CryptoMetrics Applauds ICAO for Standardizing Passports Worldwide
TUCKAHOE, NY, August 9, 2005 -
CryptoMetrics, a leading global provider of facial recognition and fingerprint biometric solutions to the government and commercial markets, today recognized the important work of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in announcing that all member nations have agreed to issue their passports according to a common standard, an action that will clear the way for nations to fully accelerate their conversion over to issuing the new biometric passport.
On July 11, 2005, ICAO formally adopted the machine readable passport specifications, developed collaboratively by it and the International Standards Organization (ISO), as the worldwide standard for Passports. The formal adoption also embraces the specifications governing issuance of the new high security, biometric-enabled version of the standardized Passport or "ePassport" as it has become known. In adopting the specifications as the worldwide standard, all 188 member countries of ICAO have agreed to issue their passports including the new ePassport version in conformance with the Standard by no later than April 1, 2010 – although several more immediate deadlines will result in over 40 countries implementing the ePassport before the end of October 2006. It is estimated that 150 countries now issue their Passports following the ICAO Standard.
Joel Shaw, Chief Strategy Officer for CryptoMetrics, stated, “The announcement by ICAO clears the way for nations to move aggressively to issue the new ePassport. Prior to ICAO’s formal announcement, confusion existed among some countries, causing them to move cautiously in making investments in strengthening their Passports and thus border controls. The ICAO announcement now removes any confusion and makes perfectly clear to all countries and their passport issuing authorities what the international standard is and how it will be measured.”
Mr. Shaw, who serves as the Convenor of the International Standards Organization (ISO) Working Group assigned to work with ICAO to create International Standards for travel documents, actively participated in and contributed to this important effort. He further commented, “The key now is for nations to move quickly to commence the implementation process and get the systems in place so they can be tested and perfected in time to meet the rapidly approaching deadlines. It is a big task, but an achievable one and one that will make international travel more efficient and more secure.”
In 1968 ICAO was charged with the responsibility of defining the specifications and eventual worldwide Standard for Passports. It has since, working with ISO, expanded that mandate to embrace all forms of official travel documents - passports, visas and official documents of identity. Although the ICAO deadline for compliance is 2010, independent initiatives by various countries and regions mean that much of the world will have their new ePassport in place next year. Specifically:
- The European Union has mandated that all 25 member states have fully-compliant ePassports containing a facial biometric in place by the end of August 2006;
- The United States has mandated that all 27 Visa-waiver nations (those countries whose citizens can travel to the United States without a U.S. visa) issue an ePassport compliant with the ICAO Standard by 26 October 2006; and
- The United States is in the process of testing ePassports for its citizens and expects to begin issuing them in 2006.
Known as the “ICAO Blueprint”, the ePassport specifications mandate:
- Face as the primary, mandatory biometric; with iris or fingerprint as optional, secondary biometrics;
- A contactless, integrated circuit chip incorporated into the ePassport as the storage medium;
- A globally interoperable logical data structure for programming the chip; and
- A modified public key infrastructure (PKI) scheme to secure the data recorded in the chip.
The implementation of the ICAO Standard is designed to “minimize delays in border crossing formalities and to safeguard international civil aviation operation against acts of unlawful interference,” according to Dr. Assad Kotaite, President of the Council of ICAO.
About CryptoMetrics
Established in 2000, CryptoMetrics is a leading security solution provider, building and integrating secure trustworthy systems using the most advanced technology in cryptography and biometrics to protect computerized systems and information assets. Its wholly owned subsidiary, BioDentity, provides internationally standardized face biometric solutions to secure national borders and protect the traveling public; as well as secure physical points of access to commercial and government facilities, plants, campuses and critical infrastructure.
