The News

UPEK Receives First FIPS 201 Certification for Silicon Fingerprint Sensors

16/10/2006

Breakthrough reductions in cost, size, and power consumption of silicon versus optical fingerprint devices enable large scale deployments of affordable government biometric ID verification applications

EMERYVILLE, CA – October 16, 2006 – UPEK®, Inc., the world’s leading brand of fingerprint authentication security solutions, today announced that its TouchChip® TCS1 Fingerprint Sensor has become the first and only silicon fingerprint sensor certified by and listed on the General Services Administration (GSA) Approved Products List (APL) for use in the Federal Information Processing Standard 201 (FIPS 201) and Personal Identity Verification (PIV) programs.  The TouchChip TCS1 is also the first silicon fingerprint sensor certified by the FBI to meet their demanding Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (IAFIS) image quality specifications for Single Finger Capture Devices. 

Obtaining these certifications was driven by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which mandates that fingerprint biometric ID credentials be issued to approximately 10 million U.S. federal employees and contractors, starting October 27, 2006.  FIPS 201 certified products are also likely to be deployed across other large scale US and international biometric ID credentialing programs such as First Responders, Transportation Workers, Biometric e-passports and other global initiatives over the next several years.
Delivering this next-generation of certified silicon fingerprint imaging technology represents a major advancement compared to older technology employed in today’s larger and more expensive optical devices.  Solutions based on UPEK’s silicon technology enable cost reductions of 50% or more, device size reductions of up to 100x, and power efficiency improvements of 10x or more when compared to existing optical sensors. 

Government customers, system integrators, and biometric equipment manufacturers looking to deploy, implement and build certified, cost-effective and compact fingerprint authentication devices can now do so with UPEK’s silicon fingerprint sensor technology.  The TouchChip TCS1 fingerprint sensor is already in use across a broad range of physical access control devices to ensure only authorized personnel are allowed access to restricted facilities.  The TouchChip TCS1 fingerprint sensor can also be used in logical access control devices such as USB readers, biometric keyboards, and biometric smart card readers that are part of the identity management infrastructure of FIPS 201.  Devices based on the TouchChip TCS1 fingerprint sensor are also well suited for portable devices, allowing power efficient mobile identity verification of PIV card holders at any time and at any location.  
                                                                                                          
“The technical requirements for the Single Fingerprint Capture Devices were established by NIST and the FBI to ensure that the fingerprint sensor devices used in the FIPS 201 and PIV programs produce images capable of yielding accurate identity verification,” said Philip Wasserman, Guest Researcher at NIST.  “UPEK’s achievement of offering the first silicon sensor to meet this demanding set of requirements will allow the use of the TouchChip TCS1 fingerprint sensor in many applications previously requiring larger, more expensive optical sensors.”

“UPEK has worked diligently to optimize the TouchChip TCS1 fingerprint capture system to meet the demanding requirements established by NIST and the FBI for Single Fingerprint Capture Devices,” said Mike Chaudoin, Director of Standards and Security at UPEK.  “Having achieved this high level of image quality certification places UPEK further ahead of all other silicon sensor providers for both government and commercial applications, and clearly establishes UPEK as the leading supplier of high quality silicon fingerprint authentication solutions for a diverse range of applications.”

Web site listings where the TCS1 certifications can be found include the GSA Approved Products List at http://fips201ep.cio.gov/apl.php in the “Single Fingerprint Capture Device” category; and, in the FBI IAFIS Certified Products List: http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/iafis/cert.htm under the heading of “PIV Single Finger Capture Devices” at the bottom of the listing.

About UPEK, Inc.
UPEK, Inc., a global leader in biometric fingerprint security solutions, offers integrated end-to-end solutions including comprehensive design & integration services to the world’s leading consumer and industrial products companies. UPEK solutions enable the strongest fingerprint authentication security available, packaged for high user convenience and rapid integration into existing products and network architectures.  The company has been pioneering biometric fingerprint technology since 1996 and shipping product in volume since 1999.  UPEK is headquartered in Emeryville, California, with offices in Prague, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo.

Contact:
Steve Hahm
+1.510.420.2630
steve.hahm@upek.com
Lisa Kennedy
Citigate Cunningham
+1.415.618.8726
LKennedy@citigatecunningham.com

UPEK and the UPEK logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of UPEK, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.