LONDON, November 21 /PRNewswire/ -- De La Rue Smurfit is supplying a new ePassport containing a highly secure72kB chip to the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. The Irish Governmentissued the first books on 16 October 2006, in advance of the United Statesvisa waiver programme deadline of 26 October 2006. De La Rue Smurfit suppliedaround 700,000 Irish Passports last year. The new document is fully compliantwith the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 9303 standard.
The ePassport features a contactless 72 kB chip which stores the bearer'sbiographical details, as they appear on the details page of the passport, anda digital image of the bearer. De La Rue produces 34 and 66 page books forthe Irish Government in secure, controlled and audited conditions. They aremanufactured in one of De La Rue's high-technology ePassport production siteswithin the European Union. The confidentiality and integrity of the documentsare secured during the Department of Foreign Affairs' personalisationprocess. Layered technologies including digital signatures, Basic AccessControl (BAC) to protect against electronic eavesdropping and data 'skimming'of the chip, and Active Authentication to prevent cloning are employed in theePassport.
De La Rue is also responsible for producing the Irish emergency passportissued by the Government to citizens who have urgent travel requirements butdo not have time to receive a standard passport through the usual applicationprocess. Emergency passports are personalised at the three Passport Officesin Ireland and more than 60 Irish Diplomatic and Consular Missions overseas.The data page is secured by De La Rue's MLIS(TM) solution, which is used bysome 25 issuing authorities worldwide and is fully compliant with ICAO 9303.
Commenting on the contract, Paul Wilson, Managing Director of De La RueIdentity Systems said: "De La Rue has been involved in setting the futuredirection of ePassport developments with international standards bodies andhas focused on the performance, security and readability of its solution.Extensive testing ensures that De La Rue's ePassport exceeds industrystandards."
Notes to Editors - De La Rue
De La Rue is the world's largest commercial security printer andpapermaker, involved in the production of over 150 national currencies and awide range of security documents such as passports, authentication labels andfiscal stamps. The Company is also a leading provider of cash handlingequipment and software solutions to banks and retailers worldwide, helpingthem to reduce the cost of handling cash. Employing over 6,000 people across31 countries, De La Rue is also pioneering new technologies in governmentidentity solutions for national identification, driver's licence and passportissuing schemes. De La Rue Smurfit is a 50:50 joint venture between De La Rueand Smurfit Kappa Group, the European paper and packaging group headquarteredin Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
www.delarue.com
De La Rue plc
For further information, please contact: Adam Trill, Head of Commercial Operations and Marketing, De La Rue Identity Systems, T: +44-1256-605010, M: +44-7740-896718, Identity.Systems@uk.delarue.com
