TORONTO, Nov. 20 /CNW/ - Bioscrypt Inc., announced today that its finger minutiae algorithm has been qualified for the Seafarers' Identity Documents (SID) program upon meeting the requirements of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Seafarer's Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (No. 185) and specifically of the requirements for biometric systems outlined in ILO SID-0002. The list of qualified products was approved by the ILO on November 16, 2006. For the SID program, the Bioscrypt algorithm is paired with the UPEK(R) TouchChip(R) TCS1 sensor.
The Seafarers' Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 specifies that a minutiae-based biometric template must be included in new identity documents to be issued by each member state that ratifies the Convention to their nationals or residents who are employed in any capacity on board a vessel engaged in maritime navigation, other than a ship of war.
The 2003 revision of the Seafarers' Identity Documents Convention, 1958, is based upon a decision to adopt proposals with regard to the improved security of seafarer's identification. Being mindful of the continuing threat to the security of passengers and crews and the safety of ships, the Seafarers' Identity Documents are used for the purpose of facilitating the entry of seafarers into the territory of Member countries, for the purposes of shore leave, transit, transfer or repatriation.
"Meeting the interoperability and performance requirements of the ILO is further evidence of the world class quality of our finger minutiae biometric technology," stated Colin Soutar, CTO, Bioscrypt Inc. "We are particularly pleased that the pairing of our algorithm with the cost-effective sensor solution provided by UPEK - the TouchChip TCS1 - has demonstrated that it can interoperate and be listed alongside optical sensor based offerings. This also underlines the quality of the Bioscrypt algorithm and UPEK sensor pairing, which we recently announced as being at the core of our new FIPS 201 product offering."
"This ILO certification for Seafarers' Identity Documents validates the combined solution of UPEK's TouchChip TCS1 silicon fingerprint sensor with Bioscrypt's finger minutiae algorithm as an accurate and interoperable solution for real world large-scale identity management applications," said Mike Chaudoin, Director of Standards and Security at UPEK. "Having the only FBI and FIPS 201 certified silicon fingerprint sensor allows UPEK to deliver proven image quality that is lower cost, more compact and more power efficient than larger and more expensive optical devices."
In February 2006, the third phase of testing was started. A total of 67,802 fingerprint images were collected from subjects aged 18 to 69. Analysis of 161,359,702 individual matches took place between April and May 2006, which led to final conclusions being made and the subsequent listing of 9 qualified vendors for the program being ratified on November 16.
"The year of 2006 has proven to be very significant, relative to the advancement of biometric standards and interoperability, with the announcement of the MINEX results earlier in the year, and this latest set of interoperability results from the ILO," said Robert L. Williams, president and CEO of Bioscrypt Inc. "Having met the ILO requirements that are based on the ISO standard for minutiae encoding and the MINEX tests based on the ANSI standard, we are well positioned as government programs around the world move forward."
