Bioscrypt Launches FIPS-201 Biometric Reader

TORONTO -- Bioscrypt Inc. (TSX: BYT), a leading provider of enterprise access control technology, today announced the release of the PIV-Station, a biometric reader designed to meet the current and future needs of the U.S. federal government market.

Bioscrypt’s PIV-Station helps U.S. federal organizations meet the Personal Identity Verification (PIV) requirements mandated by the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), by bringing Bioscrypt’s long-standing expertise in the biometric access control market to the FIPS 201 program. Federal Information Processing Standard 201 requires all government agencies and contractors to authenticate civil servants and employees using stronger authentication methods, including fingerprint biometrics, for physical and logical access control. In order to meet the FIPS 201 standard, Bioscrypt ported its FIPS 201-approved Minutiae Interoperability Exchange (MINEX) algorithm to a high performance digital signal processor (DSP) from Texas Instruments which is embedded in the new reader. The inclusion of the DSP also allows the PIV-Station to be extremely flexible and extensible to accommodate current and future technical specifications for the evolving Federal programs.

The PIV-Station increases security at federal buildings by adding a biometric layer of authentication — a unique identification factor that cannot be lost, copied or stolen. Nearly 3 million federal employees, 6 million state employees and 500,000 contractors will be enrolled in the program, making it one of the largest biometric projects to date, according to IMS research.

The PIV-Station has received General Service Administration (GSA) approval as a FIPS 201-compliant Card Holder Unique Identifier (CHUID) Reader (Contact) and CHUID Reader (Contactless) — making it the first fixed Physical Access Control reader to be certified in both categories. The reader also incorporates Bioscrypt’s GSA-approved ANSI/INCITS 378 fingerprint template and is currently undergoing testing by GSA in the biometric reader category.

The PIV-Station also includes a GSA-approved single fingerprint capture device. FIPS 201-certified fingerprint sensor manufacturers had to undergo an extensive FBI fingerprint image quality evaluation to achieve certification. “UPEK is pleased Bioscrypt has chosen to integrate the TouchChip TCS1 fingerprint sensor, the first and only silicon fingerprint sensor approved by the FBI and GSA for FIPS 201,” said Mike Chaudoin, Director of Standards and Security at UPEK. “The Bioscrypt PIV-Station, which leverages the advantages of UPEK’s small, low cost and power efficient fingerprint sensing technology, is well positioned to provide strong user authentication for FIPS 201 customers.”

Bioscrypt Inc.