The Netherlands selects ePassport authentication system from 3M
The use of biometrics for identifying people is gaining ground by the day; the Netherlands has just selected ePassport readers from 3M to verify the identity of the more than 40 million travelers who pass through Amsterdam Schiphol Airport each year; the government will place the readers at other border crossings as well
Most people would associate 3M with products such as Scotch, Post-it, Scotchgard, and Scotch-Brite. The innovative company does much more than office and consumer products, however, as its growing presence in biometrics shows. Biometric identification is growing in popularity, and more and more governments are using it to verify the identities of people coming into their countries. The latest example is the Netherlands, which has selected 3M ePassport authentication systems to ascertain biometric identity documents at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and other border control points around the country. More than forty million travelers pass through Schiphol each year, and the 3M ePassport readers will now be used to verify the identities of those coming through.
The authentication system will allow the Royal Marechaussee (KMar) of the Netherlands to screen travelers quickly and accurately: The system detects document tampering and counterfeiting, in addition to reading biometric and other data stored on the RFID chip of ePassports. Rich Sanders, business manager, 3M Security Systems Division, said: “We worked very closely with government officials to build a system that works with their infrastructure and interfaces with international intelligence data sources.” Michel Oude Veldhuis, head of the Expertise Center Identity Fraud and Documents, KMar, said: “Biometric technology is an indisputable way to confirm a person’s identity. We have experts in the field of biometrics, analyses and counterfeiting. 3M has complementary skills in travel document processing and biometric technologies. We are confident the 3M systems will strengthen our security significantly.”
The Netherlands is not the only country to use 3M’s ePassport readers. Other countries already deploying the system include the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Jamaica, and Thailand.
-read more in this news release
