The market for smart cards and secure ICs achieved double-digit year-over-year growth for shipments in 2011, demonstrating increases of 16% and 15%, respectively, according to ABI Research

Volumes continued ramping up, driven by further mobile penetration, the ongoing developments in the SIM card sector and the number of countries migrating to EMV. The top three applications – government ID, payment cards and SIM – accounted for 88% of the total seven billion smart cards shipped in 2011. Further adoption in contactless cards added increased value to the market, as will the greater demand for multi-application cards.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Gemalto announced it has been appointed by Oman Information Technology Authority (ITA) as prime contractor to secure the country’s eGovernment services. The full solution encompasses strong authentication and digital signature using the eID card, as well as mobile authentication using a mobile handset.

This will enable citizens and residents of Oman to securely access eGovernment services, with the authentication method that best suits their lifestyles. 
Acting as a turnkey solution provider, Gemalto is delivering the Coesys eGov2.0 software together with the associated services including training, support and maintenance.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Evolis introduced its new card printer, coined Primacy, suited for instantly personalizing cards in medium to large runs, single or dual-sided and for a range of applications.

Primacy is equipped either with a single or double-sided option, which can be enabled on-site and made available for encoding options for magnetic stripes, smart cards or contactless cards. The printer personalizes color cards, up to 210 cards per hour for one side and 140 cards per hour for dual-sided printing.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

New passport-reading and biometrics technology installed at Dubai International Airport is catching increasing numbers of people who attempt to enter the country with fake identity documents, reports the Gulf News.

Last year, the Expertise Centre Identity and Fraud Documents (ECIFD) agency caught 1,137 forged documents with its passport readers. Although passports and identity documents are getting more difficult to forge, criminals are now attempting to get into the country by committing “look-alike fraud,” or looking like the person in the document.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

In an effort to streamline tenant control of visitor access at its commercial real estate properties in Manhattan, Trinity Real Estate has installed HID Global’s EasyLobby Secure Visitor Management (SVM) software.

The software speeds up the clearance process for visitors to companies at Trinity’s properties, which include modeling and film agencies and photography service providers that have a constant flow of visitors. Employees fill out a one-page entry form detailing the visitors’ names, who they’re seeing, where they’re going and their arrival and departure dates and times.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

The Trüb Group has released the second generation of its CombOS Dual Interface OS for contactless and contact-based EMV compliant smart cards based on new specs from MasterCard and Visa.

The new version lowers transaction times, includes data storage functionalities and increases security. This OS is based on the new M/Chip Advance specification from MasterCard and from Visa’s VSDC v1.5.3 and VCPS 2.1.1.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Datacard Group, a provider of secure ID and card personalization solutions, has rolled out a new blog designed to cover industry topics and offer insights on the latest news of the day. Called Datacard Edge, the company wants to enhance its communications with customers, partners, prospects and industry experts.

In addition, the blog is designed to showcase industry information and best practices. Focused primarily on the markets Datacard serves–including financial, government and secure ID–the blog will feature various content contributors who are knowledgeable in their respective fields.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

The Republic of Latvia, located in the Baltic Region of Northern Europe, is setting up a new infrastructure for the issue and verification of electronic identification documents.

Germany-based company secunet Security Networks AG will provide the software for the new Latvian passport and migration information system required for the issue of electronic identification and visa documents.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

EMVCo, the EMV technology standards body owned by American Express, JCB, MasterCard and Visa, released data showing the growth of EMV acceptance around the world, with nearly half of all payment cards and three-quarters of all payment terminals in circulation being based on EMV technology.

The numbers as reported in the fourth quarter of 2011 state that more than 1.5 billion EMV payment cards are in circulation and 21.9 million EMV terminals are active. These figures do not include data from the U.S.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Australia’s Attorney General and Ministry of Defense are exploring ways to grant reciprocation for fast-tracking each other’s citizens through customs checks in both countries, reports Australian Business Traveller.

The U.S. government hopes to find a way to allow Australians with e-passports use the fast-track Global Entry lane at airport customs and immigration entry points. In return, Americans with e-passports would be able to use Australia’s SmartGate lines at their international airports.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

The South African Ministry of Home Affairs announced the expansion of its smart ID card pilot program, reports IT Web.

According to Home Affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni, the smart ID card program is part of an effort by the national government to shed its racist past and create one identification card for all citizens. It will replace the current civic and immigration identity systems and capture demographic and biometric data of all South Africans and foreign nationals.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Gemalto announced the launch of ProtivaMedSecure, a solution package that addresses one of challenges facing health care providers: a secure digital identity.

Gemalto’s Protiva MedSecure provides a portfolio of authentication software, digital credentials, secure devices, servers and associated services. The Gemalto solution provides a single credential for secure visual identity, as well as physical and logical access to medical facilities and electronic medical records.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

When buying a six-pack of beer it makes sense that an individual confirms that they are at least 21-years-old. But when the consumer shows a clerk the government-issued ID they are giving up address, date of birth and other information as well. In a perfect world the clerk would only see the age.

Andrew Clement, a professor in the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto, is trying to remedy this with the Prop ID research project. Prop ID means that the personal information provided is proportionate to what’s needed for the specific transaction. Only the necessary details are transmitted. This is also one of the core principals around the U.S. government’s National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace. Regarding ID’s Gina Jordan spoke with Clement about the project.

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The Ministry of Public Security in China announced the country will start to issue a new type of passport bearing an electronic chip containing the holder’s personal information, according to the China Daily.

China will make the new digital passports available from May 15, and will look similar to traditional ones with the addition of the electronic chip. The chip itself will contain information such as the person’s name, date of birth, photo, and fingerprints.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

In an effort to promote efficiencies and reduce paperwork costs, three leading identity trust hubs and a certification authority have signed an agreement to promote the use of digital identities and public key infrastructure (PKI) for employees in both the private and public sectors.

The three trust hubs serve various facets of government and industry. The Federal PKI Architecture, a unit of the U.S. Government Services Administration, serves federal agencies. CertiPath serves various industries, including aerospace and defense. SAFE-BioPharma serves the global biopharmaceutical and health care sectors. Research and Education Bridge Certification Authority, targeted toward the education and research sectors, also signed the agreement. The four are also members of the Four Bridges Forum.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Parents in the capital city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, can now keep tabs on their children’s academic records with the swipe of their Emirates ID card.

A smart card reader installed by the Abu Dhabi Education Council at both state schools and private schools that follow the national curriculum enables parents to access a database of their children’s academic history, attendance record, test scores and medical records. They can also track their children’s school assignments and check on holiday dates from home.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Gemalto announced that it has been awarded a multi-year contract from the UK’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to supply 40 to 80 million secure Sealys documents for a variety of official permits. These include digital tachograph cards, the next generation of polycarbonate driver’s licenses, and biometric residence permits, in a multi-year contract.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will begin deploying the products in 2013 using Gemalto’s EU-compliant Sealys polycarbonate portfolio of secure documents, fitted with security features such as Sealys Edge Sealer, a feature comprising a laser engraving process applied during the production stage to the edge of the polycarbonate document, adding an additional layer of security.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Kuwait’s Public Authority for Civil Information (PAIC) will be phasing out identity cards for foreigners working in the country’s public service sector in favor of smart cards, reports the Gulf News.

The PAIC plans on replacing all identity cards with smart cards, and it will phase them in as expats’ identity cards expire.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

The April 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. Click on the link below to access a list of audio and accompanying PowerPoint slides (in pdf format).

Visit FIPS201.com to hear the presentations and view the slides.  

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Resolute Health, based in New Braunfels, Texas, has launched a health security smart card to facilitate patient registration.

Resolute contracted with LifeMed ID to implement the SecureReg Patient Identity Management System. With the Resolute Health BeneFIT smart card, a patient can check into either the Resolute Health Center for Wellbeing or the Resolute Health Family Urgent Care Center and be accurately identified.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

HID Global has been selected to deliver the company’s network access control solutions and contactless readers at the Fuxi power plant in China’s Sichuan province.

HID Global’s VertX V2000 network access controllers, iCLASS R10 contactless readers and Genuine HID credentials were installed at the Fuxi facility, enabling administrators to restrict staff access levels and entry times based on job titles and critical entry zones, such as the main production plant, engine room, central station and chemical waste areas.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

The South Africa Department of Home Affairs announced a new plan for its smart card-based national identity system that will eventually replace the current civic and immigration systems, according to Business Day.

The national ID cards will replace the country’s green ID book, which is easy to counterfeit and tamper with. Each smart card will contain an embedded chip that will store citizens’ vital information, including biometric data - all of which can be scanned and verified by government card readers.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Key Source International announced GSA approval for it’s biometric keyboard and stand-alone biometric pod. KSI products are approved under FIPS 201 for Federal Employees and civilian contractors.

The KSI-1700/GFFB biometric keyboard and the KSI-1008F biometric pod meet these requirements for FIPS 201. Marktron of Frederick, Md., whose primary focus is on OEM’s, systems integrators and military/government agencies, represents KSI in the federal market.  

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Samsung is looking to use NFC-enabled mobile access credentials in place of ID cards for workers at its Suwon, South Korea offices.

According to The Verge, the new system would enable Samsung employees to tap their phones against a reader to access their building and other secure areas, rather than present a traditional ID card.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has produced 75 million electronic passports at its secure production facilities in Washington, D.C. and Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

The electronic, or e-passport program, launched in 2005 and includes an integrated, secure chip and antenna incorporating numerous security features. GPO and the Department of State developed the U.S. e-passport in response to the requirements for Visa Waiver Program countries in the 2002 Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

The U.S. Army has decided to extend it smart card pilot program for Army spouses and retirees. The pilot, which began in October 2011, now runs through September.

The smart card pilot is seen as an alternative means of identification to a username and password for logging into many Army and Department of Defense Web sites that contain personally identifiable information.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

In the wake of information leaks to Web sites like WikiLeaks, the Department of Defense is instituting a PKI hardware-based authentication system on its classified network, the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet). To that end, it’s evaluating a new smart card for use as a hardware token.

Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana is conducting the evaluation, in conjunction with Air Force Global Strike Command and members from select units and combatant commands, as the DoD’s SIPRNet hardware token Initial Operational Test and Evaluation.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Thursby Software Systems, Inc. has released the PKard Reader, a touch Web browser solution for the iOS that includes secure authentication to a personal smart card.

With the PKard Reader, users can access a Web portal, collaboration sites and e-mail through either an iPad or an iPhone. A combination plug-in card reader and two-factor authentication app provide a secure user experience. The card reader accepts industry standard CAC, PIV, PIV-I and CIV smart cards and supports many industry and U.S. government standards, including ISO 7816, EMV level 1, NIST IR 6887, FCC class B part 15, CE, RoS, HSPD-12, FIPS 140-2 and FIPS 201.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

GD Burti, the Brazilian subsidiary of Giesecke & Devrient, has met the security requirements to issue Brazilian eID cards.

The high-security Registry of Civil Identity cards have been granted certification by Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia da Informação, Brazil’s IT authority. GD Burti has delivered more than one million cards as part of an initial pilot project. RIC cards store biometric data and will make it easier for Brazilian nationals to visit other Mercosur treaty states.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

The Kantara Initiative announced that Electrosoft is the latest Kantara-Accredited Assessor able to perform Kantara Service Assessments at Assurance Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4. The certification provides a way for relying parties to understand the trustworthiness of electronic identity credentials issued at commonly agreed levels of assurance. Electrosoft is an IT service provider.

The identity assurance framework specifies the verification and proofing checks that credential service providers carry out on entities, the way that providers run their services and how the organizations are assessed by accredited assessors to verify they are operating their services in conformance with their proclaimed levels of assurance and the stated terms of service.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

As more data leaves the enterprise strong identity lags

In addition to convenience, cloud computing is touted for its money saving capabilities as companies reduce software licensing costs and hardware requirements.

Identity management in the cloud isn’t as cut and dry. Standards are emerging to manage identities in the cloud but, until now, it hasn’t been a priority. The auditing and provisioning capabilities that are typical with enterprise-based ID management systems are tough to come by with cloud-based systems. “ID management is the biggest weakness we have right now,” says Tony Busseri, CEO at Route1, a digital security and ID management provider. “People have rushed to embrace a technology that’s great in concept, but they have ignored the ID management.”

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Swiss-based Trüb Group, a supplier of payment cards and national identity documents, has released the third generation of its CombOS DDA for EMV compliant smart card products.

New specs from MasterCard, M/Chip Advance and Visa, VSDC v1.5.3 drove the creation of this version of the OS, and it features increased payment transaction speed and other new functionalities. An additional feature is its improved security, due to the integration of the new Infineon SLE78 chip with Integrity Guard. It also has complete backward compatibility with M/Chip 2 and M/Chip 4.

This new version will be on the market starting in July.  

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

HID Global announced the company’s mobile access strategy briefing at ISC West 2012 is available for viewing online. During the event, HID and its parent company ASSA ABLOY examined the growing market opportunities as access control goes mobile to deliver new ways for the industry to create, use and manage secure identity.

In addition to discussing how ASSA ABLOY, HID Global and their partners are helping take NFC-enabled mobile access into new markets and applications, the two companies also conducted live demonstrations of NFC smart phones being used to open doors and access computers in a variety of emerging applications.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

The Boeing Company has said it plans to develop its own smart phone this year, writes Redorbit.com.

The Android phone is expected to have high-security features including encryption, biometrics and physical locks that make it ideal for military and government use in defense and intelligence. Boeing believes the phone could be targeted toward commercial users as well.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

HID Global has received a follow-on order for the manufacture and supply of U.S. government Permanent Resident Cards, also known as “Green Cards,” issued to all legal foreign residents of the United States under the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) border security program.

More than three million multi-technology HID Global eID cards have been issued as Green Cards, in addition to more than 30 million of the company’s first-generation Green Cards that have been issued since 1997.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

While the Jakarta Population and Civil Registry Office had planned to register all of the city’s citizens in its e-ID program by the end of April, it has moved that deadline for a second time due to people still waiting for their identification cards, reports the Jakarta Globe.

The Population and Civil Registry Office has pushed the deadline to October in order to accommodate those who moved to the city over a year ago but hadn’t yet registered as residents. Those people must provide a letter of authentication from heads of neighborhoods and urban ward units along with their registration application.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Policy, technology, and business case remain hypothetical

Be it Android, Apple, tablet or smart phone … mobile devices are everywhere, and users want to do everything on them that they do on their desktop. As the functionality increases so do the threats to the information stored on and accessed by the devices. The same dangers that plague the desktop world are exacerbated in the mobile world.

Mobile brings convenience, access and portability with a low cost of entry, but it creates a “perfect storm” of risk, explains Juan Duque, principal in the Federal Enterprise Technology Risk Services at Deloitte. “It can be the same risk you see in the non-mobile environment but it can go even deeper,” he says. “The risk universe is expanded.” some aspect of near field communication for identity. The U.S. government is looking at how the communications protocol can be used in connection with PIV and PIV-I credentials, and the enterprise sees it as a solution for converged physical and logical access control.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

The University of Toronto’s Prop-ID research team has developed a new mobile app designed to help users maintain control of their personal information as they make mobile transactions, according to Global Montreal.

The team’s “ID wallet” app functions in a similar fashion to Google Wallet, only instead of containing payment and loyalty cards, its stores only ID information. Here’s how it works:

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

With many national governments and businesses such as airports and hotels moving toward e-passports and biometric identification, CIA agents and other country covert ops may have problems moving around the world under assumed identities, reports Gizmodo.

Before 9/11, undercover agents could easily use multiple false passports when moving around a foreign country. Today, with the introduction of biometrics, if an agent has to undergo biometric scans upon entry of a foreign country, he is tied to the the identity on the passport.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Thursby Software Systems Inc. has released ADmitMac PKI v4, the fourth generation of its two-factor security software for the Mac OS. This version supports OS X Lion and Snow Leopard.

ADmitMac PKI v4 is targeted toward government agencies and corporations that use Common Access Cards, PIV or other smart identification cards to enable direct connectivity to a Microsoft Windows-based infrastructure.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has opted to consolidate its multiple enrollment and registration programs into one Universal Enrollment Service. It has granted MorphoTrust USA a five-year, $248 million contract for the enrollment services.

The system incorporates facial and fingerprint biometric readings and biographic data to check individuals’ backgrounds before allowing access to critical segments of the country’s transportation system, infrastructure or sensitive materials.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

NIST not releasing names

Twenty-seven finalists for grants that would pilot portions of the identity ecosystem for the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace have been notified.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, however, is leaving it to the finalists to decide whether they want to announce their status, says Jeremy Grant, NIST’s senior executive adviser for identity management. NIST is precluded from publicly releasing the names of the finalists due to the rules associated with a formal Federal Funding Opportunity.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Datacard Group, which issues secure ID and card personalization solutions, has rolled out a multi-card buffer module for its MX2000 card issuance system. The main purpose of the new module is to hold cards in order to maintain data order when a reject occurs.

The module will help card issuers reduce costs due to rejected cards by rejecting only the bad card and holding any accompanying cards until a new card can be made. The module can also maintain throughput by holding cards in the buffer until downstream processes are ready, which allows the system time to process the data.  

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Will the U.S. see additional apps with high-security cards?

It’s finally on the horizon: EMV chip cards are coming to the United States. EMV will give broader security against fraud than a traditional magnetic stripe, but it also opens the door to additional applications that could make the card a multi-purpose tool. Will U.S. issuers take advantage of EMV’s full range of capabilities beyond payment?

Because the EMV card is essentially a small computer, it’s capable of doing much more than payments. The chip itself is the equivalent of an IBM PC XT from the 1980s, explains Philippe Benitez, Gemalto’s vice president of marketing for Secure Transactions, North America. “The processor has the same amount of power as an old PC,� says Benitez.This means the chip has the capacity to enable other applications along side its secure payment functions.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

UAE-based teleco Etisalat has signed a memorandum of understanding with Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) to develop a program that would enable Emirates ID card data to be identified and transferred using NFC-enabled mobile phones.

According to the memo, the partners will undertake a pilot program for several months in which participants would use a digital version of their national ID card on an NFC-enabled mobile phone. Pending a successful pilot, the partners would then open up the service to all nationals and expatriates in the UAE.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Suprema announced the release of FaceStation, a face recognition access control terminal with patented adaptive IR illumination technology.

FaceStation is an IP-based biometric access control terminal featuring facial recognition technology which identifies individuals from their facial image features. Conventional face recognition technology contains potential weak points brought by lighting and pose variation. FaceStation’s face recognition technology claims to overcome those issues with its algorithm and its IR illumination technology.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

Union National Bank (UNB), one of the United Arab Emrite’s banks, partnered with Gemalto to introduce the Optelio payment cards for its EMV migration. The bank is converting its entire portfolio of debit and credit cards to Dynamic Data Authentication smart cards.

UNB has switched to smart card technology and selected the dynamic security feature, which aims to reduce fraud by detecting counterfeit and duplicate cards. The new payment card protects cardholders against unauthorized use of their UNB cards.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

UL, previously known as Underwriters’ Laboroatory, announced the acquisition of Collis, a provider of secure transaction technology and advisory services based in Leiden, Netherlands.

The addition positions UL as a global provider of transaction security, interoperability and conformance evaluation and advisory services for the mobile, payment card, eTicketing and ID management sectors. Collis develops and tests secure transaction technology for banks, governments, mobile network operators and public transport companies.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

3M Security Systems introduced the 3M CR100/CR100M Document Readers, which give users the ability to read MRZ data from passports, IDs and other Machine Readable Travel Documents, as well as three-track magnetic stripe cards.

The readers enable fast data capture for airlines, airports and others in the transportation industry. McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas has deployed the CR100M document reader. McCarran will equip check-in desks at its new Terminal 3, scheduled to open in June, with the readers, providing airline employees with a tool to capture traveler data. With passenger volumes topping 41 million people in 2011, efficiency is a key priority for McCarran.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…

IdentiSys Inc., an Eden Prairie, Minn.-based sales and service integrator of ID cards and access control security systems, has acquired Capital Card Systems Inc., a Rockville, Md. ID reseller. The purchase represents an expansion for IdentiSys into the Washington D.C. and Baltimore metro areas.

Capital Card Systems provides identification technology solutions including digital photo IDs, embossed card personalization, loyalty or membership cards, smart card/biometric applications and patient identification solutions to the corporate, government, health care, education, membership and loyalty, first responder and emergency management markets.

Read the full article at SecureIDNews…