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Utimaco Safeware Wins Order for over 2.5 Million Euros for Biometrics Security Project in Worlds largest Biometrics Deployment

Announcement posted by ComSecent Enterprises 11 Dec 2001

The Australian distributor of Utimaco Safeware today announced the vendor has secured an order of over 2.5 Million Euros to undertake a biometrics-based security project for the Judicial Organisation of the Ministry of Justice in the Netherlands, in what will be the largest deployment of biometric technology yet undertaken anywhere in the world.

Mr. Peter Lee of Brisbane based ComSecent Enterprises, (www.comsecent.com.au) today outlined the project as involving deployment of Utimaco Safeware's SafeGuard Biometrics technology on 12,500 workstations for activating user authentication, e-mail security, digital signatures and encryption functions.

This vendor deal represents the largest installation of fingerprint biometrics for IT-Security in the world to date, as well as the largest order of Utimaco Safeware's biometrics solution. The SafeGuard Biometrics solution was chosen because it supports the use of fingerprints for smartcard access in place of more commonly used passwords and PINs. In addition to enabling secure user authentication, it also provides Single Sign On (SSO), as well as bringing to market the first integration of biometrics technology into complex IT security applications, said Mr. Lee.


SafeGuard Biometrics' unique architecture supports the use of biometrics-powered smartcards within standard applications such as Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office, allowing users to employ digital signatures and perform data encryption within these programs.

In addition to supplying biometrics technology, end-to-end solutions provider Utimaco will also deliver complete security for all 12,500 desktops within this project, which includes providing certificate-based user authentication, digital signatures and powerful encryption of e-mail and data. The Judicial

Organisation of the Netherlands Ministry of Justice will base all of its security applications upon Utimaco Safeware's Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), SafeGuard PKI, in combination with MaxWare's
Directory Server.

The imminent biometrics implementation within the Ministry of Justice has largely been driven by the need to carry out highly secure electronic communications on a regular basis. Biometrics technology answers this need, providing a unique means of binding a digital signature to a user. While PINs and passwords can easily be passed on to another person for fraudulent use of digital signatures, this is not the case with fingerprints. Likewise, the decryption of sensitive documents can only be performed by authorized users.

Utimaco Safeware's biometrics solution was selected above competitive offerings because it is more advanced than current technologies on the market. SafeGuard Biometrics employs a Match-On-Card (MOC) mechanism that enables the direct verification of a fingerprint on the smart card itself, thus eliminating the need for fingerprint templates to be centrally stored and managed, therefore potentially open to risk. The secure storage of fingerprints on the smart card itself provides the user with absolute control over their security functions.

"The unique identification of users is fast becoming increasingly important in the digital world", says Dr. Norbert Pohlmann, Member of the Board of Utimaco Safeware AG. "We are proud to be delivering a comprehensive solution based on SafeGuard products to the Netherlands Ministry of Justice - one that meets their high specifications for security, flexibility and user-friendliness. "

Market experts predict high growth rates for security systems based on Biometrics. IDC estimates that the market for biometrics solutions will reach $1.8 billion by 2004, with an average yearly growth rate of over 60 per cent.