Tuesday April 11, 11:14 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Smart Cards Invade the U.S., But are They Secure?
Veronique Wittebolle, Expert On Security in Smart Cards, is Available to Speak On the Subject
WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 2000--Smart cards have already taken hold in Europe and Asia and are beginning to establish a presence in the United States too. According to the research firm Brittain Associates Inc., more than one million American Express Blue cards have already been put into circulation and American Express plans on meeting its goal of issuing two million Blue cards by the end of the year. In addition to having a magnetic strip, Blue has an embedded chip that stores a unique digital certificate that helps identify the cardmember when shopping online. These so-called ``smart cards' make huge promises, but can they deliver?
Banking, electronic commerce, telecommunications and credit card industries are clamoring to incorporate smart cards into their current systems. However, additional information needs to be added to the embedded chips to make smart card transactions more secure, protecting individuals who have lost their cards or have had them stolen. Currently, the American Express Blue card and other smart card solutions only rely on what a cardholder has (a card) and knows (password or PIN) to identify them.
Through the use of biometrics, credit cards companies are expected to introduce several identification techniques based on unique features of the individual cardholder. Fingerprints, voice verification, face recognition, iris recognition and hand geometry are examples of biometrics. These features are unique to an individual and cannot be duplicated by an impostor, as can PINs and passwords. For smart card applications such e-commerce and calling cards, where fraud constitutes a significant problem, biometric technology can be used in combination with a card and/or a PIN for more security.
ProtonWorld, the industry leader in the development of multi-application smart card solutions, formed by several major smart card players, including American Express and Visa International, has taken the first step in integrating biometrics into smart cards. ProtonWorld recently formed an alliance with Massachusetts-based Keyware Technologies to develop the first example of biometric cardholder verification. Through this partnership, ProtonWorld is including Keyware's LBV Layered Biometric Verification© (face, finger and voice verification) in smart cards to make e-commerce, store purchases, ATM transactions and phone calling cards more secure for the major smart card companies and their customers.
Biometric technology embedded onto a smart card allows people to store bio prints on their own smart card, eliminating the need for massive databases to store bio information and making it virtually impossible for an imposter to use the card. After all the chances of a card owner's bio prints matching the bio prints or a burglar are 0%.
If you would like to talk to Ms. Veronique Wittebolle about the role of biometric technology in securing smart cards, please contact Peter Gorman of Schwartz Communications at (781) 684-0770.
About Keyware Technologies
Founded in 1996, Keyware Technologies is a pioneer in biometric technology, software that verifies an individual's identity through the cross-reference of personal characteristics such as voice, face and fingerprints. Headquartered Woburn, Mass., Keyware is the world's leading provider of intelligent biometric solutions for real-world business applications. The solutions optimize security and convenience for physical locations, e-commerce, network and telecommunications applications. Keyware's award-winning technology is sold globally through an extended network of OEMs, system integrators and VARs. For more information, please visit Keyware's Website at www.keyware.com.
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Contact:
Schwartz Communications
Peter Gorman
781-684-0770 |
