Archive for the 'Government/Politics' Category

Gemalto, a world leader in digital security, today announces that the Danish National Police has started issuing electronic passports that integrate its most advanced Setec(1) secure technology. For this nationwide deployment Gemalto manages the entire delivery process. In addition to its renowned secure electronic passport software and high security polycarbonate data page technologies, Gemalto will provide passport booklet assembly and individual personalisation of each passport.The agreement runs through to 2009, with an option for two additional years. The Danish authorities plan to incorporate the electronic capability in all new passports from now on and are expected to issue some 250,000 by the end of 2006. Between 700,000 and 800,000 traditional passports are issued annually.

As part of the Gemalto e-passport solution, the polycarbonate data page includes a contactless microprocessor chip running the company’s highly secure operating system. The chip not only features the information identity already laser-engraved on the first page, but also contains the passport holder’s digitised photo.

“As we have been producing and personalising the traditional Danish passports for the past two years, we have gained an in-depth understanding of the Danish authorities’ requirements.” commented Jacques Seneca, President Europe at Gemalto. “We are proud to further develop our relationship with the Danish authorities through latest generation smart and secure travel documents which will benefit to both administrations and citizens.”

Through this additional reference in the field of e-ID programs, Gemalto demonstrates its ability to manage the complete value chain of e-passports. Mastering the whole issuance process enables Gemalto to offer governments a variety of state-of-the-art services that will benefit to their citizens. Gemalto’s e-passport references include the Czech Republic, France, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden and the United States of America.

(1) Setec is part of the Gemalto group (acquired in 2005). The Setec solutions include products that require extreme security, such as biometric and visual passports, electronic and visual ID cards, driving licenses and health cards.

In what looks to be the beginning of the end in terms of Tony Blair’s farewell, the PM has touched on the government’s society, human rights and foreign policy.  Here’s the juice:

I don’t want to live in a police state, or a Big Brother society or put any of our essential freedoms in jeopardy. But because our idea of liberty is not keeping pace with change in reality, those freedoms are in jeopardy … we can only protect liberty by making it relevant to the modern world. That is why identity cards using biometric technology are not a breach of our basic rights, they are an essential part of responding to the reality of modern migration and protecting us against identity fraud …

In the next parliamentary session, the centrepiece will be John Reid’s immigration and law and order reforms. I ask people of all parties to support them. Let liberty at last stand up for the law-abiding citizens in this country.

The new anxiety is the global struggle against terrorism without mercy or limit. This is a struggle that will last a generation and more. But this I believe passionately: we will not win until we shake ourselves free of the wretched capitulation to the propaganda of the enemy, that somehow we are the ones responsible …

If we retreat now, hand Iraq over to al-Qaida and sectarian death squads and Afghanistan back to al-Qaida and the Taliban, we won’t be safer; we will be committing a craven act of surrender that will put our future security in the deepest peril …  [source]

Similarly timed was an advert in the Guardian depicting Tony Blair as a Hitler, labelled with a barcode above his lip.  I was pretty disgusted to see this kind of reference.  The tagline was, “id cards have worked well in Europe before.” 

The pressure group, No2ID, claim the government’s ID scheme will “choke” practical freedoms, with the simplest things in life “no longer under your control.”  Now, how does carrying a new form of identification suddenly turn you into a caged animal?  Everyone should be free to do what they like.  Why are background checks manditory on school workers?  That’s an invasion of their privacy.  But I bet No2ID supporters would be a little miffed at a pedophile teaching their 9 year old son about what makes babies.  They seem all for making life easy for terrorist organisations in our country, though.  I would be interested to know two things - 1) the average age of the no2id supporter and 2) the number of no2id supporters who have fallen victim to identity theft or experienced the threat of terror first hand.

How does biometrics constitute a new level of privacy invasion?  The photograph on my passport is a physical identifier.  I am not scared that other identifiers that are slightly more technical may be used.  Bring on the ID card, because I have nothing to hide.

Bioscrypt Inc., a leading provider of identity verification technology, today announced the release of the latest version of its VeriSoft Access Manager software application, designed to comply with Federal Information Processing Standard 201 (FIPS 201) Personal Identity Verification (PIV) requirements. The product will be on display at the ASIS 2006 Expo from September 25-27 at booth 4127.Under the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 mandate, the PIV program uses a credential (smart card) that will contain two fingerprint templates (compliant with the ANSI/INCITS 378 fingerprint minutiae data interchange format standard) to verify and provide user authorization when accessing either a federal building or computer (physical or logical access).

Among the new features introduced to VeriSoft, to comply with PIV2 requirements, is the ability to register PIV2 cards for network authentication as well as PIV2 card integration with all VeriSoft applications and services. VeriSoft supports all of the FIPS 201 assurance levels for card authentication and provides interfaces for developers to use Bioscrypt’s GSA-certified algorithm to write ANSI/INCITS 378 fingerprint templates to the card.

Further to the previously-announced listing of the ANSI/INCITS 378 fingerprint algorithm on the FIPS 201 Evaluation Program Approved Product List, Bioscrypt has now met the requirements for logical access with this release of VeriSoft. The company is also in the process of addressing the requirements for physical access by introducing a new reader to its Veri-Series line.

“We believe Bioscrypt’s Door to Desktop® technology can help government organizations address FIPS 201 mandated biometric and card access control for both facilities and computers,” said Robert L. Williams, President and CEO, Bioscrypt Inc. “With our fingerprint algorithm already qualified for use in the PIV program, our new VeriSoft application designed for PIV, and a physical access control reader being manufactured to address PIV requirements, we look forward to having the opportunity to assist the US government in its efforts to enhance security, increase efficiency, reduce identity fraud and protect personal privacy of their federal employees and contractors.”

West Midlands Police is to trial an identity authentication system that will allow both physical and digital access to police systems, with the projected replacement of warrant cards with chip-and-pin smart-cards.

Police officers and civilian staff will be granted access to buildings and computer systems using a single sign-on card. An initial pilot scheme will start at the end of September and run for three months.

“It’s all about restricting access to a door or an application in an efficient way,” said Fred Tracey, user support manager for West Midlands Police.

The technology behind the scheme is being provided by two companies. Access management company Imprivata won the tender to provide the data-management hardware and software, while Enline will provide the physical access systems.

Access data will be managed through a box that co-ordinates the police databases and Web services, and contains the data-management operating system.

“It allows the administration of Web-based information through a GUI,” said Geoff Hogan, business development manager for Imprivata. “Information is encrypted on the databases and over the [police intranet].”

The West Midlands Police network is connected to the Internet through a hosted site with five firewalls, according to Tracey. Fingerprint biometrics on keyboards and a biometric fingerprint reader on the West Midlands Police computer room will be implemented.

Once a person is registered as being in the building, anyone attempting to use their identity to access information from a different location can be restricted.

Read more at ZDNet.

3VR Security, Inc., the pioneers of searchable surveillance, today announced a new standard for intelligent video management across the enterprise. 3VR Version 5.0 is the industry’s first video surveillance platform to federate facial surveillance data enabling face watchlists, alerts, and searches across distributed systems. Version 5.0 also includes an API enabling integration and search of data across 3rd party systems like transaction management, POS, and access control. Other new features include enterprise system health monitoring, expanded video input support, and smaller, quieter hardware.”The largest drivers of loss, vulnerability, and operational cost stem from the inability effectively manage systems and share the critical intelligence across distributed environments,” said Stephen Russell, CEO of 3VR Security. “With Version 5.0, shared watchlists and federated searches can be deployed to stop suspects wherever and whenever they strike.”

Building on existing features, Version 5.0 expands 3VR’s leading facial surveillance features to include single-click publishing of watchlists and instant searches across distributed systems. The new API available in 5.0 allows users to search not only video data like people, objects, and activity, but also data from 3rd party systems. For retail banks this means linking faces to transactions across branches, even if a suspect assumes a false identity.

Other new features in Version 5.0 include:

“A unified, 360-degree view of user activity across physical and logical systems is a frequently neglected milestone in physical and logical integration,” noted Mark Diodati, Identity and Privacy Strategies Analyst for Burton Group. “Organizations interested in this milestone require a physical security event monitoring mechanism that can index activity, identify users, and integrate into their logical security event correlation systems.”