Identity, Security, Payments, Biometrics, Smart Cards and Authentication News

Thales wins part of UK ID contract

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Thales SA won a four-year, $36.6 million contract to design, build and test a system to issue the UK national identification cards, along with a computerized national identity register aimed at preventing fraud, according to news report from Bloomberg.

The cards will use fingerprint and iris biometrics to confirm the cardholder’s identity. The government plans to start issuing the cards to airport workers in 2009. Others will start receiving them when they apply for a passport in 2010.

The cards will be manufactured by 3M Co., which currently manufacturers Britain’s passports. Thales is one of five suppliers to bid for parts of the project. The others are Electronic Data Systems Corp., International Business Machines Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and Computer Sciences Corp.

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Accurate Biometric announced it has been awarded a contract from the FBI for its Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS).

The contract is a significant one for Accurate as it enables them to offer same-day FBI fingerprint submission services for criminal background checks to clients such as housing authorities, Indian reservations and banks.

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Suprema announced that its RealScan-G10 and RealScan-10 line of fingerprint scanners have received final certification from the Government of India’s Standardization Testing & Quality Certification (STQC) to be part of the country’s Unique ID (UID) project.

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Mexico’s Federal Tolling Authority - Caminos y Puentes Federales de Ingresos y Servicios Conexos (CAPUFE) - has awarded a contract to system integrator Axiompass to install a toll-free system for residents using Sirit RFID readers.

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded Accenture Federal Services a 13-month, $71 million contract to add biometric modalities and other enhancements to the US-VISIT program. US-VISIT uses digital fingerprints and photographs. A pilot program included in the contract will test facial and iris voluntary identification enrollment and matching.

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GTSI Corp, an information technology systems integrator, has announced that it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Defense that will see the company provide Army personnel with mobile biometric solutions enabling them to better identify persons of interest in the field.

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FIME is joining forces with Thales IT Security Evaluation Facility (ITSEF), a provider of information systems and secure communication in defense, security and transportation markets, to provide a new testing and certification service.

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