Gemalto Extends Support For Strong Authentication With Biometrics For Windows 7

PRESS RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO --(Business Wire)-- Apr 22, 2009 Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, has extended its support for strong authentication on the Windows' 7 platform using its .NET Bio solution. The solution enables multi-factor authentication using biometrics by building on the foundation provided in the new Windows Biometric Framework (WBF) for Windows 7. Gemalto is demonstrating its .NET Bio solution with biometrics on a Windows 7 platform in the Microsoft Partner Pavilion at RSA 2009 in booth #1527 through Thursday, April 23rd, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Gemalto .NET Bio is an innovative solution that enables organizations to enhance network security and protect online identities by replacing weak, static passwords with strong authentication using Gemalto .NET smart cards and Precise Match-on-Card fingerprint biometric technology. By leveraging the smart card and biometric support built into Windows 7, Gemalto .NET Bio is easier to deploy and manage than conventional solutions that require installation of middleware.

In Windows 7, Microsoft is introducing the Windows Biometric Framework to provide native support for fingerprint biometric devices through a new set of software components.

"Until now, every fingerprint biometric device vendor was required to provide its own technology set for Microsoft Windows, including drivers, software development kits and applications," said Dustin Ingalls, director of program management for the Windows Core Operating System Division at Microsoft Corp. "The result was a range of proprietary solutions that lacked a consistent user experience and a common management platform. By adding smart card authentication from Gemalto and native support for fingerprint biometrics to Windows 7, we can improve the quality, reliability and consistency of the user experience for customers who are implementing strong multifactor authentication with biometrics. The Gemalto .NET Bio proof of concept implementation with WBF provides real-world feedback, ensuring enterprise customers would be able to deploy a strong authentication solution using biometrics with the necessary framework built into the operating system."

"Biometrics is an increasingly popular access security technology, because you don't forget your finger like you might a password," said Francois Lasnier, vice president and general manager, security, for Gemalto North America. "Gemalto's work with Microsoft has yielded a combined product offering that allows enterprise customers to implement a strong multi-factor authentication solution that increases security, yet is easier to deploy with minimal infrastructure changes."

For more information on Gemalto .NET Bio, please visit http://www.gemalto.com/products/dotnet_bio/.

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security with 2008 annual revenues of 1.68 billion, and 10,000 employees operating out of 75 offices, research and service centers in 40 countries.

Gemalto is at the heart of our evolving digital society. The freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain, and work—anytime, anywhere—has become an integral part of what people want and expect, in ways that are convenient, enjoyable and secure.

Gemalto delivers on the growing demands of billions of people worldwide for mobile connectivity, identity and data protection, credit card safety, health and transportation services, e-government and national security. We do this by supplying to governments, wireless operators, banks and enterprises a wide range of secure personal devices, such as subscriber identification modules (SIM) in mobile phones, smart banking cards, smart card access badges, electronic passports, and USB tokens for online identity protection. To complete the solution we also provide software, systems and services to help our customers achieve their goals.

As the use of Gemalto's software and secure devices increases with the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world, the company is poised to thrive over the coming years.

For more information please visit www.gemalto.com.