the U.S. Department of Defense, in order to become the leading supplier of fingerprint biometrics for smart ID cards.” ActivCard now has the industry’s first complete portfolio of biometric authentication technologies incorporated into its IDentity Management (IDM) software and digital identity card solutions portfolio. The portfolio now includes ActivCard Gold Match-on-Card in addition to Trinity(TM) Secure Single Sign-On Solution Match-on-Server; Trinity Match- on-PC; and the industry’s first and only FIPS-validated Match-on-Card smart card applet. This complete portfolio provides a competitive advantage in the marketplace because security administrators have been seeking flexibility in the choice of where to deploy biometric matching capabilities — at the card, at the server, or on the PC — so they can most easily integrate the technology within their existing identity management and security platforms. Smart ID cards combined with biometric authentication are the preferred technology platform for new ID badge programs being evaluated by the Department of Homeland Security and other U.S. government agencies, according to the e-Authentication initiative advocated by the President’s National Advisor for Cyber Security Richard Clarke in his draft National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, dated September 18, 2002. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration, for example, is — like many government agencies, financial institutions and corporations — holding evaluation trials on combinations of biometric and smart card access technologies, in order to more securely verify that transportation workers and travelers are who they say they are.
About ActivCard
ActivCard, www.activcard.com, is the leader in IDentity Management (IDM) software for remote access, single sign-on and digital ID card solutions. Our scalable IDM and strong authentication solutions are trusted by organizations – from enterprise to governments around the world. ActivCard IDM systems deliver maximum Return On Identity(TM) (ROI) through increased security, reduced cost, and user convenience. The modular product design allows our customers to add capabilities as required, preserving their investment.
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with fluctuations in operating results, our history of losses, the concentration of our customer base, our reliance on strategic relationships, acquisitions and managing the Company’s future growth, and other risks identified in the Company’s periodic filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to those appearing under the caption “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual report on Form 20-F. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially.
NOTE: ActivCard is a registered trademark and ActivCard Gold, Trinity, and Return on Identity are trademarks of ActivCard in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners in the United States and/or other countries.
About Precise Biometrics
Precise Biometrics is an innovative security company that supplies world-leading systems for authentication using fingerprints. The solutions supplied by the company replace keys, PIN codes and passwords. The company’s products are cost effective and provide security and comfort combined with top-class protection of personal integrity. The range of products includes systems for access control to computers and networks and for building into mobile and terminals, such as mobile phones and portable computers. The company headquarters are in Lund, Sweden. The company also has offices in Stockholm and a U.S. subsidiary in Washington, D.C. Precise Biometrics is listed on the O-list of the Stockholm Stock Exchange (symbol: PREC A). For additional information, visit www.precisebiometrics.com