Amsterdam, the Netherlands, April 2, 2009 – Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, and Precise Biometrics, the leading provider of fingerprint solutions for smart cards, today introduced Gemalto .NET Bio. This innovative solution 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. Gemalto .NET Bio is easy to deploy and manage, and integrates seamlessly into Microsoft Windows® environments.

Organizations employ Gemalto smart cards and tokens for strong user authentication to their networks, as well as for data encryption and digital signature services. Traditionally, smart cards are protected by a PIN to verify the holder of the device is its legitimate owner. Gemalto .NET Bio implements fingerprint verification on the smart card to provide three alternative verification methods: using a fingerprint instead of a PIN; using a fingerprint or a PIN; and using a fingerprint and a PIN for the highest level of security.

Precise Match-on-Card technology stores and verifies users’ fingerprint information directly on the Gemalto .NET smart card. The fingerprint information never leaves the card and is never stored in a database, thus protecting their digital identities and privacy. With Gemalto .NET Bio, organizations benefit from the convenience of fingerprint authentication and the portability and security of smart card devices, all seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Windows operating systems and applications.

“Gemalto and Precise Biometrics have done a great job integrating smart cards and biometrics within the security layer of Windows Operating systems.” said Dustin Ingalls, Director of Program Management: Windows Core Operating System Division with Microsoft.

Gemalto .NET Bio works with a wide range of applications for Windows and provides a very familiar user experience. The solution has an intuitive interface and users can set up their fingerprints on the cards themselves, making it straightforward and cost-effective for both IT administrators and employees.

Demonstration at 2009 RSA Conference

The combined solution will be available for demonstration in Gemalto’s booth (#1917) at the 2009 RSA Conference in San Francisco, California USA, 20 – 23 April 2009.

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

About Gemalto .NET Bio and Microsoft Compatibility

Gemalto and Precise Biometrics succeeded in making the solution work seamlessly with the Microsoft product ecosystem. In addition, the Gemalto .NET smart card minidriver is integrated with Microsoft’s Windows Smart Card Framework. It is included in the box with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 and packaged as part of Windows Update for Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

About Precise Biometrics

Precise Biometrics is a market-leading provider of solutions for fingerprint recognition to prove people’s identities. With top-of-the-line expertise in fingerprint verification, Precise Biometrics offers fast, accurate and secure authentication of a person’s identity.

Its core product, Precise Match-on-Card™, adds value to ID, SIM, enterprise and bank cards as well as to systems for access control to buildings, computers and networks. Precise Biometrics serves business and government organizations throughout the world and its technology is licensed to more than 80 million users.

For more information, please visit http://www.precisebiometrics.com.

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, 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 http://www.gemalto.com.

Contacts

Gemalto
Rémi Calvet
Tel: +33 (0) 1 55 01 64 10
Mob: +33 (0) 6 22 72 81 58
E-mail: remi.calvet@gemalto.com

Aline Borne
T.: +33 (0)1 55 01 51 05
M.: +33 (0)6 16 29 87 04
E-mail: aline.borne@gemalto.com

TBWACorporate
Rebekah Lahey
Tel: +33 (0) 1 49 09 26 58
Mob : +33 (0) 6 07 21 08 77
E-mail: rebekah.lahey@tbwa-corporate.com