Iceland is one of the first European countries to integrate facial and fingerprint technology

BILLERICA, Mass.,BOCHUM (Germany)-Viisage announced that the Ministry of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs of Iceland has selected Viisage identity solutions to gather the multi-biometric data required to issue new electronic passports for its citizens. Iceland is one of the first countries to integrate finger and face biometrics into their ePassports, made possible with identity technology from Viisage. The company’s technology will be used to gather ICAO/ISO-compliant biometric data (face, fingerprint, and signature) on Iceland citizens applying for electronic passports at all civil registration offices throughout the country.

“Iceland is taking a holistic view in adopting biometric technology to manage the identity of its citizens,” said Thorsteinn Helgi Steinarsson of Asverk Consulting, consultant to the Ministry of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs in Iceland. “Our aim is to provide added level of service and security in the whole sphere of identity verification, starting at the enrollment site and with biometric passports. Viisage enrollment systems provide one of the basic foundations on which we build our solutions.”

Iceland is one of the first countries in Europe to gather live biometric data, instead of paper-based images. This ensures higher quality and consistency of the information to be stored on the passport chip and offers the most accurate level of verification and validation of a personal identity in border crossing scenarios.

Viisage will provide all Icelandic civil registration offices with a comprehensive, front-end data registration solution that includes hardware and software. In addition, the Viisage ISO ImageCAM camera sensors are specifically designed for ISO-compliant data capturing and image quality checks.

“More and more domestic and international governments and agencies are embracing biometric technologies as a means to better secure and protect the identities of their citizens and to better manage their borders,” said Hartmuth von Maltzahn, managing director of EMEA, Viisage. “Viisage technology is behind more than 165 million secure identification credentials worldwide today and we see this number growing exponentially as governments seek improved methods for verifying and validating identities.”

The new system is expected to go live in Iceland in May 2006.

About Viisage Viisage delivers advanced technology identity solutions for governments, law enforcement agencies and businesses concerned with enhancing security, reducing identity theft, and protecting personal privacy. Viisage solutions include secure credentials such as passports and drivers’ licenses, biometric technologies for uniquely linking individuals to those credentials, and credential authentication technologies to ensure the documents are valid before individuals are allowed to cross borders, gain access to finances, or granted other privileges. With over 3,000 installations worldwide, Viisage’s identity solutions stand out as a result of the Company’s industry-leading technology and unique understanding of customer needs. Viisage’s product suite includes IdentityTOOLS SDK, Viisage PROOF, FaceEXPLORER, iA-thenticate, ID-GUARD, BorderGuard, PIER, HIIDE, AutoTest, FacePASS and FaceFINDER.