Gemalto Helps Finland Create a More Secure Electronic Passport

Gemalto, a world leader in digital security, has been busy lately with its mobile payments efforts. In December, it added support for news standards from major credit card networks to its SafeNet Luna Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Payment Hardware Security Module (HSM). More recently, the company became the first mobile payment vendor to receive full MasterCard approval for a complete cloud-based payment (CBP) solution. But that doesn’t mean Gemalto only deals in mobile payments.

Take, for example, Gemalto’s recent announcement that it has been chosen by the National Police Board in Finland to supply the country’s new ePassport. With advanced security features and full compliance with ICAO requirements, the new travel document will enable faster, more secure border crossings.

This represents the extension of an existing relationship between Gemalto and the country of Finland as the company is already responsible for Finland’s polycarbonate electronic ID (eID) and resident permit cards. Under the new, multi-year contract, Gematlo will produce and personalize hundreds of thousands of Sealys ePassports and eID cards every year. These are expected to be issued to citizens within days, or even hours, thanks to a nationwide network of trusted retail outlets and delivery points.

"This new contract further strengthens our long-standing relationship with the Finnish government," said Frédéric Trojani, executive vice president of Government Programs at Gemalto. "Finland is at the forefront when it comes to continuous innovation towards more secure identity and travel documents to help fight identity fraud. This is especially important in our new international context, and we see a growing interest worldwide to adopt the most advanced polycarbonate technology."

The latest evolution of Finland’s ePassport features a number of advances in fraud protection, including the holder’s digital photograph and fingerprints stored safely in the contactless microprocessor embedded into every passport. Unique security features like the Sealys Windows Lock, which puts a negative ghost image laser personalized into a metallic foil hidden in a transparent window, take it to the next level.