News and insight into biometric identification and authentication

Switzerland votes for biometric passports

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Switzerland’s voters have said the country can move forward with the creation of passports containing biometric information enabling the country to stay on the United States’ visa waiver program, according to news reports. Additionally, Switzerland’s recent joining of Europe’s control-free travel zone also requires an upgrade to biometric capabilities.


The legislation, however, was not without its opponents as it passed with a .2% margin in the vote. The vote itself became a reality when a number of Swiss politicians collected enough signatures to force the vote citing worries over the protection of data and the program being an invasion of a citizen’s right to privacy. According to the requirements behind control-free travel zone, Switzerland has until 2010 to comply with the biometrics system requirements.

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Italian citizens will be allowed to apply for their next generation passports at the end of this month (June 2010). The ePassports have embedded chips containing a digital facial image, a digital signature and two fingerprints. As only the police department is allowed to fingerprint citizens in Italy, the Italian government is also making year-long temporary passports available to those that are unable to get the necessary information for the new passports in time.  

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In a recent webinar hosted by transportation and defense industry consultant firm IHS Jane, experts weighed in on biometric usage specific to border control applications, what can be expected as a next step and what it means for travelers, according to a Transitional article.

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3M and Cogent Inc. announced that they have entered into a agreement for 3M’s acquisition of Cogent Inc. for approximately $943 million, or $10.50 per share.

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De La Rue Identity Systems announced that Malta’s upgraded e-passport system with Extended Access Control (EAC) capability has gone live. This new solution delivers a higher level of security and access control, in accordance with the EU regulation for all Schengen Member States, for the addition of a second biometric - two fingerprints - to the data already stored on the chip.

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Entrust Inc. has been selected to deploy its security solutions for Finland’s Population Register Centre. After implementing its Extended Access Control (EAC) e-passport solution more than two-years ago, Entrust has begun deployment of its Single Point of Contact (SPOC) infrastructure for e-passports.

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Airports in Barcelona and Madrid in Spain have installed self-service kiosks available for use by holders of Spanish citizen ID cards or European Community electronic passports, according to a Pro Security Zone article.

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