Viisage Announces Support for Presidential Directive 12 Initiative

BILLERICA, Mass. -- Company to Work with Industry Leaders to Deliver Smart Card Credentialing Solution for Federal Government Workers; Viisage's Identity Proofing and Document Authentication Products to Play Key Role in Development

Viisage, a leading provider of advanced technology identity solutions, today announced plans to participate with a group of industry leaders, including ActivCard Corp., to support the U.S. Government's Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12). This directive mandates that a common identification credential be utilized by all federal government employees and contractors. In addition, the solutions are being designed to comply with the FIPS 201 standard developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), issued on Feb. 25, 2005, which sets the technology and implementation guidelines required to meet the President's mandate.

Viisage will participate with several identity technology companies, such as Corestreet, Cybertrust, Lenel Systems International and others, offering its innovative document authentication and identity proofing capabilities designed to electronically verify an individual's identity claim. In particular, the Company's Viisage PROOF and Viisage iA-thenticate solutions are expected to play a critical role in developing a solution that will ensure the integrity of vetting procedures for identity validation and registration throughout the credentialing process as specifically outlined in the FIPS 201 standard.

Viisage and ActivCard have successfully worked together in other major government projects including the widely acclaimed Common Access Card program for the U.S. Department of Defense. Viisage's expertise in identity proofing, enrollment workflow, physical card issuance and secure inventory management products combined with ActivCard's expertise in smart card provisioning and management is expected to result in a very attractive response to the demands of HSPD-12.

"ActivCard is confident that by working with Viisage and the other category leaders we can deliver the critical components necessary to fulfill our customers' HSPD-12 requirements," said Ben C. Barnes, chief executive officer at ActivCard. "Government agencies and departments, along with federal systems integrators, will benefit from ActivCard's and Viisage's collective experience with the Department of Defense to deliver proven smart card-based identity solutions."

"HSPD-12 and FIPS 201 are critical elements of the federal government's strategy for ensuring the accurate identification of its employees. Viisage is pleased to be joining forces with key technology providers, including ActivCard, to deliver solutions that specifically address the President's mandate," said Bernard Bailey, president and CEO of Viisage. "We are fully engaged in developing robust and scalable identity solutions that can be leveraged towards establishing a secure 'chain of trust' required by the federal market."