ID VERIFICATION MUST START WITH ID AUTHENTICATION!

Governments around the world have recognized the key fact that ID Verification must start with ID Authentication. But the commercial sector is still lagging behind. Often, in the commercial sector, people with little to no training in ID Authentication are put at the front-end of the sensitive process of ID Verification:

  • The receptionist or security officer at the front desk of a building
  • The teller or customer service representative at a bank who is providing access to the bank vault or opening a new account
  • The car rental clerk who is entrusting an expensive vehicle to a stranger
  • The cage worker in a casino who is handling thousands of dollars from or to strangers
  • The human resources (HR) representative performing employee on-boarding
  • The department store clerk accepting a credit card application
  • The airport security clerk who waves passengers into the security line
  • The airline desk clerk who waves passengers into the airplane

For compliance with government regulations such as the USA Patriot Act and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws, as an institution you must “know your customer” (KYC). Perpetrators of fraud rarely hand in their real IDs. If you cannot ascertain that the person’s ID is valid, the entire process is compromised. There is little comfort in knowing that your back-end processes, where you check a person’s name and address against Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) watch lists, terrorist and fraud watch lists, and so on, started off with a fraudulent ID.

DON’T SETTLE FOR ANYTHING LESS THAN THE BEST ID AUTHENTICATION!

Throughout the different markets, AssureTec’s competitors fall in one of the following categories:

  • Document Capture with Manual Forensic Examination. Most of the so-called “full-page” or “passport” readers fall in this category. They merely replace the expensive optical equipment which was previously used for image captures and leave the forensic examination to trained inspectors.
  • Document Capture with OCR-based and/or MRZ-based Authentication. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of manufacturers who provide OCR-based and/or MRZ-based authentication. This approach falls woefully short of proper forensic analysis of documents. Any claims of “authentication” based merely on OCR, MRZ, or RFID (SmartChip) cards should be carefully examined for merit. AssureTec believes that while this approach may serve the purpose of applications that increase productivity, they do not address the basics of questioned document examination techniques.
  • Document Capture with Automated Authentication on a Limited Basis. Only a couple of manufacturers besides AssureTec can make the claim of automated authentication, but their technologies are hampered by the following issues: (i) We hold the key patents for automatically identifying documents, which requires them to have the operator select the document type when a non-standard document is encountered; and (ii) AssureTec’s system has the sophistication to discern even minute variations in legitimate documents to successfully separate them from fakes.

Only AssureTec provides the total package, which is: Document Capture with Automatic Classification and Authentication of any official ID from anywhere in the world within seconds.

BORDERS

AssureTec’s first major implementation was the Chilean Border Control Project for Policia de Investigaciones de Chile in early 2004, implemented in collaboration with Unisys. Since then, AssureTec has secured many international customers including Border Management at Papua New Guinea and Macau, e-Passport Issuance at Singapore, Thailand, and Qatar.

GOVERNMENT

On August 27, 2004, President Bush issued the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) mandating a common identification standard for federal employees and contractors. In response, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) initiated the Federal Information Processing Standard 201 (FIPS-201), entitled Personal Identification and Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors (also known as the PIV standard). FIPS-201 designates the AssureTec Document Authentication Reader (the ID-300) as a key component of the enrollment workstation.

The Transportation Workers’ Identification Credential (TWIC) program, initiated by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Coast Guard, follow the FIPS-201 standard. As a direct result, AssureTec has been receiving orders from BearingPoint, a key systems integrator for TWIC, to be used in enrollment workstations securing U.S. ports. As the FIPS-201 standard is adopted by other U.S. federal agencies (a mandatory requirement) in the coming years, we expect this business to grow.

In late 2006, the General Services Administration (GSA), as part of their implementation of the HSPD-12, incorporated the AssureTec ID-150 product specification (without explicitly naming it) into their requirements.

AssureTec’s technology now powers the credentialing of workers and employees in airports and seaports, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the GSA.

SECURITY — VISITOR MANAGEMENT

AssureTec’s technology is used for Visitor Management at sensitive facilities such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters.

AUTOMOTIVE — CAR RENTALS & DEALERSHIPS

In the Automotive industry, AssureTec’s equipment deters the theft of automobiles in many car rental facilities and dealerships.

GAMING — CASINOS & HOTELS

In the Gaming (Casino) and Hospitality industries, AssureTec’s equipment deters fraud and anti-money laundering (AML) activities.

BANKING

The U.S. banking industry is waking up to AssureTec technology as a way to augment conventional ID Verification activities implemented as a response to the USA Patriot Act. In Europe, the 3rd EU Directive mandates banks to have processes in place before the end of 2007 to implement anti-money laundering activities.