Accenture will be part of the Lockheed Martin team working on the FBI’s Next Generation Identification program, the company announced. Accenture has experience developing biometric identification systems for different governments, including its work for the US-VISIT program and its MiSense pilot at Heathrow Airport.

The NGI will replace the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which uses fingerprint recognition exclusively, as the FBI’s primary biometric identification tool. NGI will feature a multi-modal system that incorporates not only fingerprint recognition but also newer biometric technologies such as facial recognition, iris scans and palm prints.  

UPEK launched the TCS5 TouchStrip Fingerprint Sensor, a new module designed to be integrated into 2009 notebook PC models. The TCS5 is designed to deliver durability, size and price that bring fingerprint sensors into the mainstream market.

The TCS5 showcases UPEK´s new SteelCoat sensor coating that delivers durability. The thick SteelCoat sensor coating is made possible by UPEK´s HD3D (High Definition 3 Dimensional) sensing technology that penetrates thick surfaces to read the “live layer” of the skin. HD3D sensing technology, the same technology behind FIPS 201 and FBI certified silicon fingerprint sensor, reads virtually all fingerprints in all conditions to ensure that authorized and unauthorized individuals are recognized reliably. 

Credicorp Bank in Panama City, Panama had deployed biometrics from US Biometrics to authenticate the identities of both employees and customers.

Naperville, Ill.-based US Biometrics is providing a number of products to the bank including:

• MemberQ - uses biometrics to protect the identities of the bank’s customers.
• VaultQ - in lieu of signature verification, safe deposit box customers are identified using a biometric.
• AccessQ - a secure method for granting access to a specific area such as a room or vault.
• CentralQ - enables the encrypted storage of credentials including biometric tokens, names, addresses and other customer information.
• CentralQ Reporting - enables administrators to view and report who accessed which resources at specific times.

Precise Biometrics has received an order for hardware worth 2.3 million Swedish Krona for a Match-on-Card project. The order is a follow-up from an existing customer in the Middle East and part of a larger order made up of hardware and Precise Match-on-Card licenses.

The order consists of Precise 200 MC, a combined fingerprint and smart card reader that will be used in a government ID card project together with the Precise Match-on-Card technology. Match-on-Card is the concept of both storing and matching fingerprints in the secure environment of a smart card. 

New York is going to start issuing Enhanced Driver’s Licenses (EDL) with the approval of the Department of Homeland Security. The new license is being developed by the State Department of Motor Vehicles and is anticipated to be available by the end of the summer. Participation in the EDL project will be voluntary and open to all New York State residents who are United States citizens. The secure document can be used in place of a passport, which will soon be required for all border crossings by next summer. 

Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport will test the Clear card registered traveler program, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Details on the deployment of the program were not made available, but the airport plans to test the system before full implementation. Airport officials want to make sure the Clear lanes don’t slow down the security process for other travelers. 

Security Printing and Systems, a Manchester-based subsidiary of 3M, will print the biometric identification cards for the government, according to reports in Printweek. 3M bought the company two-years ago, which also produces the UK’s biometric passports.

The first of the biometric cards will be issued in late 2009 to people employed in areas where identity needs to be confirmed, such as airport staff working airside. After 2010 the cards will be available on a voluntary basis to young people and other British citizens will be enrolled in the years following that.

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