National IDs

[Moses]

India

Govt to implement national ID card scheme

New Delhi, May 4: The government proposes to implement the multi-purpose National Identity Card Scheme in the entire country after results of pilot projects are available, Home Minister Shivraj Patil told the Rajya Sabha today.

The entire expenditure to implement the pilot project is being borne by the Centre, he said, adding that the results of the pilot project conducted in this regard will be available shortly.

"No agency has so far been selected and awarded the task of production and personalisation of identity cards", the Minister stated in a written reply.

Patil said the voters' identity card issued by the Election Commission is not a universal system of identification. Therefore, the government proposes to issue the multi-purpose national identity card, which, apart from providing a credible individual identification system, would also have the potential to be used for multifarious purposes, he added. (Agencies)


 <br>Published: Wednesday, May 04, 2005

[Moses]

The Phillipines

Monday, April 25, 2005
Mayors support national ID system
By Raquel C. Bagnol
THE Mayors' League of the Philippines supports the implementation of the national ID system, as this is the best way to make transactions for Filipinos easier.

Surigao City Mayor Alfonso Cassura, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas and Oroquieta City Mayor Jorge Almonte were one in supporting the system and said that there is nothing wrong with the system.

"Once implemented, Filipinos will possess only one ID card in lieu of all the ID cards we carry and that will be convenient for all of us," Cassura said.

Earlier, North Cotabato Governor Manny Piñol said the Governor's League of the Philippines endorsed the implementation of the national ID system.

"The governors came up with a unanimous decision to endorse the national ID system to once and for all eliminate the multiple IDs we carry for various transactions and make things easier for us," Piñol said, adding that this is a positive move for the country.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently signed the executive order for the implementation of the national identification (ID) system in the country.

The government believes that a national ID system will help in its campaign against terrorism as well as in fast-tracking government transactions.

[Moses]

Thailand

Press Release Source: Precise Biometrics AB

Breakthrough Order for Precise Biometrics as Thailand Introduces National ID-Cards with Biometric Technology
Wednesday April 13, 3:27 am ET

LUND, Sweden, April 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Precise Biometrics AB (publ), a Swedish-based company that supplies world-leading, user-friendly biometric security systems based on fingerprints and smart cards, has received an order from Thai authorities to license Precise Match-on-Card(TM) technology in the initial phase of Thailand's new national ID card project. The order has been taken in collaboration with Smart Card Systems International Co. Ltd (SSI), the company's local integrator and service partner.

In the first phase of the project, being rolled out this year, an estimated 12 million ID cards will be delivered, each carrying Precise Match- on-Card(TM) technology, as well as 36,000 fingerprint scanners equipped with Precise BioCore® technology. For Precise Biometrics the order means approximately SEK 5 million in this first phase. During the coming three years, Thai authorities are planning to issue national ID cards with Precise Match-on-Card(TM) to each of Thailand's approximately 64 million citizens.

Prior to awarding the order, evaluations were made to compare Precise Match-on-Card(TM) with all competing Match-on-Card solutions, as well as other biometric alternatives using a server or PC for matching. Matching on card proved to be far superior in major ID card projects in terms of economy, personal integrity, security, scalability and reliability.

Precise Match-on-Card(TM) was the clear choice as the best product based on biometric performance and compatibility with leading smart cards. Another contributing factor was the fact that the solution is already available on the market, and is backed by documented performance.

"Precise Biometrics' products are well proven and reliable," notes Dr. Sangchai Apichatthanapath, the CEO at SSI. "This is essential for such a major and nation-wide project. The software integration has been perfectly smooth, and we're looking forward to a mutually successful project."

"Right from the start, our project has been ambitious, and the specifications for Match-on-Card biometry were very demanding," says Mr Suwitt Khunkitti, Thailand's Minister of Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). "Precise Biometrics and Precise Match-on-Card(TM) have fully met and even exceeded our expectations."

"The selection of Precise Biometrics is concrete proof of our leading position in the market of smart cards," claims Christer Bergman, President and CEO of Precise Biometrics. "Our Precise Match-on-Card(TM) technology is available to all leading smart card manufacturers and meets the very highest performance demands."

[Moses]

Italy

April 12, 2005 08:30 AM US Eastern Timezone

LaserCard Corporation Comments on Italian National ID Program Moving Into Full Implementation; Cards Contain LaserCard Corporation's Optical Memory Stripe [/size]

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 2005--The Parliament of Italy recently enacted a law mandating the issuance of optical memory cards as identity cards and residence permits. Under the legislation, no more paper residence permits and identity cards will be issued or renewed after January 1, 2006. Instead, the paper documents will be replaced by electronic residence permits and electronic identity cards. The law references prior government decrees which set forth standards for both the national ID card (Carta d'Identita Elettronica -- CIE), and the non-EU residence permit (Permesso di Soggiorno Elettronica -- PSE), as hybrid cards containing an optical memory stripe and an IC-chip with a microprocessor. The legislation also requires all communities to connect with national personal data registries and to draft security plans by October 2005.

Richard Haddock, CEO of LaserCard Corporation (Nasdaq:LCRD), whose optical memory card has been the platform for the experimental phases of the CIE program, said today that the Company is very encouraged by this development.

"We are pleased to see that the Italian government has committed to moving ahead with the CIE and PSE programs. To date, the experimental phase of the CIE program has been voluntary on the part of citizens, and limited to a relatively small number of cities," said Mr. Haddock. "This milestone legislation should result in the issuance of as many as 40 million CIE cards, one to each Italian adult citizen, over about five years and is mandated to start in January 2006. The card has a five-year validity period, so ongoing orders should follow annually thereafter. At this point the timing and amount of any new orders remains unclear." Through December, 2004, the Company has delivered about 2.3 million cards and about 250 secure card encoders for the experimental phases of the CIE program.

The PSE resident permit card, whose design and layout has been approved for use in compliance with a European Union directive, will be issued to legal foreign residents of Italy who are non-EU citizens. Under existing Italian government decrees, the PSE will follow the same hybrid optical/IC chip card technology specification as the CIE. The PSE program is expected to consume up to an additional one million cards per year when fully implemented based on current estimates.

Note to editors: For a third-party English translation of relevant sections of the law as it appeared in the April 1, 2005 edition of the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, please go to www.lasercard.com and click on links found under "Customer Success/Italy;" a third-party English translation of the Ministry of Interior Decree for the CIE card specification can be similarly found. The translations are provided for informational use only, and may contain translation errors. The original official text in Italian should be solely relied upon for content accuracy.

[Moses]

Taiwan

Plans to renew national ID cards sparks controversy (Updated 12:54 A.M.)
2005/4/19
The China Post staff
Plans to renew all national ID cards starting Jul.1 sparked controversy as the public claimed the strict photograph requirements are inconvenient and unfair to the public.

Minister of the Interior Su Chia-chuan yesterday reassured the public that alternative plans are under discussion and will be announced soon. Su promised that the ministry will take steps to ensure the most economic procedure for the public.

Su pointed out that the ministry has urged the photography union to make sure that photographers will not hike up the prices prior to the renewal of the national ID cards. Also, the ministry is taking into consideration whether to invite the photographers into the household registry offices and help with the progress.

The minister expressed that convenience to the public it the number one priority of this procedure. Inviting photographer to take pictures at the household registry offices will grant the public a choice, he said.

He explained that if the people choose to take their pictures at the offices, they will not have to worry about photograph regulations because there will be staff workers there providing directions.

Su stated that the ID card renewal process will consider the convenience of the public, prevent photographers from hiking prices, protect the rights of photographers, and assist minorities and handicapped people.

The ministry required the public to turn in their pictures starting Jun.1. The fee for picture taking at the household registry offices will range from NT$100 to NT$150, Su added.

The pictures must be 4.5cm X 3.5cm and the applicants face must take up between 70 and 80 percent of the picture.

[Moses]

UAE

ID cards project set to roll
By a staff reporter
3 May 2005


ABU DHABI — A pilot project to issue national ID cards to nationals and expatriates will commence by end of next month, Dr Saeed Khalfan bin Rakan Al Dhahiri, Director-General, Emirates Identity Authority, said here yesterday.


Speaking to journalists after inauguration of the central operations centre of the authority at the General Directorate of Naturalisation and Residency yesterday, Dr Dhahiri said within the next eight weeks, a pilot project for the national ID card will commence, starting with employees of the ministries of interior and defence.

The centre will act as a conduit to coordinate the operations of the registration and service centres to be set up nationwide. Identity cards will be issued to all nationals and residents by the end of this year under a three-year comprehensive project. The ID card, which has been designed in accordance with international standards, can be used internationally and in the Gulf States, which had agreed to have machine-readable ID cards.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Col. Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi, Head of the IT Department at the Abu Dhabi Police Headquarters, Dr Eng. Ahmed Ebrahim Al Jarwan, General manager, Property Management, Etisalat, and a number of officials. Etisalat had redeveloped the centre to cope with the technology to be used in the project.

The opening of the centre will be followed by the inauguration of the first registration and service centre for the ID cards near the General Exhibitions Centre in Mushrif. A total of 14 registration centres will be set up across the country in the initial phase.

The Emirates Identity Authority is responsible for producing and issuing the National Identity Card (NIC) to all residents.

The authority is also responsible for registering national and expatriate residents before they are issued the card.

In May last year, the Ministry of Interior, responsible for planning the project, approved the design of the NIC. The ministry has signed a Dh194 million contract with a French IT company, SAGEM SA of France to provide the technology to implement the NIC project.

The company has provided the technology to design and produce smart cards, which will be the single most important identification document for every UAE resident.

The design of the smart card, according to Col. Raisi who is the head of the executing committee for the NIC project, has been finalised and the next phase will be the establishment of the service and registration centres nationwide.

The centres will register residents and issue the card for a fee, which is under revision. Hi-tech machines that make the smart card will be installed at all 28 centres. In the initial stage, there will be 14 registration centres — five in Abu Dhabi, one in each emirate and one in Al Ain.

[Moses]

Indonesia

Indonesia taps BIO-key for national fingerprint registration system
Wednesday, May 4 2005
The Government of Indonesia has chosen BIO-key to implement a fingerprint identification system for 230 million citizens. It is part of the country's national ID card program, and, when fully deployed, will comprise the largest fingerprint database in the world.

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World's Fourth Largest Country Chooses WEB-key for Its Highly Accurate Identification Technology Requirements to Ensure 'One Citizen, One ID'
WALL, N.J. -- BIO-key International, Inc., the leader in finger-based biometric identification and wireless public safety solutions, announced that its WEB-key(TM) fingerprint identification technology has been selected by the Government of Indonesia's Ministry of Home Affairs for its national Population Registration System.

When fully implemented, it is expected that more than 230 million individuals will be enrolled in the system, making it by far the largest fingerprint database in the world. The system will allow for very fast processing and authentication to guard against fraudulent duplicate enrollments as a prerequisite to issuing a National Identification Card. The device interoperable will also enable investigation and identification capability for civil and criminal applications.

Tom Colatosti, BIO-key's Chairman said, "Full deployment of this system will have four times as many enrollees as any biometric database in the world today. Moreover, it will be deployed at a fraction of the cost of much slower, less scalable, less accurate systems implemented with first-generation fingerprint technologies."
"The Ministry of Home Affairs is creating an innovative Population Information and Administration System (SIAK) under the guidance of the United Nations handbook for Population and Vital Registration. SIAK is a centralized N-Tier Mission Critical system built using cutting-edge Technology, and will be the Information Repository for Banks, Immigration, Tax, Health and other government departments. SIAK will protect the identities of all 230 million citizens of our country, issuing each a Unique Identity Number, preventing identity fraud and supporting future finger-only identification scenarios," said Mr. Wahyudi, WP, Director of Information and Population Administration.

"What we needed was a means to achieve real-time, automated positive ID using only one or two fingers, a web-based infrastructure and including handheld devices and an open-ended choice of fingerprint scanners. With the benefit of starting with a clean slate, we found that BIO-key's WEB-key platform uniquely allows us to achieve our goals, and at a small fraction of the cost of first generation solutions. BIO-key's WEB-key is an ultimate biometric solution for our Population Administration System."

In addition to its superior accuracy, WEB-key's advanced clustering architecture will allow the system to gracefully expand from initial deployment to the full scale rollout, simply by adding data center standard, commodity Linux servers to BIO-key's clusters. Industry standard open platforms such as Linux and Oracle can deliver dramatic savings over proprietary first generation systems. Additionally, the system will employ BIO-key's support for wireless PocketPC-based devices, allowing mobile collection of enrollment data, and supporting anytime, anywhere identification.
Mike DePasquale, BIO-key's CEO stated, "We are proud to have developed the world's most accurate and scalable fingerprint indexing technology and we continue to see strong demand for our solutions on a global basis. This application is representative of a new generation of real-time, live-scan ID systems being considered around the world. Indonesia's Ministry of Home Affairs has recognized that such systems demand a next-generation approach to fingerprint identification technology, and will lead the world in creating a new standard in large scale ID systems."

About BIO-key
BIO-key develops and delivers advanced identification solutions and information services to law enforcement departments, public safety agencies, government and private sector customers. BIO-key's mobile wireless technology provides first responders with critical, reliable, real-time data and images from local, state and national databases. BIO-key's high-performance, scalable, cost-effective and easy-to-deploy biometric finger identification technology accurately identifies and authenticates users of wireless and enterprise data to improve security, convenience and privacy and to reduce identity theft. Over 2,500 police, fire and emergency services departments in North America use BIO-key solutions, making BIO-key the leading supplier of mobile and wireless solutions for public safety worldwide. (www.bio-key.com)

[Moses]

EU:

Original URL: www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/28/hp_sis_ii_contract/
HP to build EU's biometric ID, terror database[/size]
By John Lettice (john.lettice at theregister.co.uk)
Published Thursday 28th April 2005 16:26 GMT

A consortium headed by Hewlett-Packard is to develop Europe's 'Big Brother' system for the European Commission. Along with Steria, Mummert in Germany and Primesphere in Luxembourg, HP is to produce a "high-quality technology model" for the second generation of the Schengen Information System (SIS) II and the Visa Information System (VIS) - Europe's Justice and Home Affairs Committee envisages these two systems replacing a border control system (SIS I) with a far more pervasive one of surveillance, controls and information exchange.

Although HP announced the signing of the contract today, the European Commission tells us (http://europa.eu.int/idabc/en/document/3424/350) the deal was actually struck late last year. We've no idea whether the latest version signifies some change in the contract, or merely that HP Belgium communicates with HP global via messages in bottles. Whatever...

HP's announcement doesn't mention Big Brother, but does follow a mention of the Schengen treaty's aim to "allow free movement of persons in Europe" with... "SIS II, will provide information on wanted persons as well as stolen vehicles, ID documents and banknotes through a database accessed by national police authorities of all participating member states. Once it is fully functional in 2007, SIS II will be much more flexible than the current system and will also be able to store photographic images and fingerprints. In addition, the infrastructure of the new system will make it easier to adapt to future EU requirements."

The storage of "images and fingerprints" relates to Justice and Home Affairs' plans for biometric passports, visas and residence permits, and for an EU standard for national ID cards. The EU has gone further than the basic ICAO and US requirement standard for biometric passports by including fingerprints, and also intends all visas to be biometric (which is where VIS comes in). Residence permits are also to be biometric, and with the ID card standard on the horizon, but not yet specified, the pan-European biometric ID system is taking shape.

Add in various other bits of data sharing (vehicle databases, no-travel lists and a "restricted access terrorist database") and access (various European and national police and security services), and you've got SIS II, which HP is designing so it can grow in accordance with Justice and Home Affairs imaginative "future EU requirements."

HP tells us the system will be fully functional in 2007, and reveals that the servers it will be supplying are the singularly inappropriately-named (they're going to the European Commission, for god's sake...) Integrity Superdome. Not an expression that springs automatically to mind at the mention of Brussels, surely... ®<br>
Related links:
HP announcement (http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2005/050428a.html)
Statewatch explains SIS II (http://www.statewatch.org/news/2002/apr/01sis.htm)
Statewatch on biometrics and EU here (http://www.statewatch.org/news/2005/jan/02update-visas-biometrics.htm) and here (http://www.statewatch.org/news/2003/sep/19eubiometric.htm)
Security and interop issues cause EU biometric passport delays (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/01/eu_bio_passport_delay/)
Finger, faceprints get green light for Europe's ID standard (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/10/03/finger_faceprints_get_green_light/)

© Copyright 2005

[Moses]

France:

French may have to buy compulsory biometric ID cards

Plan for compulsary ID card could go into effect in 2007
By Peter Sayer, IDG News Service
April 12, 2005

PARIS -- French citizens will have to pay for new identity cards that hold their biometric information in electronic format -- and carrying the cards will become compulsory, if the minister of the interior gets his way.



Last month, the government outlined its plan to replace the identity cards and passports offered to French citizens with new ones that carry a microchip containing digitized photographs and fingerprints. The plan is to introduce the passports in 2006, and the identity cards a year later.

Owning a national identity card ceased to be compulsory in 1955, but Minister of the Interior Dominique de Villepin wants to force the French to carry the cards again -- and this time, he wants to charge for them, he told the newspaper France Soir in an interview published Tuesday.

Evoking threats including organized crime, illegal immigration, identity theft and, inevitably, terrorism, De Villepin said the secure electronic national identity card is necessary to defend France's frontiers and citizens, according to the newspaper.

"For the system to be truly effective in terms of security, the identity card should become compulsory within a relatively short period of time, about five years," he said, according to the report. De Villepin's office confirmed his remarks.

Although French citizens must prove their identity to police or administration officials on request, they don't need a national identity card to do this today: they can present another official document such as a driving license or a passport (even expired), or call witnesses.

Since 1998, France has made no charge for national identity cards, while passports cost €60 ($78).

Issuing the electronic documents will cost €205 million a year, about €25 million more than the existing paper ones, De Villepin said, adding that he intends to pass on the increase in cost to citizens.

"The price of the passport will be increased a little. And there'll be a fee for the identity card: that's the price of security," De Villepin said.

The card proposed by the French government will contain several kinds of information, isolated into distinct blocks. One contains the information printed on the card, including name, date of birth, address, signature, photo and fingerprints, in an encrypted form accessible only to authorized officials. Another block will authenticate the card as genuine but contain no further information.

The new identity card will also hold a digital signature for signing official documents such as tax declarations or private correspondence, and even a private storage space in which cardholders can store other information of their own choosing.

There will be two ways to access the data on the card: Police and other authorities will be issued contactless card readers. The card, the size of a credit card, will slot into a reader attached to a PC or other terminal for applications such as electronic signature of documents.

Future versions of the card may also contain digitized iris prints, De Villepin told the newspaper.

France's European neighbors have implemented a patchwork of laws on the subject of electronic identity.

The Germans already pay for their compulsory paper identity cards, and there are plans to introduce an electronic version carrying fingerprint information. Belgium is in the process of issuing a compulsory electronic identity card to all citizens over the age of 12. The Belgian cards cost around €10 but contain no biometric information.

Finland issues electronic identity cards containing only the holder's name and some 1024-bit encryption keys in electronic format.[b/] The cards cost €40 and are valid for just three years because, authorities say, there's no way of telling whether 1024-bit encryption will be strong enough to withstand attacks over longer periods, as computer power is always increasing. The cards are also printed with a photo and other information, and are valid for travel to certain countries.

The U.K. has no national ID card. The government tried to create one, but failed to pass the necessary legislation before the end of the parliamentary session. It may reintroduce the bill if it wins the country's general election on May 5.

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