Gemplus Technology Chosen by Saflink for SureAccess Multifactor Biometric Reader

April 5, 2006
Companies partner for integrated reader designed to comply with FIPS 201

LUXEMBOURG and ARLINGTON, Virginia, April 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 - GEM and NASDAQ: GEMP), a leading provider of secure card solutions, announces the integration of its GemProx contactless reader into the SureAccess(TM) all-weather biometric smart card reader from Saflink(R). The integrated smart card reader solution is designed to comply with the US government's stringent Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 201 requirements.

In light of an increasing need for secure access to key national facilities, the Saflink SureAccess reader can strengthen security for both seaports and airports, and can be integrated with many existing physical access control systems. It is designed to comply with the HSPD-12/FIPS 201 directive which will provide interoperable credentials for all federal employees and contractors.

Saflink turned to Gemplus to provide the technology for reading the contactless ID cards carried by authorized personnel in secure facilities. GemProx is a range of contactless interfaces which are already in use for a range of applications including access control, transport, payment and border control.

"We needed a proven reader that could be easily integrated into our SureAccess product" commented, Glenn Argenbright, CEO, Saflink. "Gemplus's reader technology expertise along with their experience in the US federal space, were deciding factors".

SureAccess is the first in a family of products designed to meet the strict requirements of the National Institute of Standards and Technologies' (NIST) Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 201, also known as Personal Identity Verification (PIV) of federal employees and contractors.

"Gemplus sees a great future for secure ID products in the US" commented Jeff Ross, VP & GM ID & Security Gemplus Corp "and by making our products as easy as possible to integrate, companies like Saflink can take advantage of them for new applications in even the most demanding environments".

The FIPS 201-compliant biometric smart card reader is on display at an 'evaluation lab' at the Saflink facility in Reston, Virginia.

About Gemplus

Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 - GEM and NASDAQ: GEMP) is a world leading player in the secure card industry in both revenue and total shipments (source: Gartner-Dataquest 2005, Frost & Sullivan, Datamonitor). It has sold over 5.5 billion smart cards.

Gemplus delivers a wide range of portable, personalized solutions in areas including Identity, Mobile Telecommunications, Public Telephony, Banking, Retail, Transport, Healthcare, WLAN, Pay-TV, e-government, and access control.

Gemplus' revenue in 2005 was 939 million Euros. www.gemplus.com For more information: Tim Cawsey Rebecca Naysan Gemplus Edelman Tel: +1-215-390-2812 Tel: +1-212-704-8245 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

(c)2006 Gemplus. All rights reserved. Gemplus, the Gemplus logo, are trademarks and service marks of Gemplus S.A. and are registered in certain countries. All other trademarks and service marks, whether registered or not in specific countries, are the property of their respective owners.

Some of the statements contained in this release constitute forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our or our industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activities, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Actual events or results may differ materially. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by the forward-looking statements contained in this release include, but are not limited to: trends in wireless communication and mobile commerce markets; our ability to develop new technology, and the effects of competing technologies developed and expected intense competition generally in our main markets; profitability of our expansion strategy; challenges to or loss of our intellectual property rights; our ability to establish and maintain strategic relationships in our major businesses; our ability to develop and take advantage of new software and services; and the effect of future acquisitions and investments on our share price. Moreover, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of this release. We are under no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after this date to conform such statements to actual results or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated results.

SOURCE Gemplus SA

CONTACT: For more information: Tim Cawsey, Gemplus, Tel: +1-215-390-2812, Email: [email protected]. Rebecca Naysan, Edelman, Tel: +1-212-704-8245, Email: [email protected]